And with “The Wedding of River Song”, we close another thrilling series of Doctor Who. Finally, all of our questions are answered concerning River Song/Melody Pond, what happened at Lake Silencio, and what is the question?
“The Wedding of River Song” is a fast paced episode, waiting for no one as it frantically runs though the various plot threads we’ve seen all series, and in fact in the past couple of series. Starting off, we do have some impressively confusing imagery of a London discombobulated by the events of all of human history crashing down on top of each other. Cars on balloons, pterodactyls flying in the parks like pigeons, and the Roman empire in control of all the world are just some of the images the writers treat us to. It’s a very fantastical episode, but it does take a second to understand what’s going on.
It seems that by the Doctor not dying at Lake Silencio, all of time itself has once again started to unravel, but the main focus is why the Doctor is still alive. Despite all the best efforts of the Silence in brainwashing River, throwing her into a mechanical suit, and forcing her to kill the Doctor, her love of him can still overcome anything they have done. But by her defiance to kill him, she’s doomed the universe to destruction.
It’s a fitting twist. Her love is so strong that it breaks the fabric of reality. Of course, there is part tragedy in it as well, as the universe obviously cannot survive in this state. The Doctor’s death is a fixed point in time, unchangeable, unwavering. He must die for the good of everything, but River and Amy still have a plan for that.
The Doctor has spent his entire life alone, not in the literal sense, but in the emotional sense. He travels though all of time and space, occasionally picking up a few friends here and there, but in the end, he remains alone. Its an element of the show that has cropped up more and more prominently since the return of the series in 2005. But despite the fact that there are many out there who want to see the Doctor destroyed, there are countless more that he has helped and whom love him. It’s River and Amy who makes him understand this fact, not wanting him to die without knowing he was loved.
It is a cunning double meaning, as they mention the millions who love him in the universe after all the generations he’s helped, with the implicit reference to us the viewers, of which we’ve watched him for many generations now.
In the end, we finally get the payoff we’ve been looking for for 6 years, finally confirming that yes, River is the Doctor’s wife, and with a kiss, the Doctor dies and returns the universe to normalcy. Or so we thought….but you’ll have to watch to see how he gets out to that tricky situation as I won’t spoil it here.
Other Observations
- One of the ones the Doctor visits is Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the creator of UNIT. Sadly, he had already passed away in his sleep. It’s a fitting quiet tribute to Nicholas Courtney, the actor that played the character who died last February.
- We finally learn that the Doctor whispered “look into my eye” to River, which is not his name obviously. While we still don’t know know what his name is, or what River said to him in the Library, we can still suspect he folder her his name on one of their dates.
- Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, and Malokeh make cameos.
- Poor Captain Carter looses another Teselecta.
- Apparently River has known everything that has been going on at the Lake and only pretending she didn’t.
- The living skulls are both hilarious and creepy at the same time, which is a skill the Doctor Who crew excels at.
- “I’ll suffer if I have to kill you.” “More than every living thing in the universe?” “Yes.”
- Of course he uses his bow tie for the joining ceremony.
- Amy and Rory will return for series 7, technically, in some capacity. Of course in typical BBC fashion, we probably won’t’ know anything till episode 1.
- “I’m his….mother in law…”
- I doubt even in series 7 we’ll get the answer to the question, but now the question fuels people ever more.
- Doctor Who’s 2011 Christmas special will take place in World War II again.
