River Song – and will she be coming back?silverducksMay 21 2013, 22:54:38 UTC
So, I thought it would be easier to have this as a separate post, as I’ve got lots to say!
Ok, firstly, I’ll admit River hasn’t always been a favourite character. She definitely grew on me. I really liked her when we first saw her in the library, and I was sad that she died the way she did. It was very tragic and I was happy the Doctor managed to save her in the database.
But, well, I also remember starting to fear they were going to go for a Doctor/River romance, and I just don’t like Doctor/romance at all. So I do think that clouded my judgement of her character a bit.
Saying that, I liked her a lot in series 5. I did wonder how on earth she could come back, but their opposite direction timeline thing makes a lot of sense, and it worked. And whilst I did like her and the Doctor’s flirty, kinda already married relationship, I was still a little dubious because I didn’t want the Doctor to have a love story.
In the beginning of series 6, she started to get a little on my nerves. I still liked her, but she was just that tad annoying. And the reasons were two-fold. I didn’t like the developing romance between her and the Doctor, or her being all lovesick over him at times. IDK - I guess I just didn’t get why. And then, she was just getting to be a little bit too much of a know it all. She seemed to know even more than the Doctor and, again, I just didn’t understand why.
Of course, the turning point was AGMGTW. When we find out who she really is - not only Amy and Rory’s daughter, but part Time Lord. Well, it all made sense then, why she knew so much, could do so much and why she had this strange timeline. And then I found myself beginning to actually like her a lot. And after LKH, she became my 3rd favourite companion - especially considering she set up Amy and Rory! ;-)
And as shallow as it is, the fact that she is actually a Pond makes me like her even more - they have one fun family dynamic and her awesomeness makes much more sense. ;-)
And as for the River/Doctor romance… Well, I think I'll leave that for another comment (I have lots of thoughts about it all!), but let’s just say knowing River was part Time Lord and understanding more about her past makes me much more inclined to ship them. I think they’ve become equals now, and very well matched.
Anyway, yeah, I really like her as a character now - second only to Amy and Rory.
As for whether she’ll come back. I’m really not sure. I think this finale felt very much like a goodbye. It was epic and bittersweet and felt very final. And they did choose to use library River and give her closure with the Doctor, so it felt like it was kinda the end of her old timeline/story.
BUT there are still so many holes in her story we just don’t know about. I mean, what happened after she was taken as a baby? After she regenerated in New York? How did she end up in Ludworth as Amy’s best friend? How did she end up becoming an assassin, sent to kill the doctor? What happened between Amy and Rory leaving, and the library? And just how did she get his screwdriver and find out his real name!
I don’t think Moffat is the sort of writer who would just forget about all these old gaps/questions. So I think either he is just leaving them to remain a mystery, or he is going to address them later. Which means River would have to come back.
And things were left open - they could not only bring River back from her past, but also find a way to bring her back from the library. I mean, I do think it was interesting, thinking about it, that they did “save” River in that episode, so long ago… And tbh, Moffat doesn’t strike me as the sort of writer who would leave things open, just in case. I think he'd already have it all planned out, so would know.
And I hope he does, and I hope it’s with Eleven. I can’t see their dynamic working as well with another actor - at least not without a lead in.
And I think Alex Kingston would be more than happy to come back and reprise her role.
And I also think Moffat has put a lot of time and effort into River’s character - it’s spanned quite a few series and created lots of major story threads. Would he be so willing to finally put her to rest?
Ok, firstly, I’ll admit River hasn’t always been a favourite character. She definitely grew on me. I really liked her when we first saw her in the library, and I was sad that she died the way she did. It was very tragic and I was happy the Doctor managed to save her in the database.
But, well, I also remember starting to fear they were going to go for a Doctor/River romance, and I just don’t like Doctor/romance at all. So I do think that clouded my judgement of her character a bit.
Saying that, I liked her a lot in series 5. I did wonder how on earth she could come back, but their opposite direction timeline thing makes a lot of sense, and it worked. And whilst I did like her and the Doctor’s flirty, kinda already married relationship, I was still a little dubious because I didn’t want the Doctor to have a love story.
In the beginning of series 6, she started to get a little on my nerves. I still liked her, but she was just that tad annoying. And the reasons were two-fold. I didn’t like the developing romance between her and the Doctor, or her being all lovesick over him at times. IDK - I guess I just didn’t get why. And then, she was just getting to be a little bit too much of a know it all. She seemed to know even more than the Doctor and, again, I just didn’t understand why.
Of course, the turning point was AGMGTW. When we find out who she really is - not only Amy and Rory’s daughter, but part Time Lord. Well, it all made sense then, why she knew so much, could do so much and why she had this strange timeline. And then I found myself beginning to actually like her a lot. And after LKH, she became my 3rd favourite companion - especially considering she set up Amy and Rory! ;-)
And as shallow as it is, the fact that she is actually a Pond makes me like her even more - they have one fun family dynamic and her awesomeness makes much more sense. ;-)
And as for the River/Doctor romance… Well, I think I'll leave that for another comment (I have lots of thoughts about it all!), but let’s just say knowing River was part Time Lord and understanding more about her past makes me much more inclined to ship them. I think they’ve become equals now, and very well matched.
Anyway, yeah, I really like her as a character now - second only to Amy and Rory.
As for whether she’ll come back. I’m really not sure. I think this finale felt very much like a goodbye. It was epic and bittersweet and felt very final. And they did choose to use library River and give her closure with the Doctor, so it felt like it was kinda the end of her old timeline/story.
BUT there are still so many holes in her story we just don’t know about. I mean, what happened after she was taken as a baby? After she regenerated in New York? How did she end up in Ludworth as Amy’s best friend? How did she end up becoming an assassin, sent to kill the doctor? What happened between Amy and Rory leaving, and the library? And just how did she get his screwdriver and find out his real name!
I don’t think Moffat is the sort of writer who would just forget about all these old gaps/questions. So I think either he is just leaving them to remain a mystery, or he is going to address them later. Which means River would have to come back.
And things were left open - they could not only bring River back from her past, but also find a way to bring her back from the library. I mean, I do think it was interesting, thinking about it, that they did “save” River in that episode, so long ago… And tbh, Moffat doesn’t strike me as the sort of writer who would leave things open, just in case. I think he'd already have it all planned out, so would know.
And I hope he does, and I hope it’s with Eleven. I can’t see their dynamic working as well with another actor - at least not without a lead in.
And I think Alex Kingston would be more than happy to come back and reprise her role.
And I also think Moffat has put a lot of time and effort into River’s character - it’s spanned quite a few series and created lots of major story threads. Would he be so willing to finally put her to rest?
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