"Redemption" is the first episode where actor Corin Nemec had main cast status, his character Jonas Quinn replacing Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks) who died at the end of season 5.
[1] Major Carter invites Jonas Quinn, who left his home planet and has been living at Stargate Command (SGC) since Daniel Jackson's death ("Meridian"), to leave the base with SG-1.
As O'Neill and Carter start with X-302, Jonas and McKay inform Hammond of potential problems with the X-302's hyperspace engine due to the instability of the naqahdriah.
[5] Some casting people from the SciFi Channel, who were looking to fill the void with a new character, happened to walk through the courtyard of MGM's Santa Monica offices where Corin Nemec was that day.
[6] Although "there's been quite a bit of ire directed by fans towards Daniel's replacement" after the airing of "Meridian", Robert C. Cooper hoped that they would like the character in the end.
[6] Writer Robert C. Cooper also felt it was important to acknowledge and not "trivialize what the [Daniel Jackson] character meant to the team and to the show for five seasons".
[7] According to producer Joseph Mallozzi before the airing of season 6, "Jonas will bring a unique alien perspective and ability to the team.
"[8] Producer Brad Wright said that "What Corin, as Jonas, will bring to the show is a renewed sense of amazement at the fact that we're crossing the galaxy in a single step [through a stargate].
[10] However, according to Richard Dean Anderson, "O'Neill feels that Jonas is directly responsible for the demise or at least the damaging of Daniel Jackson.
[15] Jan Vincent-Rudzki for TV Zone praised the episode for its humour, style and "ability to surprise, treating the audience as intelligent".
[16] Chris Wyatt for Cinescape magazine also positively received the episode, writing "solid ensemble character work and an interesting premise prove that there will be life after Daniel Jackson".
Wyatt did however question why they chose to begin the season and change from Showtime to Sci Fi with an episode "deeply mired in mythology" and was also critical of what he called "seemingly endless scenes of spoken exposition".
[17] Brian Ford Sullivan for The Futon Critic believed "the show has never looked and or played better", going on to highlight the episodes "exciting battles and a surprisingly easily accessible storyline".
[18] Kathie Huddleston for Science Fiction Weekly felt Nemec's Quinn was reminiscent of Daniel Jackson from early episodes of the series although believed he was "less of a nerd, but just as curious, intelligent and gentle of spirit".
Huddleston awarded the episode a B grade but believed the writers needed to focus "more on the exploration of other planets and less on trying to figure out unique ways to endanger the human race".
[19] KJB for IGN was less positive, calling Stargate SG-1 at its best "a standard action adventure hour with some interesting characters" and at its worst "a cheap excuse for tired old science fiction cliche's", believing "Redemption" "falls somewhere in between".
[20] Mark A. Perigard was similarly negative in his review in The Boston Herald, believing the series had "run out of stories to tell" and accused Anderson "just collecting a paycheck".
[23] At the beginning of season 6, producer Joseph Mallozzi admitted to still getting the "odd incoherent rambling death threat passed along to me from the [Save Daniel Jackson] site.
"[8] The work of James Tichenor, Simon Ager, Michelle Comens, Adam de Bosch Kemper, Deborah Dunphy, Shannon Gurney, Krista McLean, Matthew Talbot-Kelly, Craig Van Den Biggelaar and Bruce Woloshyn on the episode earned them a nomination for "Best Visual Effects" at the 19th Gemini Awards, with Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion ultimately winning the award.