A River Runs Through It, Pt 4: Contradictions and Unanswered Questions
Love her or loathe her, but never say for one minute that River Song is uninteresting. Of all the women surrounding the Doctor, she is the one most qualified by experience and age to be more than a companion, to be his partner, in fact. But that still doesn't mean her character is cut and dry, because maddeningly reminiscent of real life, River has her contradictions, too.
Well, for one thing, while I get the great visual humor of 'Hello Sweetie' on the most ancient cliff face in the universe, what archeologist would deface the irreplacable? This niggles at me, and maybe it's just me being picky, but this action, funny as it is, seems at odds with what we've been lead to believe is her future profession, which is all about preserving artifacts. Or, perhaps it can be explained away as that she hasn't arrived yet at he time when she is an archeologist, but she still is 'Doctor Song', so the contradiction stands, because there is something hinky going on here. Or, more likely, it's Moffat having us on that the oldest recorded words in the universe are "Hello, sweetie!".
In the same episode, though, I find it remarkable that River complains the Doctor doesn't answer her calls, when previously, we saw Churchill getting through just fine, and we also know that the Doctor has always come when she's called. Is this a case of the Tardis not being quite right? We do know that the second time Churchill tried to contact the Doctor, the call was rerouted by the Tardis to River in the stormcage. The reason for this is unclear - does this point to a problem with the Tardis, which may be very likely, or is it something else, a connection between River and the Tardis that makes it turn to her.
Then there is the question of how River shows up at Amy's wedding. Presumably she is returned to her own time, and presumably being a time traveler, she remembers and maybe Amy's memories bring her back too, but she provides the catalyst that triggers Amy's memories and brings the Doctor back. It's odd that Amy would remember River and forget the Doctor, and it's equally odd that River is appearing in this timeline while the Doctor still has her vortex manipulator, so the question is how did she get there, how is it she remembers, and why is she there to warn the Doctor that everything is going to change?
We still don't know so much about her, but the signs point to someone who is uniquely close to the Doctor, in an intimate relationship that is not familial in the sense of mother, sister or daughter, but may very well be wife or lover. In spite of all these contradictions, the Doctor trusts her, and comes whenever she summons him, and that's good enough for me. I don't believe she's a villain, nor do I believe she's some kind of obsessed Fatal Attraction stalker, but I do think she's complicated, and we will find out how much so in the next series, which I am so very much looking forward to.
Well, for one thing, while I get the great visual humor of 'Hello Sweetie' on the most ancient cliff face in the universe, what archeologist would deface the irreplacable? This niggles at me, and maybe it's just me being picky, but this action, funny as it is, seems at odds with what we've been lead to believe is her future profession, which is all about preserving artifacts. Or, perhaps it can be explained away as that she hasn't arrived yet at he time when she is an archeologist, but she still is 'Doctor Song', so the contradiction stands, because there is something hinky going on here. Or, more likely, it's Moffat having us on that the oldest recorded words in the universe are "Hello, sweetie!".
In the same episode, though, I find it remarkable that River complains the Doctor doesn't answer her calls, when previously, we saw Churchill getting through just fine, and we also know that the Doctor has always come when she's called. Is this a case of the Tardis not being quite right? We do know that the second time Churchill tried to contact the Doctor, the call was rerouted by the Tardis to River in the stormcage. The reason for this is unclear - does this point to a problem with the Tardis, which may be very likely, or is it something else, a connection between River and the Tardis that makes it turn to her.
Then there is the question of how River shows up at Amy's wedding. Presumably she is returned to her own time, and presumably being a time traveler, she remembers and maybe Amy's memories bring her back too, but she provides the catalyst that triggers Amy's memories and brings the Doctor back. It's odd that Amy would remember River and forget the Doctor, and it's equally odd that River is appearing in this timeline while the Doctor still has her vortex manipulator, so the question is how did she get there, how is it she remembers, and why is she there to warn the Doctor that everything is going to change?
We still don't know so much about her, but the signs point to someone who is uniquely close to the Doctor, in an intimate relationship that is not familial in the sense of mother, sister or daughter, but may very well be wife or lover. In spite of all these contradictions, the Doctor trusts her, and comes whenever she summons him, and that's good enough for me. I don't believe she's a villain, nor do I believe she's some kind of obsessed Fatal Attraction stalker, but I do think she's complicated, and we will find out how much so in the next series, which I am so very much looking forward to.