The River Song theories and speculation thread *NO SPOILERS PLEASE*

[SiHart]

Just who is River Song and what does she know?

She's a bit of an enigma at the moment. She knows things about the Doctor, she knows his future (apparently) and is always on about spoilers both for her future and his future.

We see her die. She becomes a professor. This we know.

We know she killed a "good man- the best" but who was it?

What are your thoughts on the enigma that is River Song?

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

It's hard to get round to where they both are isn't it?

The River in "Silence In The Library" has all her adventures with the Doctor behind her and "dies".

The River in "The Time of Angels" knows its "early" for the Doctor, but clearly doesn't know he's seen her die. She knows him, so some of their adventures are behind her at that point - she knows of the adventure they had when the Pandorica opens, so she must survive this. Could she have killed him prior to "Time of Angels" or even during the Pandorica adventure? It's sort of unlikely, as there's no wistful look when she sees him again, or indeed in "Silence in the Library". Is it possible that she thinks she's killed him, but he escapes? Does she "kill" his Matt Smith regeneration? This is possible.

One interesting thing is how she recognises the changing face of the Doctor. She doesn't know that the Tennant Doctor hasn't had the Byzantium adventure in "Silence in the Library", despite this River having already met the Smith Doctor, so despite having her diary, presumably she's hazy as to which order the Doctors run.

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

It's far, far too obvious to suggest that the man she's killed is the Doctor. However, that doesn't mean that at some point in their shared adventures, they don't concoct a ruse whereby in order to defeat a greater threat, they create a situation whereby it appears that River Song has killed the Doctor but she hasn't, and which results in her being imprisoned in the knowledge that she's taken a fall for him.

[Andrew Curnow]

I'm really not sure. If she's 'just' the Doctor's wife/significant other then really there's not much more to say - the big 'twist' in that relationship has already been done in Silence in the Library, in that the Doctor will always knows how she'll die. To actually then watch that unfold (Time Lord meets girl, falls in love, sends her off to die at some unspecified future date) would actually IMHO be pretty boring, because we know where it's going.

On the other hand, if there's going to be a twist to it, it would need to be something which isn't simply an "Ah-ha, actually she's not his wife at all" sort of "it was all a dream" anticlimax.

My personal guess at the moment is that there's a third party involved - somebody/something is manipulating both timelines, so that the Doctor will now trust River because he thinks he will. River may be 'in on it' or she may be being deceived too, so maybe she thinks she's something important to the Doctor when in fact she isn't. That could be quite an interesting pay-off, where River and the Doctor are both forced to realise that in fact there isn't a great big love affair there, at least not in the way they've been led to believe there is/was/will be...

Moffat on Confy suggested that they're certainly planning to tell 'the whole story', although episodes full of jolly picnics and late-night trips to Blockbuster don't sound all that thrilling to me!!

[Awesome Wells]

She seems to know that they'll always meet in the order that they do - but then, maybe on their first meeting (from her point of view), Doctor Who says, "Look, I know everything that's going to happen in your entire life."

In fact, maybe that's how he pulls her - if he does.

"Hey River, I know everything about your future and we definitely do it. Let's get in on like you did in 'Moll Flanders' or the space/time continuum will collapse like a badly-put-up tent. My tent, on the other hand, is perfectly erected. Whoop whoop!"



Then again, maybe she's a Time Lady. Perhaps.

Then again again, I've just read what Andrew has said about the timelines being manipulated and I like it a lot.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Hmmm - I've always kind of suspected her of being revealed to be the Rani or something like that.

I couldn't help but notice at the end of Last of the Timelords, there is a female hand that picks up the Master's ring, which RTD called "the hand of the Rani" which was noticable for it's red nails. The first shot we see of River Song's hands is nigh on identical in the Time of Angels.

But knowing Moffat that's probably a piece of deliberate fan misdirection.

One thing I do kind of think - Moffat introduced us to Captain Jack, and in a few ways River Song is very like Jack, but in a more agreeable female package. But that's probably more cos he likes that kind of character.

