Doctor Who River Songs Story In Chronological Order Explained

Doctor Who: River Song’s Story In Chronological Order Explained

Doctor Who has a history of going “timey-wimey,” but River Song is the ultimate example – here’s her complete timeline in chronological viewing order.

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Played by Alex Kingston, River Song is one of the most fascinating characters in Doctor Who – and here’s her complete timeline and a recommended viewing order. Doctor Who, which has been promised “radical” change, uses time travel as usually little more than a plot device; a way of explaining how the Doctor and their friends got to Elizabethan England, the Villa Diodati, or Leonardo Da Vinci’s rooms. But every now and again, the show has a story or a character who’s a little more “timey-wimey” – for whom time travel is an essential part of their story.

River Song is probably the best example. Played by Alex Kingston, she’s a time-traveling archaeologist who hops around the timeline with a vortex manipulator. She has a close relationship with the Doctor – in fact, the two married, albeit in an alternate timeline that was erased from existence. But what makes River Song unique is the fact she and the Doctor have met one another in a completely different sequence. They frequently have to check diaries to figure out where they are in one another’s personal timelines, ensuring they don’t accidentally drop any “spoilers” for each other. And, tragically, the Doctor has known how River’s life would end all along – because for him, the first time they met was right before she died.

River Song’s story is told in the order the Doctor encounters her – but that makes it particularly interesting to do a rewatch from her perspective instead. That approach brings the sweeping themes of River’s life into sharp relief, although there is a little repetition because she’s even impacted her own timeline every now and again. Here’s River Song’s timeline from her perspective, doubling as a viewing order. It focuses only on the TV series, not the comics, Big Finish audios, and even a novel written by Alex Kingston herself, simply because that content is increasing all the time.

A Good Man Goes To War

River Song’s story technically begins in Doctor Who season 6, episode 7, which is the story of her birth. Melody Pond is the daughter of Amy and Rory, and she was conceived when the Ponds shared their wedding night together aboard the TARDIS – meaning she would be born with unique abilities, including the power of Time Lord regeneration. Unfortunately, the Doctor’s enemies identified her as a potential tool, and they kidnapped Amy, replacing her with a duplicate while they awaited the birth. “A Good Man Goes To War” is the story of the Doctor’s rescue of Amy – but he fails to save Melody, who vanishes into the timeline with the Silence.

The Impossible Astronaut / The Day Of The Moon

River Song’s personal timeline then continues in Doctor Who season 6, episodes 1 and 2. In “The Impossible Astronaut,” the Doctor’s friends watch in horror as the Doctor apparently dies before their eyes – only to find a slightly younger Doctor has been called to the scene as well. They are whisked away to 1969, where the Doctor learns President Nixon is getting mysterious calls from a little girl – a girl who can only be kept alive so long as she lives inside a spacesuit. Though they don’t know it, the child is Rory and Amy’s daughter; the two-part story ends with the mysterious girl regenerating.

Let’s Kill Hitler

As if this wasn’t convoluted enough, Melody Pond – calling herself “Mels” – traveled to England and became childhood friends with her own parents. In fact, she played a major part in getting Amy to realize Rory was more than just a friend, match-making her own parents in a move that’s straight out of Back to the Future. Mels finally encountered the Doctor in Doctor Who season 6, episode 8, where she regenerated into the familiar form of Alex Kingston. After attempting to kill Hitler – just because – she was transported to the future to train to be an archaeologist. These first four episodes essentially bring River Song’s origin story to an end.

Closing Time

River’s story continues in Doctor Who season 6, episode 12, “Closing Time,” which reveals she could never escape the Silence. She is forcibly recruited to kill the Doctor, placed inside an astronaut suit… that’s right, she’s the mysterious person inside an astronaut suit who killed the Doctor in season 6, episode 1.

The Wedding Of River Song

As shown in Doctor Who season 6, episode 13, “The Wedding of River Song,” River initially attempts to resist the Silence’s control. The Doctor’s death is a fixed point in time, so River’s actions come close to destroying all of reality, but the Doctor persuades her to marry him and then kill him. There’s a trick, of course, but the upshot is that River Song is officially the Doctor’s wife – and Amy Pond is his mother-in-law.

