Well... ummmm... wow.

I sort of twigged on the final spoiler when i heard the child's name, but didn't know whether or not i was right, or if there was another twist.

At the moment i think that conclusion has me rather satisfied that they didn't leave it as a cliffhanger (well they did, but they wrapped it up enough up for me).

Random one:

In last weeks, when they were locked in that room behind the door with the porthole thingy (was it the acid storage place)...... It was blatantly a recycled Torchwood morgue set, no?

Very predictable denouement for me.
Still, it meant that I could concentrate on other things, and it's always nice to see River.
The Doctor has rather a large task ahead of him now, but then again, doesn't he always?

Mark

Um, I think traditional story mechanics ended up making it fairly inevitable. By the time we got to it I'd have been more surprised if she'd turned out not to be... (spoiler free) who she turned out to be. The only real question there's ever been about River Song is what did she do that got her locked up in that apparently deeply ineffectual prison?


It wasn't a cliffhanger ending tbh. It in fact tied up quite a few loose ends, making it kind of the opposite of a cliff hanger. The big point I think is we're now effectively back to the Doctor travelling in um... in a non-traditional state. How much are certain characters going to feature in the 'second half' is the real question, and how do we get from where we are now to The Doctor standing on the beach getting zapped by the Irrational Astronaut?

I thought the headless monks were a deeply naff dramatic device, by the way. Their particular foible was not at all necessary for the plot, and only actually there to give Matt Smith a chance to do the 'surprise' thing. A pretty decent episode over all though and I have to say; "Now, do you need me to repeat the question?" - FANTASTIC opening.

Jon

Yes, Jon. Yes it was.

Mark

Actually, i'd say that the question has always been "who is she".

Right from the moment she first appeared she knew all about the Doctor. It wasn't until the second time we saw her (well.. the fourth time, episode wise) that the whole notion of her having "killed someone" cropped up.



I wasn't referring to the ending specifically, but the episode in general:

They ended with both a revelation and an "unknown" with regards to the future.

We still have no clue, exactly where "it" went and what "they" are planning to do with it... and how exactly it ends up in the hands of "them" (if you can't fill in the blanks, i'll fill them in and blank it out later, but references to "they" and "them" are different things. And "them" refers to how "it" ended up in "that" - confused much? ).

In fact, they mellowed out the Cliffhanger with the whole River Song bit. (I.E., imagine if they'd ended the episode just as "it" went all gooey).



Agree and Agree.

In fact with regards to the first point, The Doctor zoomed off on his own, maybe adding fuel the to rumours that Amy isn't returning in the next season?




/Signed.

This season hasn't yet finished.

Mark

/facepalm.

Completely forgot.

Interesting that this thread is set in the future where various religions have formed military forces. I also like the way that language has changed slightly from now to then, and the word “Doctor” means something more sinister. Yes, a pot device to ensure that Rover Song and Melody Pond are names which are interchangeable.

So Amy and Rory will be the Doctor’s in-laws. and where does Susan fit into all of this?

Anyway looking forwards to the next story. Anything called “Let’s Kill HItler” could be a hoot.

Spoilers much .

+ I wouldn't say that the language is now a plot device just to make sure the "names are interchangeable".

Since they stated that River Song is the translation of the name from the people of the Gamma Forest, and as with all languages today, translation isn't necessarily a 1:1 thing.

Also, the whole "sinister" Doctor thing was brought up quite a while back, specifically with regards to the Tennant, the Dalek's and when Davros states "Never forget, Doctor, you did this! I name you forever: You are the Destroyer of Worlds!" in one of the Season Finales. That also states how he has his own "army" of people willing to die for him or something similar.

+ No Offense, but that Tin of Soup can get annoying sometimes when browsing threads that have been commented on by you multiple times in succession .

The original character of the Doctor was far more sinister than he became. RTD said he wanted to return to the original intent - Moffat has started to turn the dial to 11 on that one.

The Tin of Soup is now much smaller than it was.

Watched the episode now.

A couple of things...

1. River Song's costume for her birthday trip to an 1814 Frost Fair didn't ring true. It seems out by at least 50 years.
2. Did we ever actually find out who the eye patch lady is?
3. I think I know who the irrational astronaut is...
4. As River Song is going backwards in the Doctor's timeline, Susan may well be related to her in some way.

I think that's enough for now.

River Song must have a TARDIS hidden somewhere.

Exactly!

They really ought to make the effort to explain her ability to appear anywhere and anytime.

I suspect that she's actually got one of the vortex generator watch things that Captain Jack had originally (he was a temporal agent of some sort wasn't he?). When she appeared at Deamons run it was just a big flash of light, a TARDIS would have most likely made the usual noise.
She's very adept at flying the Doctors TARDIS, which she would be if she'd spent a lot of time in it and could understand all the controls (she can clearly read Gallifreyan for a start).