SPOILER ALERT
If you haven’t seen this episode yet, stop right now and go watch the episode. But if you’re like me and don’t mind spoilers, let’s get right to it.
Must Everything Be About Money or Man?
That’s the question Tiwa asks her mother in episode 9 of Skinny Girl in Transit, and that’s the question we’ve been asking since the very first episode of this show. It’s almost like a super power how the writers manage to weasel a man-centric story into every single episode, every single scene.
It’s been eight episodes, I know they haven’t exactly surprised us but I’m either a perennial optimist or a full on masochist because I keep watching.
Episode 9 begins with Tiwa on the road outside the office, waiting for a cab. Her car has ‘broken down’ again . Conveniently, Mide’s leaving the office just as she is and he offers her a ride. As they talk, she tells him she’s saving up to buy a ‘new’ car but exchange rate wahala. To which Mide says,
“Go to HR and get a loan.”
Let’s not forget at this point that in Episode 8 Daddy Tiwa tells us HE owns Tiwa and Shalewa’s cars. They each have a car, Shalewa has had hers taken away from her. So it really makes no sense that Tiwa is using cabs when there’s a perfectly good car idling in their house. Continuity people, WYD?
They chat about Hadiza’s humiliation and conveniently insert Nadine (Mide’s ex) into the conversation, in case we’d forgotten her, and Mide assures Tiwa (and us) that he is really over her. He convinces her to go for gizzard suya with him, and throws an off-handed remark that Tiwa’s supposed to be on a diet. Wawuu! Is she?
It’s the day of the great work retreat and the entire staff (nine people, I counted) is cramped in a room the size of a shoe box. Really, Mide’s office is bigger than this conference room.
Thankfully they skip all the boring retreat talk and head straight to meat of the matter they’ve so painfully foreshadowed in episode 8. The radio station suddenly needs a head of programming, though it was working fine all through season one and there has been mention whatsoever of the previous head of programming leaving, or getting fired.
They try (and fail) to build suspense and announce the winner; Tiwalade. And of course, because the writers of this show cannot resist a lazy joke, Hadiza stands up to give a victory speech just as Tiwa is announced. Didiquisha the side chick and Tiwa cackle like school girls and Hadiza makes some seriously juvenile remarks about how the station is going to shit because she didn’t get chosen. I am almost convinced at this point that none of the writers of the show understands what it means to write a professional character, because bickering openly in front your boss and colleagues at an office retreat? Seriously?
Tiwa goes to Mide’s office immediately after the announcement to ‘gist’ with Mide. He tells her he gave her the job because she is great at managing people, and not because he has a big lesbian crush on her. The same Tiwa is constantly bickering with work colleagues and forming cliques. Totally ignore the bottle of champagne and box of cake he bought for her but didn’t buy for Didiquisha when she got her promotion, this is very totally acceptable professional behaviour.
Tiwa gets home to see Shalewa and Mama Shalewa have made up.
Seriously, for the love of God, who is the person at Ndani TV that keeps writing ‘What is good about the morning/evening/news?’ as dialogue. Why does he/she still have a job? Why?
Tiwa announces her promotion and Mama Shalewa jumps to advise her downplay her achievements because men get ‘intimidated’ by successful women. The whole back and forth is supposed to be funny but it just comes across as tired.
Shalewa is more interested in practical things like celebratory champagne. Mama Shalewa uses the opportunity to tell us the only bottle they have at home, they’re saving for Tiwa’s wedding. This confuses me, because she has two daughters. Are they going to drink half for Tiwa’s wedding and save the remaining half for Shalewa’s? Is anyone on this show bothered with making sense?
The doorbell rings, and who else is at the door? WHO ELSE?
Mide’s come like a knight in shining armour with the forgotten bottle of Champagne and her cake. Problem is, this happened.
So the only way Mide would know that Tiwa forgot her cake and champagne is if he went to her cubicle after she’d left and gone through her things. So Mide is either a creep or the continuity people are just collecting salary to flex and have their name in the closing credits.
Tiwa invites Mide what quickly becomes an excuse to further suggest to us that Mide is suddenly crushing super hard on Tiwa. Mama Shalewa even offers to give him her number so she can ‘discipline’ Tiwa for him when she is stubborn. They’re basically stuffing this relationship down our throats.
Also why does Wosilat their maid have a waffi accent?
The next day is Shalewa’s first day at work, and just she’s about to leave, Mama Shalewa surprises us with the Cherubim and Seraphim pastor character that they drag on to the show every now and then when they’re running low on jokes. The entire scene is a drag, not to mention insulting to people who actually worship at C&S churches. A few seconds of this could have sufficed but nah…
Tiwa gets to work, and she’s on air and on the Gist with Tiwa, she’s talking about dating someone in your office *hint, hint*.
After her show Didiquisha comes to the studio, and comes to talk about going on a date with ‘Obinna’, whoever that is. So finally, in the ninth episode the writers finally decide to plunge head first into giving Didiquisha a back story. At this point an episode before the finale, I can’t even begin to start to care about Diquisha having a private life.
Mide keeps calling, so Tiwa goes to his office to meet him, thinking he wants her to discuss programming schedules. And finally, after weeks of speculation, the show’s writers pull out the twist to end all twists. Mide asks her out on a date.
We’re supposed to believe that Tiwa is surprised by this. She give this whole spiel about how they are both fresh out of relationships and Mide says he was listening to her show (really) and took it as a sign. Mide is understandably disappointed by all of this, and as soon as it was polite, Tiwa scrams.
Talk about a cliff hanger.
So Skinny Girl in Transit is ending in the next episode and all we have are loose ends, shoddy continuity and a show that has gone from a witty, introspective look at one woman’s plus-size struggles, to the curious case of the never ending Manhunt. How did we let this happen?
They have the finale, one last chance to redeem this season of #SGIT. Don’t get your hopes up sha.
Semira Bello is lacking in conscience and lives her life on Youtube. When she isn’t watching Iroko TV, she is writing ‘serious’ articles about fashion and pretending to apply make up.
Comments
This round-up is my favourite part of SGIT. I gave up on the show after S02E03 but I keep watching because of this.
Please let’s know what show you will be reviewing next. I have some ideas.