Redemption, Part 1

Summary | Analysis | Notes | Characters | Questions | Production | Review

Tragedy reunites Teal'c with his son, who blames him for the death of his mother. O'Neill and Carter launch a risky plan with untested technology when Earth comes under attack by the Goa'uld.

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EPISODE #601
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 06.07.2002
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 09.22.2003
DVD DISC: Season 6, Disc 1
WRITTEN BY: Robert C. Cooper
DIRECTED BY: Martin Wood
GUEST STARS: Tony Amendola (Bra'tac), Christopher Kennedy (Dr. Larry Murphy), David Hewlett (Dr. McKay), Garry Chalk (Colonel Chekov), Neil Denis (Rya'c), Gary Jones (Technician), Tobias Mehler (Lt. Simmons), David Palffy (Anubis), Aleks Paunovic (Shaq'rel), Ivan Cermak (Hagman), Craig McNair (Technician), Carrie Richie (Technician), Dan Shea (Sgt. Siler), Michael Soltis (Medic)
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Three months after his arrival on the planet Earth, Jonas Quinn remains patient – though he is growing restless. He's been confined to the S.G.C., and has spent his time studying (and memorizing) nearly all of Dr. Daniel Jackson's library, becoming versed in everything from ancient Earth cultures to the Goa'uld.

In fact, he's taken up Daniel's quest to fight the evil Goa'uld and free the galaxy from enslavement. He does so not only for the protection of his own world, Kelowna, but because he feels the need to atone for what happened to Jackson ("Meridian").

Though Teal'c sympathizes with his fellow alien, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter don't want Jonas on SG-1. O'Neill even argues that his team doesn't need a replacement – but General Hammond believes that Dr. Jackson provided a unique perspective that they should try to replace. So far, nine potential replacements have failed to meet the demands of the base's flagship unit.

Teal'c's mentor Bra'tac arrives through the Stargate, bringing word that Teal'c's wife Drey'auc is near death. She has refused to take a new larval Goa'uld symbiote, and now has no functioning immune system. Teal'c and Bra'tac rush to the Jaffa rebel camp on another planet.

Soon after he leaves, the base Stargate receives an incoming wormhole – but no one comes through. Inexplicably, the wormhole does not terminate ... and even passes the 38 minute maximum limit that a wormhole can be maintained. Carter soon discovers the cause: Earth is under attack. Someone is sending small amounts of radiation through the gate, which is collecting within the device's power reserves.

Within a few days, the gate will explode with enough destructive power to wipe out Colorado. The resulting fall-out will destroy all life on Earth.

With no way to escape through the gate or contact their advanced allies, the S.G.C. can find only one solution. SG-1 and Jonas Quinn visit the Area 51 research facility in Nevada, where the X-302 has recently been completed and is nearly ready for test flights. The advanced ship is the first human-made ship capable of interstellar space travel, with many of its systems developed by retro-engineering Goa'uld technology. The ship uses the powerful element naquadria – which Jonas delivered to Earth when he defected – to create a hyperspace window.

The ship will be Earth's last chance for survival. O'Neill and Carter must pilot the craft and successfully enter hyperspace, where they'll head for Abydos – the closest planet with a Stargate. From there, they can contact the powerful Asgard and ask for help.

The X-302 is a success, up until Carter and O'Neill attempt to enter hyperspace. The hyperspace window is unstable, and the ship automatically aborts. The mission is a failure.

Meanwhile, Teal'c arrives to learn that Drey'auc is dead. His son Rya'c, now a young man, blames his father for her death and attacks him. He tells Teal'c that he has given false hope to countless Jaffa – that the Goa'uld cannot be defeated. Teal'c takes a beating from his son, refusing to fight back. Bra'tac stops Rya'c, telling him that the fight against the Goa'uld is a just one, regardless of whether or not it is winnable.

As Teal'c mourns the passing of his wife, he is able to reconcile with Rya'c. Since being brainwashed by Apophis more than three years ago ("Family"), the boy has believed that his mind was weak – and so was he. Teal'c tells him of his own brainwashing at the hands of Apophis ("Enemies"), and that he has never lost his trust in his son.

