After months of suspense - The River Song Show Doctor Who is finally back! Back to find baby Melody, back in 1938, backed up by Amy and Rory and back facing the multiple people he’s screwed up on his journeys. But last night didn’t belong to the Doctor. It belonged to Alex Kingston.
I wonder if there will ever come a day when I can actually make sense of the enigma that is River Song – I doubt it – but at least last night’s episode did sort some things out; like the reason she couldn’t regenerate in Forest of the Dead (Series 4, Episode 9) was because she used up all her future regenerations in order to save the Doctor after she poisoned him in this episode. Man, that is just so sad. Here’s a woman who literally gives her lives, note the plural, to the Doctor – only to end up living forever in digital form, forever unable to see him again – this great love of hers. That’s a cruel fate for a woman of her caliber – being reduced to this fan girl, forever stuck in a prison of her own sacrifice. As if the storm cage she was kept in for so long wasn’t enough.
Despite the brilliant performance Kingston gave us last night, and the huge amount of love I have for River, the are a few things that irk me, though. Like I mentioned earlier, an ending like hers seems undignified and cruel – considering her persona. And at the end of last night’s episode, when River decides to become an archaeologist and is asked why, her response is simply “to find a good man”. REALLY? Moffat, you seriously can’t do that to us! You just robbed her of one of my favorite parts of River; her independence. I mean, yes, she does have some stalker-tendencies and, in the form of Mels, not only does she seem like a stalker but also TOTALLY obsessed with the Doctor. It’s not flattering at all.
Anyways, enough River-ranting – back to the episode.
When first introduced to Mels, I frowned a bit, as she’s supposedly Amy and Rory’s best friend that hasn’t been mentioned ONCE for almost two seasons, so I was getting another “cheap solution”- vibe á la Martha “I had a cousin that worked for Torchwood and died at Canary warf” – meaning: “I played a woman that died at Canary warf, was promoted to becoming a companion and now I have to explain that lose end to the fans who don’t have the memory capacity of a goldfish”.
But then we find out that she’s baby Melody, and she sought out her parents as kids to have them “raise” her, as her friends, despite her being lost/not even born yet. Timey wimey. I’m not completely pleased with this solution, but I’m extra forgiving for missing this show so much. We also find out that it is indeed River that kills the Doctor by the lake, and that Madame Kovorian indeed has trained baby Melody into completing the task that they stole her away for in the first place.
We also learn that the Silence aren’t a species at all, but more of a religious group? That was a bummer, hope Moffat has a good plan with this.
Details I loved:
- Rory punching Hitler
- River stealing clothes off of dining German’s backs. Her banana gun. Her awesome Nazi-guard retort “I was on my way to this gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled, and then I thought, ‘Gosh, the Third Reich’s a bit rubbish’.”
- The agony the Doctor’s faced with when realizing how deeply he screws up his companions and his self hate.
- Young, sweet Rory.
All in all a fun episode, but I’m hoping for a darker one next week!
How did you like Doctor Who – Let’s kill Hitler! – Series 6, Episode 8?