‘Squid Game: The Challenge’: Ashley Tolbert (Player 278) Sabotaging The Contestants In Episode 7 Reminds Me Why This Show Shouldn’t Exist

It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and Ashley Tolbert (aka Player 278) from Netflix‘s reality show Squid Game: The Challenge knows it. Unfortunately, it’s not a great look when everybody else decides to work through a competition as a team, and one player decides to set themselves apart from the rest. That said: it’s exactly what you’d expect from a reality show inspired by a fictional series about a group of people competing to the death for a cash prize.

In Episode 7 — titled “Friend and Foe” — Player 278 Ashley Tolbert makes a decision that jeopardizes the future of another player after it was unanimously agreed that they’d brave the tricky challenge as a team and let fate decide who goes home.

At the start of the Glass Bridge challenge, only 20 of the 456 contestants are remaining in the challenge.

The contestants are assigned an order to play the game, which consists of each player crossing a bridge that features two sets of tiles: one that is safe to stand on and another that will shatter, causing the contestant to fall through the tile and be eliminated.

After the numbers are doled out and the players are brought to the bridge, they decide to take turns passing one another in the order of their numbers. That way, each player only has to take a few risky steps before they all cross.

The players plan to alternate steps with the lower numbers consistently moving forward, so that in the end, they cross in the proper order. But there’s another obstacle: the challenge is timed and the players don’t have time to waste on arguing.

At first, the game goes swimmingly and the players take their appropriate turns; however, when it is Ashley’s turn, she refuses to budge. She bad-mouths the player who went before her, saying in a voiceover segment, “Marina’s stupid as hell. You picked the wrong glass and you’ve fallen through, and you didn’t even have to do all of that. Sit your ass back and relax.”

When Marina falls through the bridge, Trey takes his turn and lands on a solid tile. He looks at Ashley, who is supposed to go next. “I turn around and I see [player] #278 and she’s not moving at all. I’ve rolled my dice, I’ve flipped my coin… I’ve taken my 50/50 chance, it’s time for #278 to step up and take hers.”

Trey asks the other players if they think he deserves his low number, which puts him on the frontline, and they say “no,” but Ashley — contestant #278 — is unmoved. When she refuses to take the next step, Trey takes an additional turn.

“I’m not going to ask directly, but I want to make sure that she feels like I’m saying ‘no’ as I’m asking for help,” Trey says. “It should be one each,” adds another player from the back.

“I’m confused as hell because I don’t remember agreeing to this,” Ashley states in a voiceover. “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’all ass move past me and that’s the best thing for me, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Trey acknowledges that Ashley isn’t making a move and the time is running out. “I don’t want the whole group to get eliminated because of one person,” he narrates.

Trey makes the next move and lands on a steady tile. After this, the episode ends, and Episode 8 begins. The players move accordingly so that the next contestant can enter the bridge on the newly-freed place, and Trey turns to Ashley again as it is her turn to overtake. Ashley moves into Trey’s old spot, so she can safely advance, but refuses to take the next risk. “Just chill, take your time,” she tells him.

Trey looks frustrated as it becomes evident that he will be taking the next risk, again.

“So, they’re not passing? She’s not gonna jump?” asks a player behind them.

“Man, he’s welcome to overtake,” Ashley says, referring to the person behind her.

“I don’t mean to call shots for anyone, but I think it’s fair if someone else steps up,” says another player and, in response, Ashley snaps, “Should you be talking?” A contestant at the starting line cheers on Trey, “You got this!” before it is pointed out that it isn’t Trey’s turn. “No, it’ll be… Ashley,” adds another contestant.

Trey takes another turn and falls through the glass, and is eliminated. “It was really sad to see Trey go, he just feels like one of those perfect people that come once in a million,” narrates one of the remaining contestants.

“I think #278 is selfish for not advancing for the team,” says Mai, “That has shown her character. Moving forward, I will be watchful for #278. She has shown me that she’s not a team player.”

Ashley advances forward in the spot that Trey didn’t choice, and the line continues to move forward. Eventually, the players make it across the bridge with 12 of the 20 players remaining.

However, Ashley’s wrongfulness crops up later in the episode when the players must take turns rolling a die, and if it lands on a six then the player they nominate will be eliminated. Mai takes the first turn, and after the other players suggest that they nominate themselves on their own rolls, but Mai says, “I’m not going to nominate myself… I worked as hard to be in the final 12, just as everyone else. As a team yesterday, we needed everybody to be part of it, and I’m sorry Ashley but I have to nominate you.”

In a voiceover segment, Ashley says that she’s “pissed” that Mai isn’t being a team player.

“I think it’s a bad look,” another contestant says of Mai’s choice.

Lucky for Ashley, Mai doesn’t roll a six, and she was able to get revenge when her turn came around and she nominated Mai. By the end of the game, three of the 12 players were eliminated, but both Mai and Ashley remained.

You’d think that the beef is over and everybody has gotten even, and Mai and Ashley will reset, but Ashley makes it clear at the top of Episode 9 that she holds resentment for the other player. “Mai is who she is. Like, she can no longer hide behind this facade that she’s been hiding behind, this “sweet lady,” she can’t find behind that.”

Sorry Ashley, but you made the poor judgment call first and someone needed to avenge sweet, innocent Trey! As for what happens in the final two episodes, you’ll have to watch and see for yourself. But at this point, I know who I’m not rooting for.

Squid Game: The Challenge is streaming on Netflix.