So there's this question of who is River Song really. The show's made some vague allusions to her, and she's generally presented as this enigmatic future wife of the Doctor's. Writer Steven Moffat has suggested that she's quite different than viewers might expect, and she'll be appeared in the next season. So here's some thoughts I have on her history/identity...
1. Though actress Alex Kingston has compared the character to Indiana Jones, she's been depicted closer to that guy a young Indy gets a fedora from in Last Crusade. She knows about archeology, but she's not a "true" archeologist; she's essentially shown as an antiquities bounty hunter. She is always shown on a mission of some kind, and certainly isn't just gallivanting across time and space for fun. A completely "straight" reading of her would say that she is the Doctor's future wife, and she does love him, but isn't nearly as altruistic as he is and had to go her own way.2. But it's possible that she's lying about their relationship. She may have accidentally come across the Doctor's real name in an old Gallifreyan birth certificate or something, and is using that information to her advantage. Alternatively, as a time traveler, it's possible that she does legitimately learn the Doctor's name from marrying him, but then tells her past self to put that information to earlier use.
3. She also could have come across his name if she herself is also a Time Lord. Whovians might balk at that idea since another Time Lord (like the Doctor) would recognize her as such, but she could have transformed herself to a human to escape the Time War, much as the Master did. This would also explain how she happens to know Gallifreyan. If she has some sort of deeper Machiavellian plans in mind, the Rani wouldn't be a surprising candidate.
4. Something along those same lines, I could also see River being revealed as Susan, the Doctor's long-abandoned granddaughter. She might feel a bit of resentment for being stranded on a somewhat ravaged Earth and, while she still loves him, isn't going to let him go without taking any hazing for that decision. Claims of incest can be brushed aside easily by simply noting that River was lying about being the Doctor's wife all along.
5. Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, does not strike me as a likely candidate since, by all accounts, actress Georgia Moffett was well-received by most everyone and Moffet has even expressed an interest in giving her a spin-off series.
Alright then. Just needed to get those off my chest. Normal comic-blogging to resume tomorrow.
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