A fellow Jaffa and friend of Teal'c arrives with news of the attack on Earth. It is the powerful Goa'uld System Lord Anubis, who has a device that can use one Stargate to destroy another. The Jaffa prepare to go into battle to save Earth, if Bra'tac can discern the origin of Anubis' attack.

As the S.G.C. is left with zero options, Anubis appears before them using Asgard holographic technology – stolen from the mind of Thor ("Revelations"). Earth, he tells them, is about to meet its final doom.

ANALYSIS

  • Sergeant Davis (Harriman) can be seen using the palm scanner device to open the iris upon SG-1's return. The device was installed back in Season Two's "Show and Tell," so that enemies (such as the invisible Re'tu, in that case) cannot operate the iris to escape or allow hostiles through.
  • It's been three months since Daniel Jackson left the S.G.C. ("Meridian"), and SG-1 has gone through nine failed candidates for his replacement – one of whom (Captain Matheson) lasted only two hours with the unit. The ninth and latest failure is Captain Hagman. Presumably, all or most of the candidates have been military personnel, though Jackson was a civilian scientist.
  • Jonas Quinn did indeed remain on Earth after stealing naquadria from his home planet of Kelowna and defecting. He has been confined to the base the entire time, and has spent his time reading and committing to memory nearly all of Dr. Jackson's library – presumably, many volumes on Earth languages and ancient cultures, as well as Jackson's own personal work. Quinn possesses what is essentially a highly advanced photographic memory.
  • Area 51 in Nevada has finished construction on the X-302, under the leadership of Dr. Larry Murphy. The X-301 was a retro-fitted Goa'uld death glider stolen from Apophis ("The Serpent's Lair"), which included a hidden recall device that sent Teal'c and O'Neill hurtling out into deep space ("Tangent"). But the X-302 was not built from the second death glider that SG-1 stole; it is entirely human-built, though many of its systems are the result of backwards-engineering Goa'uld technology.

    Earth scientists have had opportunities to study several different Goa'uld ships over the last five years, including the two gliders, a cargo ship ("Fail Safe"), and a Ha'tak-class mothership ("Exodus"). That's probably how they were able to develop a hyperspace engine for the X-302 – as Goa'uld death gliders have no such capabilities.

    The ship has four sets of engines: air-breathing jets, modified aerospikes for high altitude, a rocket booster for space travel, and a hyperspace window generator. It is also equipped with inertial dampeners, making its mass negligible.
  • It's probable that the X-302 has been in development since SG-1 obtained two Goa'uld death gliders ("The Serpent's Lair"), if not longer. As it took two and a half years to retro-engineer the X-301, it seems unlikely that the X-302 could have been built in just the year and a half since the loss of its predecessor.
  • The X-302 is the first human-built craft that is potentially capable of interstellar travel – though the first test of its hyperspace engines was a failure. Using the extremely powerful element naquadria, the engine is able to create a hyperspace window and lock on to a destination. Because of this, Carter believes that it may be the most important break-through for Earth since the discovery of the Stargate.
  • The X-302's hyperspace generator uses the same 7-symbol-based coordinate system employed by the Stargates. Was this developed by Earth, or is it also used by other hyperspace-traveling peoples? Was hyperspace pioneered by the Ancients, who built the gates? Is there a logical network to hyperspace that is similar to Stargates?
  • In Daniel Jackson's absence, the Russians have been petitioning to have one of their officers join SG-1 as its fourth member. Hammond and O'Neill both flatly refused, though their position has become more difficult now that Russian Colonel Chekov has discovered the existence of the X-302 – built with technology obtained through gate travel.

