River at Amy's wedding (SPOILERS?)

[JonClarke]

I have just rewatched for the 2nd time The Big Bang and noticed something that may have some bearing of the debated origins of River Song.

As the Dr prepares to fly the Pandorica into the exploding Tardis Amy asks river what will happen to them when the universe is rebooted. River replies that they will all be returned to their proper places. This happens in due course.

At Amy's wedding we glimpse River as she leaves her (blank) diary for Amy. As rRver no longer has the Vortex manipulator she can no longer travel in time (the Dr gives it back to her at the end of the episode). This suggests her native time and space is 21st century Earth, not the 51st century after all.

 

[kelvinzero]

Interesting point. I hope the script writers have thought as hard about this as you have

There was some remark about her killing some super important person. I can't remember the exact line. I was guessing it would end up being the Face of Bo rather than the doctor? Im not using logic so much as TV logic, like when Luke guesses Leia is his sister, and no one is particularly surprised because she is the only significant female character in the movies. The only significant characters I can think of are the Doctor, The face of Bo (who may be that guy off Torchwood), The Master, and perhaps Rose.

 

[JonClarke]

Yes, in Flesh and Stone River says she killed a good man, the best she ever knew. Father Octavian says she killed a great man, a hero to many. The presumption is this is the reason she is in prison.

The most popular candiate on the net seems to be the Dr himself. Not with me. This makes no sense whatsoever from a plot or character point of view. I think it is most likely to be a person who is important in the story, some states person, philanthropist, religious figure, but not of neccessity a person we have seen already. To many people think a long running story like this has to recyle existing themes or characters. Steve Moffat is far too good a writer to have to do that. After so far he is responsible for such great ideas as The Weeping Angels (Blink), the Vashta Nerada (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead), the nanogenes (The Doctor Dances), and of course River Song herself.

 

[kelvinzero]

Yes, in Flesh and Stone River says she killed a good man, the best she ever knew. Father Octavian says she killed a great man, a hero to many. The presumption is this is the reason she is in prison.

The most popular candiate on the net seems to be the Dr himself. Not with me. This makes no sense whatsoever from a plot or character point of view. I think it is most likely to be a person who is important in the story, some states person, philanthropist, religious figure, but not of neccessity a person we have seen already. To many people think a long running story like this has to recyle existing themes or characters. Steve Moffat is far too good a writer to have to do that. After so far he is responsible for such great ideas as The Weeping Angels (Blink), the Vashta Nerada (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead), the nanogenes (The Doctor Dances), and of course River Song herself.

Hmm.. Jesus? Well I get your point, but my TV logic is superior to your plebian Earth logic. It is almost a law that the character has to exist when the clue is given.

Alternatively, perhaps the character will have to be introduced early and the mystery removed. Then the actual twist could be around some other aspect such as why she kills him I suppose. Or perhaps the person she kills could be a nonentity elevated to herodom only after his death.

hmmm.. I just googled the Face of Bo.. forgot that he had apparently died in one episode. I guess that would make him a recycled character.

 

[JonClarke]

Hmm.. Jesus?

But that was the Romans, not River and besides, he came back ;-)

Well I get your point, but my TV logic is superior to your plebian Earth logic. It is almost a law that the character has to exist when the clue is given.

I'd rather stick to the logic of good story telling, which Steve Moffat has shown he has in spades. Remember the point of the story is almost certainly not the person she kills, but River herself and how this effects the development of her relationship with the Dr. From this perspective he could even be killed (or apparently killed) off screen.

Alternatively, perhaps the character will have to be introduced early and the mystery removed.

Possible.

Then the actual twist could be around some other aspect such as why she kills him I suppose. Or perhaps the person she kills could be a nonentity elevated to herodom only after his death.

There are lots of interesting possibilities. She could be wrongly accused on killing this person (even wrong believes she did so). Or the story could be about her redemption from a shady background. Other characters have undergone this to a lesser degree - Leela, Turlough and Captain Jack for example.

hmmm.. I just googled the Face of Bo.. forgot that he had apparently died in one episode. I guess that would make him a recycled character.

Yes, he/it died permanantly (apparently) on Gridlock