HOW DID I NOT JUST SHRIEK UNCONTROLLABLY THIS WHOLE EPISODE? Right, I had to contain myself watching this because oh my god it is so amazing in hindsight.
Let’s discuss! First of all, here is your lovely video:
And it was the first of four BSG episodes commissioned by my editor and friend Mitchell! As I’m sure you know, all Mark Watches videos will now be indexed here for consumption.
- This is one of many episodes that reads totally different in hindsight, but I think it might be the single episode that means something so disparate from what it was like the first time I watched it. For the most part, I just spent this episode laughing to keep from crying about the fact that BOTH OF THEM WERE CYLONS THE WHOLE TIME. And look, I know Ronald D. Moore and friends didn’t sit down before the show started and plot out all four seasons. I know that the Final Five were decided not long before those scripts were written. And yet, “Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down” works SO PERFECTLY within the show’s canon that I can’t help but be impressed.
- I mean, first of all, how did I not figure out that Ellen Tigh was the final Cylon? The answer was sitting RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME THE WHOLE TIME. Granted, it wasn’t until three seasons later that it was revealed to me, so the very nature of how I experienced this narrative essentially meant that I forgot about this episode. It happens! I’m not ashamed of it, either. At any given time, I’m balancing four different canons in my head, so details get pushed out of the way to make room for new ones. It certainly makes writing for this site and Mark Reads a whole lot of fun!
- And I think of the Final Five, I love Ellen and Col. Tigh the most. I adore their dynamic, this idea that they are the “parents” of the other Cylons, that they have this tortured love affair with one another. I admit that things are sloppy in season four at times, but I think y’all have seen that I tend to be more forgiving than most people.
- THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD PLOTS AT THIS POINT IN THE SHOW. Helo and Sharon on Caprica. SHARON, I LOVE YOU. Why isn’t Grace Park in everything ever?
- THE DINNER SCENE IS STILL HILARIOUS AND AWKWARD.
- I don’t understand how Col. Tigh and Adama dramatically turning to gape at Roslin isn’t the most popular reaction GIF in the universe IT’S JUST SO PERFECT.
Let the comments flow, my friends. I’m off to get a haircut before tour and tackle my last batch of commissions!
