Character Highlight: River Song (Doctor Who)

I go back and forth on River – she can be written more like an action figure than a character, and maybe too prominent in series 6 – but overall, I enjoy her.  At her best, she’s a cool, morally-gray heroine over 40 with an intriguing backstory hook, and despite inconsistent writing, Alex Kingston always shines.  (Since River is basically made of twists, some spoilers ahead.)

I wasn’t a fan of River in her first appearance, the Library two-parter from series 4.  This is, I think, partly intentional – after all, the Doctor and his companion(s) are always my greatest connection to the story, and since Ten is obviously wary of and freaked out about River, I tended that way, too.  I wasn’t sure I could trust her, and I didn’t like the implication that this woman we’d just met knew the Doctor soooo much better than seemingly any of his many companions.  Like the Doctor, it took me a few encounters to warm up to River.  I was pretty pro-Dr.-Song by the end of series 5, and even though I was suffering a bit of River-fatigue by the time series 6 was over, I still liked her.  Having had time to get to know her now, her earlier appearances go over a lot better for me.  In particular, I can really see the Library two-parter from her perspective, how crushing it must be to realize her beloved Doctor doesn’t even recognize her.

Because that’s of course the big-ticket item with River.  A fellow time traveler, she and the Doctor meet out of order, and when the Doctor first claps eyes on her (from his perspective,) she’s already known him for years, maybe decades.  It’s, variously, timey-wimey, disorienting, tragic, unpredictable, and carpe diem-esque.  Unfortunately, though, while Alex Kingston and Matt Smith sell the crap out of the relationship, it suffers from happening so much off-screen.  That not I want The Doctor and River Show, but it’s not fair to tell viewers that these two have an exciting, sexy, patchwork relationship that span years and then only show glimpses of it.  It’s shortcut storytelling, and whatever the merits of the pair, it makes it harder for me to invest in them (this is a problem I find a lot in the Moffat era – I rarely get to see things truly unfold.)

But enough about the gimmick.  How about River herself?  For the most part, I like her.  I like that she’s tough, smart, and capable.  I like that she loves a mystery and adores being where the action is.  I like that she’s sexy and knows it, that she flirts shamelessly (to what extent is she actually from the 51^st century?  It seems she has pretty 51^st-century attitudes,) and that her chemistry with Matt Smith is pretty unique on TV.  I like her huge confidence, her skill with a firearm, and her willingness to tell the Doctor off when he needs it.  I really like how easy, open, and vulnerable she is with Rory.  My issues with her are mainly writing-related; as I said before, she sometimes feel like a collection of cool ideas instead of an internally-consistent person, and I don’t like the weird/lazy “yes, dear” gender dynamic that occasionally crops up between her and the Doctor.  Because it can’t be said enough, a man doesn’t have to be made weaker or dumber for a woman to be strong or clever.  They can both be strong, both be clever.

Finally, I’m not sure if we’ll see her again (I hope we do, at least from time to time – if nothing else, it’s a waste of buildup, as well as Alex Kingston,) but I’m massively curious to know what the vibe between her and Twelve would be.  I have a feeling they’d be made of snark, and I really hope she’d still consider him sexy.  Whether or not Twelve is looking for that kind of validation, I’d like to see him get it.  Also, I’m eager for someone from Eleven’s past who doesn’t treat Twelve like such a separate entity, and I feel she’d be a fairly good bet for that.