Both Tigh (Michel Hogan) and Adama (Edward James Olmos) have major problems this week in Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down. Written by Jeff Vleming and directed by Olmos, this episode was first broadcast on 4 March, 2005.

Following the Cylon interrogation in the last episode, Roslin (Mary McDonnell) begins to harbour suspicions that Adama may be a Cylon. But is it just an attempt to sow paranoia and discord amongst the leaders of this surviving band of humanity?

Why is Adama acting so oddly? He’s making strange calls around the fleet, taking a Raptor out with an unfiled flight plan, and just generally seeming off to his crew.

It ties in with Tigh’s situation. Adama has found Tigh’s estranged wife, Ellen (Karen Vernon), somehow among the survivors of the fleet. Is she a Cylon? She’s definitely a troublemaker, as is discovered when Adama hosts a dinner party, and things drunkenly go off the rails very quickly. The pair are a horrible match and encourage the worst behaviour in each other.

And Baltar (James Callis) is hard at ‘work’ testing blood samples to learn who may or may not be a Cylon in the fleet. But one order to test Adama’s blood is overridden to test Ellen’s and that goes back and forth through the course of the episode.

And what is going on with Helo (Tahmoh Penikett) and Sharon ‘Boomer’ (Grace Park) on Caprica? Are they any closer to escaping the planet and the Cylons there?

Throw in a damaged Raider that seems to be toying with the fleet, and its combat patrol, and you’ve got a solid episode that is able to walk the balance between entertaining and tense as hell.

I like how Olmos shoots his episode; we get different looks at already familiar sets, and he lets his camera and his actors push the narrative. There’s also a hint of humour that has been missing from the series to date.

The Hand of God was written by David Weddle and Bradley Thompson and debuted on 11 March, 2005. The fleet is running out of tylium fuel, and needs to find a source soon.

As luck would have it they find an asteroid packed with tylium. Enough for years of fuel. But there’s a catch… the asteroid has a Cylon base. How are they going to deal with that problem? Adama is going to reach out to Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) to help plan an op to take the asteroid away from the Cylons and destroy their base.

But Starbuck’s recent injury from her crash-landing a few episodes back means Apollo (Jamie Bamber) is going to be the one to lead the mission with a wing of Vipers, which she concocts, plans and lays out. Before Apollo leads the mission, Adama gives his son his father’s lighter for luck.

Starbuck has to let the need to control everything go, and trust to her plan, and the people carrying it out.

Roslin’s cancer seems to be getting worse, or at least the Kamala Extract she’s been taking seems to be having some odd side effects, including visions, which may tie in with ancient colonial prophecies.

And on Caprica, Boomer and Helo continue their run, and Six (Tricia Helfer) and Doral (Matthew Bennett) believe Boomer has fallen in love with Helo, and is no longer following the plan. And… is she pregnant?

I love that this episode gives us a big military op with lots of space combat. It looks great and is brilliantly crafted. And man, I love the entire assault. It’s a great sequence, beautifully created with visual effects that still stand up.

I frakkin’ love this show.