    From whom did Chekov learn about the top-secret project? Did Jonas not realize the sensitive nature of the U.S. government's relationship with Russia, and spill the beans? Or do the Russians have friendly contacts elsewhere in the government – perhaps in the N.I.D., which oversees Area 51 ("Touchstone")?
  • Bra'tac has been looking after Teal'c's wife and son since they were exiled by Apophis ("Bloodlines"). When last we saw Drey'auc and Rya'c, though, they had gone to live in the Land of Light ("The Broca Divide," "Family"). On what world was the Jaffa camp located, and when did they move there? They probably didn't stay in the Land of Light very long, as Carter tells Jonas that Drey'auc wanted to stay with her own people.
  • Rebel Jaffa who oppose the Goa'uld are being relocated to an off-world base created by the Tau'ri (humans of Earth) – likely including the group of Jaffa who once followed Kytano ("The Warrior"). The Jaffa in the camp where Rya'c and Drey'auc were living are apparently also rebels, but not the same group.
  • In order to keep a wormhole open, you have to send something through – even just a radio signal will maintain the connection between two gates (or, in this case, minute radiation). This finally explains much of the show's history in how it depicts gate travel, and why the gate sometimes shuts off immediately and sometimes stays open for several minutes.

    All has not been answered, though; there are numerous examples from the last five years of the gate staying open long periods of time without anything passing through the wormhole. Carter states, however, that the Stargate does keep an outgoing wormhole established for a set period of time, regardless of whether or not it is in use, before checking to see if there is matter in transit.
  • Priestesses are not the only female Jaffa who carry larval Goa'uld symbiotes. Until now (where we learn that Drey'auc died because she refused to take a new symbiote after hers had matured), the only female Jaffa we have seen with a symbiote was the priestess Shau'nac ("Crossroads"). This makes sense, as the Goa'uld use the larval symbiotes to enslave the entire Jaffa adult population – not just the men. If that were the case, it would be odd that so many normal, human women remained in slavery to the Goa'uld.
  • The rebellion begun by Bra'tac and Teal'c ("Into the Fire," "The Warrior") has brought about many changes. Foremost, the Goa'uld no longer trust the Jaffa priest class with immature symbiotes – so there are no loose symbiotes for rebel Jaffa to steal in order to survive (as SG-1 did in Season One's "Bloodlines"). The Goa'uld apparently keep the larval symbiotes until a loyal Jaffa requires a new one, keeping a much tighter reign on their slave population.

    Could this have something to do with the Goa'uld's zero population growth ("Last Stand")? Perhaps they are not doing such a good job of keeping their own young alive and well, without help from the established mechanisms of the Jaffa priesthood. Or, perhaps the larval Goa'uld are being subject to the same cannibalistic practices witnessed by Dr. Jackson (in that case, with mature symbiotes).
  • Lieutenant Graham Simmons is back, likely transferred back to the S.G.C. after a few years at another post. Simmons is a young S.G.C. technician who appeared throughout Season Two (and whose crush on Samantha Carter was revealed in "Message In a Bottle").
  • Dr. McKay has also returned to the S.G.C., to try and help find a way to stop Anubis' attack. The Air Force sent him to Russia to help them develop naquadah generator technology several months ago ("48 Hours"), but apparently released him from his obligations because of the threat of planetary destruction.
  • Anubis' weapon sends a stream of energy through one Stargate to another, forcing the wormhole to stay open for several hours – even days – and slowly building up a charge in the receiving gate. Eventually, the receiving gate will max out on the amount of energy it can store, and will explode. As the gate is made of naquadah, any such explosion would be enormously destructive.

    But the S.G.C.'s iris is likely slowing the energy transfer significantly, giving them more time to try and avoid the disaster.
  • Where did this technology come from, and what is its purpose? Has Anubis stumbled on a device created by the Ancients themselves? He has quickly gained a great amount of power with his advanced technology, previously unseen by the Tollan ("Between Two Fires"), the System Lords ("Summit") – even the Asgard ("Revelations").

    The device's primary function may even have been benign: it could have been created by the Ancients (the builders of the Stargates) in order to keep a wormhole active for much longer than 38 minutes. Planets could be more quickly evacuated, and enemies could be prevented from dialing in for a much longer period of time – the practical applications are many, so long as one does not leave the wormhole connected to the same gate for a long period of time. (It's not clear, though, whether or not the device allows anything else – such as a traveler – to come through the gate during the energy transfer.)
  • Sergeant Siler points out to a fellow worker that Earth can't dial out from the Russian Stargate (in order to contact our allies) while there's already an active wormhole established to Earth. Though there are two gates on the planet, only one may be active at a time. (This reinforces what has previously been implied in such episodes as "Touchstone" and "Watergate.")
  • Anubis has blatantly violated the Protected Planets Treaty – the Goa'uld System Lords' agreement with the Asgard ("Fair Game"). Anubis promised the other System Lords (via Osiris) that his last act before officially joining their ranks would be to attack Earth. Though SG-1 has suspected covert Goa'uld attacks in the past ("Fail Safe"), this is undeniable proof – allowing the Asgard to intervene on their behalf.