[Logo Polish]

couldn't help but notice at the end of Last of the Timelords, there is a female hand that picks up the Master's ring, which RTD called "the hand of the Rani" which was noticable for it's red nails. The first shot we see of River Song's hands is nigh on identical in the Time of Angels.

They've already shown who it was picking up the ring in End of Time, though.

[Jonno]

River Song is Romana.

The scenes in the TARDIS with her knowing how to fly the TARDIS properly and trying to show the Doctor up, but him retaliating with his superior experience vs. theory, was so S16!

[Rob McCow]

She's just a cheap copy of Vera Jundrey. If anyone should be playing River, it's Miriam Margolyes.

[Perry Vale]

River Song is obviously Sara Kingdom.

[Awesome Wells]

River Song is Amy Pond.

[WibblyWombly]

River Song is Ace .

[matthewsch]

River Song is River Song. Wow!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

River Song is of course an anagram of "I've R snogr". So she'll get to kiss the Doctor later, obviously!

[Awesome Wells]

It's an anagram of "Rose v Ring"... and Amy Pond is an anagram of "Mad Pony."


What does it all mean?

[WhiteCrowNZ]

It's an anagram of "Rose v Ring"...

Now that's a topless mud wrestle grudge match I'd like to see! Good old Moffat and his ditched gay agenda.

Although people are saying I'm obsessed!

[Larry]

One interesting thing is how she recognises the changing face of the Doctor. She doesn't know that the Tennant Doctor hasn't had the Byzantium adventure in "Silence in the Library", despite this River having already met the Smith Doctor, so despite having her diary, presumably she's hazy as to which order the Doctors run.

Si.

hasn't that been explained that althoughthey keep meeting out of order she said she had in her diary a picture of what every incarnation of the Doctor she has met looks like . I think it's very unlikely that River, is his mother. apart from opening up a megga universe size can of worms the Doctor, would/should of then recognised her straight away. So my theory is River, is just a person whom the Doctor, will become very close to then again Moffat, is a much more devious sod then ever RTD, was so I still expecting there to be some dark twist in the true nature of the Doctor and River's relationship.

[matthewsch]

At this stage, River hasn't met Ten yet, so she hasn't got a photo of him yet. Either that, or she doesn't know precisely what order the incarnations are in, as she meets them all in the wrong order!

[shada pavlova]

River Song is Romana.

The scenes in the TARDIS with her knowing how to fly the TARDIS properly and trying to show the Doctor up, but him retaliating with his superior experience vs. theory, was so S16!

I think there's something in that. In fact, I think some of her dialogue was word-for-word straight out of The Pirate Planet.

Hmm...perhaps Romana's consciousness was split between Amy and River (which is such a stupid thing to do that it cracked the universe) and will be reunited at the end of the season?

[Rob McCow]

Hmm - well River Song spelled backwards is Gnos Revir. It's also an anagram of 'Servo Grin'. This conclusively proves that she is also the Servo Robot in Wheel In Space.

Amy Pond is an anagram of 'Om Padny', part of the Tibetan chant from Planet of The Spiders. So Amy might have a spider on her back.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Hmm...perhaps Romana's consciousness was split between Amy and River (which is such a stupid thing to do that it cracked the universe) and will be reunited at the end of the season?

Thats so X-Men!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Hmm - well River Song spelled backwards is Gnos Revir.

You're mocking me now!

However River Song ... you can make the words SNOG and GIVER out of the letters.

A snog giver is what you'd call a kissogram.

So River Song is Amy Pond?

Looked at it as well ... a river is a body of water, and so is a pond.

[Rob McCow]

You're mocking me now!

Yes! Though it's hopefully coming across as sweet natured and friendly

So you're saying that what was once a pond will become a river? Hmm, perhaps the word 'PANDORICA' has more significance - or is it 'POND-OR-RIVER'?

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Yes! Though it's hopefully coming across as sweet natured and friendly

Sometimes I just love to come out with the most outlandish theory possible. But sometimes people think I'm being serious!!!

[P-Bal]

I think she might be a big haired icon.