This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.
Just like No. 229 Phalisia felt the scorn of Squid Game: The Challenge’s community for ousting two beloved players, No. 287 Ashley didn’t earn many fans for her decision that derailed No. 301 Trey’s game. But, how does Trey feel about the whole ordeal?
First, let’s remind ourselves of what happened.
Through several episodes, Trey received more screen time than virtually any other contestant because he was playing alongside his mom, No. 302 LeAnn. After Trey was forced to eliminate his mother during “Marbles,” his game came to a screeching halt in episode 8’s “Glass Bridge” challenge when his campaign for $4.56 million plummeted to the ground.
Twenty players made it to Squid Game’s bridge of dismay. Unfortunately for Trey, he was the third person in line to tackle the daunting task. The bridge was outfitted with 17 sections. Each had two glass panes with one not being able to withstand a contestant’s weight. This meant every section required a player to take a 50-50 gamble by leaping onto one of the squares.
But, unlike the scripted series, the players came together under a unifying strategy. In order, the players would each take their turn testing a section, effectively neutralizing the front-of-the-line players’ death sentences.
After Trey found success in his first attempt, No. 077 Marina took her turn. But, she chose wrong and was eliminated. Ashley was the fifth person in line and as per the group’s plan, she was next up. But, she didn’t go — she just stood on the square behind Trey and didn’t speak. She explained:
“I’m confused as hell because I don’t remember agreeing to this. I’m not sacrificing myself when I already have a low number. If it comes to me having to stand on one spot until y’alls’ a** moves past me, and that’s the best thing for me, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Trey looked back at the other contestants and received confirmation that he had already done his part. Still, Ashley didn’t move and Trey decided to take another chance. And then another. It was his third leap of faith that spelled the end of his time on Squid Game: The Challenge.
Ashley went on to make the next jump. And the rest of the cast took it from there. She crossed safely while Trey joined his mom outside of the competition.
Entertainment Weekly interviewed Trey after his elimination played out on Netflix, and he was asked about the Glass Bridge fiasco. He said that when he received No. 3 ahead of Glass Bridge, he knew his game was about to come to a close and made peace with it before stepping foot onto the bridge. But, the later numbers hatched the plan to give everybody a 50-50 shot fearing the lower numbers wouldn’t move and the time limit would expire.
Because he had been gifted a “sliver of a sliver of hope,” Trey said he “sort of blacked out” and “never fully computed what the plan was.”
“I make my jump and I look back and I’m not really computing what that meant. I look back to see Ashley and I’m trying to make her do what Marina did because I thought me turning back and saying something helped Marina go forward. I think I either just didn’t turn back long enough to make it seem like that I was giving Ashley permission, or I didn’t seem like I was part of the plan enough to have Ashley vocally insert herself and be like, “I want to overtake you.” It was a mixture of time pressure, pressure to jump to the next stone, and Ashley not quite speaking up at that moment that created my demise.”
Trey made it clear that he wasn’t “mad at Ashley at all.”
Considering he had just sent his mom packing, and Ashley was “in a lot of pain from something for maybe a couple days,” Trey said they were both dealing with a lot of emotions. “We were both under duress and I don’t have any sort of ill feelings about that at all,” he continued.
No. 301 also said that at the moment, he had a strong belief he was about to accomplish the near-impossible — correctly traverse the bridge all the way to the end. He said that because Ashley had the mentality of not jumping if he was going to jump, and he was prepared to continue navigating Glass Bridge, it was the perfect catalyst for his demise.
Regardless, both of their games ended before the finale. Ashley’s Squid Game: The Challenge journey concluded in episode 9 when No. 451 Phill correctly identified her in “Circle of Trust.”
So, I guess if Trey’s not upset with Ashley, then his fans shouldn’t be either?