    Unfortunately, the Asgard are bluffing the Goa'uld. They are at war with the Replicators, though they are finally gaining the upper-hand ("Revelations"). And while they are technologically superior to the System Lords, Anubis' new technology has allowed him to withstand an Asgard attack once before – and to destroy an Asgard battleship ("Revelations").

    The end of the Protected Planets Treaty, should the Asgard recognize the violation and fail to mediate for peace, has profound implications for many worlds. SG-1 has encountered a number of other Asgard-protected planets, including Cimmeria ("Thor's Hammer," "Thor's Chariot") and K'Tau ("Red Sky"). It remains to be seen whether or not the Asgard will do anything about the violation – or if the System Lords will deny any knowledge of Anubis' actions.
  • Though his advanced technology has quickly made him one of the most powerful Goa'uld in the galaxy and restored him to the level of System Lord, Anubis still controls only a handful of planets, according to Bra'tac. It seems rather out of character for the Goa'uld that he has spent his time and resources eliminating the Goa'uld's shared enemies (the Tollan in "Between Two Fires," the Tok'ra in "Summit," the Asgard in "Revelations," and now Earth) rather than expanding his territory – though he has been attacking the other System Lords to some degree ("Summit").
  • The X-302 failed to get a lock on its destination through the hyperspace window because the window was unstable. The ship failed to compensate for the energy flux (which is it apparently designed to do), and auto-aborted at the last second. This is one of the ship's safety protocols (of which it has over 100).
  • Anubis has revealed his face to Earth, showing them that his host body is not human.
  • Anubis successfully downloaded some of Thor's knowledge, and has put at least one piece of acquired Asgard technology to work: the holographic generator. Anubis was able to use it to transmit a holographic image through the gate and in front of the iris. Though much more sophisticated, it is similar to how Sokar use the radiation generated by a particle accelerator aimed through the gate to project an image on the face of the iris ("Serpent's Song").

NOTES

  • SG teams can signify a code red (and possibly other special codes) when they're under fire when transmitting their I.D.C. code back to Earth, before coming through the Stargate. This allows the S.G.C. to protect itself from fire through gate, and to be immediately prepared to close the iris when the team arrives.
  • P2X-374 has been classified unfriendly. Its population (at least the one that lives near the gate) is technologically primitive, currently using spears as weapons.
  • Goa'uld death gliders are incapable of entering hyperspace, because they are too small to carry the Goa'uld version of the hyperspace engine. (Earth's is much more compact in size because it uses naquadria.)
  • Naquadria is highly unstable, and becomes increasingly more unstable as one tries to draw more energy out of it; its instability increases exponentially.
  • While there is an incoming wormhole, the power retained by the Stargate's capacitors fluctuates by about 0.1 percent.
  • Colonel O'Neill's knee injury in this episode was due to actor Richard Dean Anderson's real-life injury. Anderson hurt his knee when he slipped while carrying his 3-year-old daughter just a few days before production on Season Six commenced.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

  • Teal'cTeal'c - Teal's wife Drey'auc has died, after refusing to take a new larval symbiote. Even as he mourned for her, he had to face his son – who has grown into a young man – who blamed him for her death. Teal'c endured physical abuse at Rya'c's hands and refused to fight him, because he blamed himself. Rya'c accused Teal'c of giving false hope to countless Jaffa, who will follow him to their death, because the Goa'uld cannot be defeated.

    But with help from Master Bra'tac, Teal'c and Rya'c were reconciled. Teal'c told his son that he has never lost his trust in him, and that he too fell victim to Apophis' mind control.