A Good Man Goes To War (Again)

Viewers who want to watch the full River Song story will occasionally need to repeat some episodes, and “A Good Man Goes To War” is one of them. River is newly imprisoned at the Stormcage Containment Unit, sentenced to no less than 12,000 consecutive life sentences for murdering the Doctor. She breaks out to head to the Battle of Demon’s Run and properly introduce herself to the Doctor, Amy, and Rory at last.

The Impossible Astronaut / The Day Of The Moon

River Song crosses her own timeline again, meaning any rewatch now requires checking out Doctor Who season 6, episodes 1 and 2. This version of River is summoned by the Doctor to bear witness to his apparent death – at the hands of her younger self. Although there’s no actual evidence River knew about this in the episode itself, she later claimed to just be acting. It’s a somewhat clunky explanation; it would perhaps have been better for Doctor Who to suggest the experience of crossing the timelines erased River’s memory (a concept Doctor Who has used in multi-Doctor stories).

The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

In River’s chronology, it’s now time to head to Doctor Who season 5, episodes 12 and 13 – “The Pandorica Opens.” This two-part adventure sees the Doctor learn his TARDIS will explode and destroy the entire universe; his greatest enemies combine to imprison him and ensure this won’t happen, but unfortunately, River can fly the TARDIS too. Naturally, the Doctor restores the universe, although this does have the side-effect of warping reality a little – a convenient excuse for any inconsistencies in River’s timeline.

The Time Of Angels / Flesh & Stone

Shortly after the Pandorica incident, River Song is assigned to work with a group of militarized clerics to deal with the threat of the Weeping Angels. That particular adventure is told in Doctor Who season 5, episodes 4 and 5, “The Time of Angels” and “Flesh and Stone.” In the Doctor’s personal timeline, which features a few interactions with the Weeping Angels, this is only the second time he has met River – and it is the first time she has met her own mother. She carefully avoids giving away too much, but can’t resist telling the Doctor she’ll see him at the Pandorica.

The Wedding Of River Song

Having spent some time working with her mother back when she was younger, River decides to pay a visit to her parents at a time when they’ll recognize her. This is the final scene in Doctor Who season 6, episode 13, “The Wedding of River Song,” in which River reveals the Doctor is still alive – and leaves Amy reeling as she realizes she’s now officially the Doctor’s mother-in-law.

The Angels Take Manhattan

Based on dialogue in which she compares diaries with the Doctor, the next story for River Song is Doctor Who season 7, episode 5, “The Angels Take Manhattan.” When Rory is ambushed by a Weeping Angel, River finds a way to get a message to the Doctor for help, and the TARDIS team ally with her in New York in 1938. Tragically, this story sees Amy and Rory part ways with the Doctor, ultimately stranded in the past – the Weeping Angels’ powers having twisted the timeline too much for the Doctor to ever head there again. River reveals she’s been freed from the Stormcage because the Doctor has been erasing records of his own existence; you can’t be imprisoned for murdering someone who doesn’t exist, after all.

The Husbands Of River Song

River Song’s story continues in Doctor Who Christmas Special 2015, “The Husbands of River Song.” This is the only story in which River interacts with Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, and it’s a haunting adventure because both are aware this will be the last time they meet before River’s death. There’s a beautiful twist, however, in that the Doctor ensures they spend a night together on Darillium – and a single night on this planet will last 24 years. This serves as an explanation for why River considered this incarnation of the Doctor to be “hers,” because they spent the most time together.

Silence In The Library / The Forest Of The Dead

River Song’s story apparently concludes in Doctor Who season 4, episodes 8 and 9 – “Silence in the Library” and “The Forest of the Dead.”, which was originally supposed to include the 45th (and final) Doctor. For the present-day Doctor, this is the first time he has met River; for the time-traveling archaeologist herself, it is destined to be their last encounter. He saves River’s mind by transporting her consciousness into a VR environment; the overseer of the installation was originally supposed to be the 45th Doctor, but this idea was dropped.

The Name Of The Doctor

There is, however, something of an epilogue to River Song’s timeline; Doctor Who season 7, episode 13, in which River’s consciousness is still interacting with the Doctor’s friends across the timeline. What’s more, she hints there’s some untold story about these interactions when she finally speaks to the Doctor, teasing him with the promise, “Spoilers.” Hopefully, River will return – not least because it would be great to see River Song meet Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-river-song-chronological-order-timeline-explained/

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