If Moffat is going to bring back normal Timelords (and not crazed ones like in the End of Time), I think there are many things to hint that River knows more Timelords than just the one. However, if the Timelords aren't coming back ... there's lots of other good explanations.
I definitely got a glimmer of this in the episode! But I think that I need more hints/bits for me to spec out that River does know more than one Time Lord.
I get the impression that River has traveled at length with the Doctor. I... wouldn't be surprised if someday we get to see the introduction of River to the Doctor and it's played by an actress in her teens or even younger.
I agree with your list 100%, and let me add an addendum to your last point: I love that she's not jealous of the companions. There's no rivalry there, either with Amy or Donna. She understands that he needs these people to share his travels with and finds as much value and wonder in them as he does without acting like they're "taking her man". It's not full marks Bechdel-wise, but it's a lot better than we've seen in a while.
I somehow doubt that River's ever a full time companion in the usual sense, so I can imagine that she'd see the necessity of the Doctor having travelling companions.
In a way, she is a lot like the Doctor, which is why the Doctor likes her. She "gets" him in a way that a lot of other people around him don't understand.
I'm slowly building my own back fanon about the Doctor and River. I'm wondering if River could be like... an Amelia fulfilled. Meaning that the Doctor and River first interacted when she was very young and he actually look her on an adventure when she was young, and brought her back at an appropriate time to not freak out her family and they've been doing so ever since. (So she doesn't travel like a permanent companion to him, but has had a lot of time with him throughout the years.)
I wrote a large portion of a "Four Times Martha Met River, And One Time She Didn't" fic in which Martha and Ten first meet a teenage River. I can easily see that, at least, happening.
- she's confident in herself and her abilities - which, where women were concerned, we didn't get to see much of during RTD's era.
I think this is one of the biggest reasons why I love her too. I was talking about her with my partner and he indicated that I'm like this as well: confident in my abilities, what I can and cannot do, and am very aware of it. I've also accepted what I'm not good at, without regrets, because it's something that I cannot really change without making a sacrifice I'm unwilling to make. River is a huge self-insert sort of character for me. I can imagine doing a lot of what she does (or wanting to do a lot of what she does) if I knew the Doctor.
- I like to see the Doctor's ego punctured occasionally. He can be pretty arrogant on occasion (especially Ten) because he knows more than most of the people he meets - so it's nice to see someone who knows at least as much as he does, and in some respects, more (in this River aspect reminds me of Romana).I also like the companions that present as knowing as much if
( ... )
I think this is one of the biggest reasons why I love her too. I was talking about her with my partner and he indicated that I'm like this as well: confident in my abilities, what I can and cannot do, and am very aware of it. I've also accepted what I'm not good at, without regrets, because it's something that I cannot really change without making a sacrifice I'm unwilling to make. River is a huge self-insert sort of character for me. I can imagine doing a lot of what she does (or wanting to do a lot of what she does) if I knew the Doctor.
Yes! I think this reflects the fact that River's not barely out of her teens - so she's more settled and self-aware.
I also like the companions that present as knowing as much if not more than the Doctor. Like Nyssa, although she didn't deflate the Doctor's ego that much. I also like it when the Doctor doesn't always solve the problem, but is more "helpful" to solve the problem. Ditto when he's wrong. I want the Doctor to be multi-faceted like this. He's not always the hero, but helps make heroes.
( ... )
I went from having reservations with River to digging her as a character and your reasons behind loving her all make sense. Friends with benefits sound a lot more likely/interesting than her and the Doctor actually being married.
And I loved that Amy and River could just have fun teasing the Doctor and admiring each other. Like Martha and Donna did in Series 4.
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I didn't think River was mean to Donna either, but I've seen people expressing views along those lines.
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I definitely got a glimmer of this in the episode! But I think that I need more hints/bits for me to spec out that River does know more than one Time Lord.
I get the impression that River has traveled at length with the Doctor. I... wouldn't be surprised if someday we get to see the introduction of River to the Doctor and it's played by an actress in her teens or even younger.
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It would also be consistent with the ideas hinted at in The Girl in the Fireplace.
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I'm slowly building my own back fanon about the Doctor and River. I'm wondering if River could be like... an Amelia fulfilled. Meaning that the Doctor and River first interacted when she was very young and he actually look her on an adventure when she was young, and brought her back at an appropriate time to not freak out her family and they've been doing so ever since. (So she doesn't travel like a permanent companion to him, but has had a lot of time with him throughout the years.)
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I think this is one of the biggest reasons why I love her too. I was talking about her with my partner and he indicated that I'm like this as well: confident in my abilities, what I can and cannot do, and am very aware of it. I've also accepted what I'm not good at, without regrets, because it's something that I cannot really change without making a sacrifice I'm unwilling to make. River is a huge self-insert sort of character for me. I can imagine doing a lot of what she does (or wanting to do a lot of what she does) if I knew the Doctor.
- I like to see the Doctor's ego punctured occasionally. He can be pretty arrogant on occasion (especially Ten) because he knows more than most of the people he meets - so it's nice to see someone who knows at least as much as he does, and in some respects, more (in this River aspect reminds me of Romana).I also like the companions that present as knowing as much if ( ... )
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Yes! I think this reflects the fact that River's not barely out of her teens - so she's more settled and self-aware.
I also like the companions that present as knowing as much if not more than the Doctor. Like Nyssa, although she didn't deflate the Doctor's ego that much. I also like it when the Doctor doesn't always solve the problem, but is more "helpful" to solve the problem. Ditto when he's wrong. I want the Doctor to be multi-faceted like this. He's not always the hero, but helps make heroes. ( ... )
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And I loved that Amy and River could just have fun teasing the Doctor and admiring each other. Like Martha and Donna did in Series 4.
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I was also reminded of Martha and Donna's S4 meeting.
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