    As a child, Teal'c was consumed with fear after the murder of his father at the hands of the System Lord Cronus. Only his desire for vengeance, according to Bra'tac, gave him strength. It seems that Bra'tac has known Teal'c since the latter was a child – probably since he and his mother fled to Chulak ("Fair Game").

    Teal'c seems to have taken a liking to Jonas Quinn, and advocated his being allowed to join SG-1.
  • Jonas QuinnJonas Quinn - Quinn has been on Earth for three months, and has memorized nearly all of Daniel Jackson's library. (He has the ability to learn much quicker than other humans.) As he has learned more about the Goa'uld and Daniel's quest to fight them, and as he's reflected on Dr. Jackson's fate, Jonas has decided that he wants to join SG-1 and continue Daniel's work (and to see the universe, and protect his own world from the Goa'uld). He apparently feels somewhat responsible for what happened to Daniel, and wants to make up for what happened.

    While Carter and O'Neill are both opposed to Jonas replacing Daniel, Teal'c spoke to Jack on his behalf.
  • Jack O'NeillJack O'Neill - O'Neill strongly opposes adding a Russian to SG-1 – or Jonas Quinn, for that matter. After nine failed attempts at replacing Daniel, he's posed the question of whether the team even needs a fourth member. He believes – or at least claims to believe – that he, Carter and Teal'c can handle things.

    O'Neill admits that he learned to trust Teal'c, who is also alien to Earth (like Jonas). But he's reluctant to give Quinn an opportunity to try out; he may hold him partly responsible for Daniel's fate.
  • Rya'cRya'c - Rya'c and his mother have moved to a camp of Jaffa rebels at some point during the past three and a half years. He has now lost his mother, and blamed his father for her death – and for the sad situation in which many Jaffa find themselves. He claimed to believe that the Goa'uld could not be defeated, and that the rebellion that his father has helped to incite cannot prevail. He took his anger out on Teal'c, even challenging him to a fight and physically attacking him.

    In truth, Rya'c has doubted himself for these past years. Ever since Apophis brainwashed him ("Family"), Rya'c has believed that his mind is weak. But Teal'c has told him that he has never lost trust in him, and that he himself fell victim to Apophis' mind-control ("Enemies"). Rya'c has been reconciled to his father.
  • Bra'tacBra'tac - Mediating between Teal'c and Rya'c in the wake of Drey'auc's death, Bra'tac showed his commitment both to their family and to the Jaffa cause. The fight against the Goa'uld is still worth doing, he tells Rya'c, worth dying for – even if it is unwinnable. And all Jaffa must care more for their cause than for their own families if they are to ever taste freedom.

    After many years in the service of the Goa'uld, Bra'tac has the gate addresses for many different worlds memorized. He also apparently stays abreast of Goa'uld politics, knowing several of the worlds that Anubis currently controls.

    Bra'tac has apparently known Teal'c since he was a child.
  • Drey'aucDrey'auc - Drey'auc finally came to believe in Teal'c's cause, and that the Goa'uld are false gods who have enslaved the Jaffa – a marked change from her previous beliefs ("Bloodlines," "Threshold"). When her larval symbiote had matured, she refused to take another; the Goa'uld no longer trust the Jaffa priesthood with symbiotes, and she would not take the life of another Jaffa to save her own by taking his or her symbiote – even one who still worships the false gods.

    With no immune system, Drey'auc died, leaving Rya'c in Bra'tac's care.
  • AnubisAnubis - Anubis has outwardly attacked Earth, using advanced technology to use one Stargate to turn Earth's gate into a doomsday bomb. This is a bold act of defiance of the Asgard Protected Planet's Treaty, and could bring the wrath of the Asgard down on the Goa'uld – though Anubis has proved his ability to defeat them ("Revelations").

    He also revealed his face to the S.G.C., allowing them to see that his host body is not human, but a mysterious species they have never before encountered.
  • Samantha CarterSamantha Carter - Carter was not only faced with her complete helplessness in the face of Anubis' weapon (which uses the Stargate itself – the thing on which she is suppose to be the world's foremost expert), but also had to deal with the return of Dr. McKay. McKay is also a brilliant astrophysicist and Stargate expert, and believes that she flies by the seat of her pants in dealing with the fate of the world. (He's also a personal irritant, and a bit of a sexist.)

