Top 10 River Song Moments (5-1)

Guest contributor James Hardy concludes the countdown.

Following yesterday’s article concerning the first part of my Top 10 River Song moments, here is the second part concluding with the top 5! If you didn’t catch the first part see this link.

5. “I live for the days when I see him, but I know that every time I do, he’ll be one step further away”

– The Impossible Astronaut

This had to be in the top 5, for me, because it brings the upsetting part of River’s life into the series giving her this one moment with her father (Rory) to speak of the horrible truth about her and the Doctor’s tangled love. The Doctor’s future is River’s past so every time she meets the Doctor, he knows her less and she knows him more. The fact she always dreams of meeting him again with the knowledge of him knowing less about her is heartbreaking. I almost feel as though she needs someone to talk to and gets carried away when talking to Rory as she can almost never talk about her life. It seems their lives are split apart and she is very lonely and very suddenly, River isn’t just the feisty woman who fell in love with the Doctor, she’s the secretive alone professor carrying a tough life and the hope to just find the Doctor again, never mind marry him. A very powerful scene meaning more than what is just said.

• Emotion – 9/10
• Plot – 8/10
• Riverness – 7/10
• Overall – 8/10

4. “The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor”

– A Good Man Goes to War

In the first part of my article, I said that there was a far more powerful scene in A Good Man Goes to War than the River reveal. This will hopefully explain my reasoning in more depth. This is the scene minutes before the big reveal with the Doctor demanding to know why River couldn’t have been there because he had always been there for her. River spent this moment to just explain what he had become, how big he was and why people feared him. She even spends her time questioning what he wanted when he began, years ago and telling him he never wanted this. She knows she is the center of everything that started the war but, like all of River’s journey, she is silenced with the secret she can’t reveal. Though the audience don’t know it, she is tormented by the fact she can’t tell everyone about who she is. Once again, I love this scene because it’s that last moment the Doctor and River spend together as friends before they are split apart by unfolding events such as Lake Silencio, Berlin, the Library, Manhattan and Trenzalore and, as previously mentioned, the confusing end to the episode.

• Emotion – 9/10
• Plot – 9/10
• Riverness – 10/10
• Overall – 9/10

“If you ever loved me, say it like you’re going to come back”

– The Name of the Doctor

Unsurprisingly, this makes it into the top 5. There are three main reasons that I feel make this scene so good. The first is that it brings a beautiful end to River’s character without spoiling it with too many more loose plot threads. The second reason is that Alex Kingston is simply amazing in this scene. Her character is so developed and powerful that it takes a unique and amazing actress to play her and Alex plays the part with such a sweet but strong sense of character. The third and final reason is the dialogue. As you can probably gather from each place in the top ten having a quote to signify it in all its glory, I love the dialogue of an episode and River is given only the best.

Now, you would think that with three series behind her and many, many individual episodes for her to feature in, her catchphrase ‘hello sweetie’ would be twisted and clichéd into ‘goodbye sweetie’ a thousand times, but it is used perfectly to symbolize a final end to her character in this episode. Notice she didn’t say it when she died in the library, or when she was in the database, though the catchphrase was already established. I think she was saving it for a real farewell. Then again, is there ever an end to River Song?

Only one problem with the episode: the plot was confusing towards the end and the question of how all this occurred was left unanswered (i.e. how the Doctor could see her, or how she was actually there/why she had to fade.)

• Emotion – 10/10
• Plot – 9/10
• Riverness – 10/10
• Overall – 9/10

2. “He’s taking me to the singing towers of Darillium, he’s been promising for ages”

– Last Night

Some of you will be surprised this has been included and wonder why a minisode comes second. Once again I will list three main reasons. Firstly, this moment, though brief, features the conclusion to one of the most important moments in River’s life, her trip to Darillium. It is wonderful seeing the ‘new suit’ River spoke of nearly three years before in Forest of the Dead and the tears you can tell will fall from the ‘future me’ Doctor. I love it because we get to see this ultimately sad scene in a quirky but emotional way. Secondly, because of the dialogue River is given. Lines such as: ‘oh, Doctor, you and your secrets. You’ll be the death of me.’ The dramatic impact of that phrase is catastrophic, it gives the Doctor that moment to realise how much he has to treasure River but soothes him to know he can still be with River. Thirdly, and finally, it’s the fact that we get dropped into the situation not only the Doctor, but River have to be put in. ‘He’s been promising for ages’ suggests the reality of River’s harsh life and it helps to see her so optimistic about the situation, so pleased. She sees the ‘real him’ for the last time.

Emotion – 10/10
Plot – 10/10
Riverness – 10/10
Overall – 10/10

1. “The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean”

– Forest of the Dead

Who would have thought that the best moment of a character would be in their first episode? River Song is amazing in this story. Simply amazing. I don’t need to talk for ages about this one. It’s just the raw dose of reality that quote delivers. Realising that she had met the end she had always feared, she has to spend a few moments just telling him about the days to come. The days, the adventures and all the running they will always have together. It’s just amazing because it gives you River and, after a while, when all the flirty comments and confusing story arcs that covered her character finally come to pass, we are given the real River. The tragic story. I love this because finally we are given the sweetness and privilege of the Doctor’s first meeting, with the tragedy and heart-ache of River’s last. Finally we understand the impact of the following quote: ‘his future is my past. His first is my last.’ Truly remarkable.

• Emotion – 10/10
• Plot – 10/10
• Riverness – 10/10
• Overall – 10/10

Conclusion

What a remarkable character River Song is! I think that you don’t need an amazing plot, or all that River charm for a good episode. You just need that sense of the emotional reality of a reverse love story between two people. For that reason, Forest of the Dead had to come first. Thanks for reading and leave a comment with your favourite moments.