Moore’s reimagining of the 1978 sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica premiered in 2003 and became one of the defining works to tackle the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. The series kicked off with a miniseries where the android Cylons launched a surprise nuclear strike on Earth. Its flawless first episode, “33,” replicated the impromptu memorial and missing-person walls that appeared near Ground Zero.
But rather than treat humanity purely as victims of Cylon aggression, the show’s writers explored the excesses of the War on Terror. The U.S. invasion of Iraq loomed large when the season 3 premiere, “Occupation,” first aired on Oct. 6, 2006. Twenty years later, the episode still feels depressingly topical.
Written by Moore, “Occupation” picks up four months after the devastating season 2 finale when the Cylons invaded New Caprica, the planet where the last surviving humans had hoped to find a fresh start. It’s an extremely dark episode as the show’s heroes try to organize a resistance that seems futile given that Cylons can resurrect themselves. Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, who had previously worked with Steven Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List, directs the Emmy-nominated episode, which was inspired by both the Iraq War and World War II.
The time jump was far more effective than the notorious “year in Baltar’s hair” in the season 2 finale, where the newly elected President Gaius Baltar (James Callis) leaned back for a moment to mark the passage of a full year on New Caprica. The season break made the transition in "Occupation" feel more organic, helped by the fact that the roles most of the characters are playing in the new world order feel so natural. Taking inspiration from both Iraq and Vichy France allowed Moore to unleash endless horrors on the people of New Caprica, while also making the conflicts there feel timeless.
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) seamlessly transitioned from rabble-rousing labor leader to resistance leader. The grizzled Colonel Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) is imprisoned where he’s being physically and psychologically tortured by the Cylon Number One (Dean Stockwell). The brash fighter pilot Kara Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) is held hostage by the Cylon Number Two (Callum Keith Rennie) who is convinced he can make her fall in love with him.
The episode is filled with absolutely brutal moments showing characters who have been pushed beyond their breaking points. Kara has taken to killing her captor over and over again, even though he taunts her with “I’ll see you soon” as he dies and announces his resurrection with a “Honey, I’m home.” Tigh had his eye removed in captivity and bluntly says it looking like a hard-boiled egg as he sips moonshine with his resistance compatriots. It’s clear the scars his captivity caused go far deeper than his flesh as he urges an especially ruthless plan to stage a bombing he hopes will kill Baltar.
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