    Carter doesn't want Jonas to be considered for SG-1, and makes it a point to tell him that she only invited him to see the X-302 (and only gave him the research and technical schematics on it) because General Hammond ordered her to.
  • ChekovChekov - The Russian Colonel has officially been appointed as his government's envoy to the S.G.C. Following the departure of Daniel Jackson, Chekov is petitioning Hammond and O'Neill to allow a Russian officer to join SG-1. He has also learned about the existence of the X-302 (though his source remains a mystery), and is furious that the United States has again withheld valuable technology obtained through gate travel.
  • Rodney McKayRodney McKay - With the fate of the planet hanging in the balance, the U.S. Air Force brought Dr. McKay back to the S.G.C. from Russia, where he was helping them to develop naquadah reactor technology. His personality has clashed with Major Carter's once again, though he's just as concerned with solving the Stargate problem – unlike at their previous meeting ("48 Hours").
  • George HammondGeorge Hammond - Hammond has struggled with O'Neill's failure to find a suitable replacement for Dr. Jackson over the past three months; but he believes that Daniel offered a viewpoint to the S.G.C. that was very beneficial, and which they should attempt to replace. Now, Hammond must deal with Colonel Chekov, newly appointed to be the Russian envoy to the S.G.C., who is demanding that a Russian officer be assigned to SG-1.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

  • Teal'c petitions Colonel O'Neill on Jonas behalf. Did Jonas succeed in knocking Teal'c down while they were sparring, or is Teal'c just a nice guy?
  • How did Colonel Chekov learn about the X-302?
  • Who will replace Dr. Jackson as SG-1's new team member?
  • How is Anubis keeping a wormhole active for so long? Where did he acquire this advanced technology?
  • What will become of the Protected Planets Treaty? Will the Asgard deem it null and void? Will the System Lords?
  • How involved has Carter been in the design and development of the X-302? For how long has it been in development?
  • Can Bra'tac determine the origin of Anubis's attack?
  • Can a way be found to stop Anubis' attack? Will the Stargate be destroyed?
  • What species is Anubis's host?
  • What else did Anubis successfully extract from Thor's mind?

PRODUCTION NOTES

  • The role of Teal'c's Jaffa friend, Shaq'rel, was originally offered to Andromeda actor Keith Hamilton Cobb ("Tyr Anasazi"). He turned it down.
  • "We start the season with a bang. Rob Cooper is working on a big two-parter. ... The big two-parter focuses on an insidious plot with global consequences. We'll be unveiling the first of many surprises in this episode – as our main baddie steps to the fore." (Writer / producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a chat with the Sam/Jack Horsewomen)
  • "The first two episodes are a two-parter entitled 'Redemption,' written by Robert C. Cooper. Those of you concerned that there is less money to go around this year and that the show will pale in comparison should have your minds put at ease with this two-parter, in a big way.

    "Redemption will see Anubis raising the stakes in a big way – and also see the return of a certain guest character from mid-Season Five. As for Anubis, we'll be peeling the layers on that onion but for those of you who haven't seen 'Revelations,' well, he's not your typical Goa'uld. And wait until you find out why." (Writer / producer Joseph Mallozzi, in an online chat at SG1 Fans)
  • "The Protected Planets Treaty is out the window after the events of late Season Five and early Season Six." (Writer / producer Joseph Mallozzi, in an online chat at Our Stargate)
  • "Appropriately enough, Dr. Rodney McKay makes a return visit to the S.G.C. and takes another giant step toward redemption – a process that would be completed by the time he assumed a lead position in the Atlantis expedition. This episode was also notable for the introduction of the Jaffa Shaq'rel, an otherwise inconsequential but for the fact that the part was initially written for a certain NBA star who, according to Chris Judge at the time, was interested in doing the show. Well, that never worked for whatever reason and while I won't reveal the name of the basketball player, it really shouldn't be that hard to figure out." (Writer / producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)