Ellen Tigh

Lore & Background

Ellen Tigh is the wife of Colonel Saul Tigh, XO of the Battlestar Galactica and second-in-command to Commander William Adama. She is described as "hard-drinking, attention-seeking and promiscuous," but devoted to Tigh despite her selfishness. She unapologetically uses her sexuality to get what she wants for herself and her husband. In season three, she betrays the human Resistance to the Cylon Cavil to protect Tigh's life, leading to her execution by Tigh himself in "Exodus." In season four, she is revealed as the final Cylon, with series creator Ronald D. Moore noting that her relationship with Tigh "really sort of anchored that couple as something that was very special." Her resurrection and self-realization are depicted in "No Exit," where she argues that Cylons should embrace human qualities like love and compassion.

In Their Own Story

In season three, Ellen proves willing to do anything to guarantee Tigh's continued safety. She performs sexual favors for one of the Cylon Cavil models to effect Tigh's release from a Cylon detention center, and betrays the human Resistance to Cavil when he threatens Tigh's life. When her duplicity is revealed in "Exodus," Tigh chooses to execute her himself. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote, "It's a tragic, heartbreaking end to a character who, for most of her time on the series, had been little more than an irritant." In season four, Ellen is revealed as the last Final Five Cylon in "Sometimes a Great Notion." In "No Exit," she makes the case to fellow Cylons Cavil and Sharon Valerii that the value of humans is their ability to love, adapt, feel emotion, show compassion and be creative. She argues that Cylons have been programmed with the capacity for all these things, and must just choose to embrace them.

Reader's Guide

Ellen Tigh is introduced as the beautiful but troublesome wife of Colonel Saul Tigh. She is well known to Commander Adama, who notes she was rumored to have "slept with more than half the fleet while Saul was in space." Her manipulation is both conscious and unconscious, and she reacts to her husband's weakness by attacking. In season two, when Tigh is forced to take command of Galactica, Ellen attempts to both guide and push him to action. In season three, she betrays the human Resistance to protect Tigh, leading to her execution. In season four, she is revealed as the last Final Five Cylon. Vernon said of the character after the reveal, "There is so much more to Ellen than her need for power... There's a depth to Ellen. Her heart is much bigger than anyone realized." In "No Exit," Ellen argues for the value of human emotions and creativity, and is described as key to breaking the cycle of conflict with the Cylons.

Did You Know?

• Kate Vernon first appeared as Ellen Tigh on December 13, 2004, in the ninth episode of season one, 'Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down'.
• Series creator Ronald D. Moore initially told Vernon there was no way for her character to return after being killed off in season three, but later changed his mind for season four.
• Ellen Tigh is revealed as the last of the Final Five Cylons in the season four episode 'Sometimes a Great Notion'.
• Vernon kept the secret that Ellen was the final Cylon for two years.
• In 'No Exit', Ellen argues that Cylons should embrace human qualities like love, compassion, and creativity.