28 August, 2010

Who is River Song?

Personally, I'm open to all possibilities. Currently my guess is she's the Rani, from old-school Dr.Who. Why? Because the Rani is morally ambiguous as seen in the few episodes she was in. She's also a Time Lord, with full knowledge of how to operate the Tardis and knows ancient Gallifreyan. And with so much mystery surrounding River Song, she's bound to be someone we know.

But I was recently challenged to put my speculation of her being the Rani on the back burner and come up with a theory more ridiculous. It seems the theory of her being the Rani was too far-fetched for some people. Really? So I decided to devise a new crackpot theory of who River Song could be. Ready for this?

River Song is actually a future version of Captain Jack!

Morally ambiguous like River Song? Check!

Daleks were afraid of River Song in the Big Bang, are they of Captain Jack? Who wouldn't be afraid of someone who can never die.

River knows a lot about the Doctor and Gallifrey. Jack also knows the Doctor really well. How about Gallifrey? Living forever is a long time. Lots of free time to do research.

She knows how to pilot the Tardis? As a former Time Agent and companion of the Doctor, so does Jack.

Willing to kill? Yes. See any episode of Torchwood for confirmation and this seasons Doctor Who for River Song.

Neither seem to be a regular companion of the Doctor in the Tardis. But each has still travelled with the Doctor from time to time. Jack, even after leaving the regular Tardis crew.

How about River Song being a woman? Well, it's possible Jack had a sex change at some point, but more likely simply wearing a perception filter.

River Song claims to have a great love for the Doctor, but so does Jack.

Jack turning into the Face of Boe? Or River Song dying? Jack as Face of Boe was hinted at, but never confirmed. As for never dying, who is to say he won't ever find a cure for his curse?

So ultimately what am I saying? Is the possibility of River Song being the Rani that outlandish? Not when you look at other outlandish theories. Is River Song Captain Jack? Obviously I was joking, I'm certain she's the Rani.

12 comments:

  1. I've always thought she might be the Rani! How exciting to find someone with the same idea... I guess we're going to have to wait and see.

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  2. It is nice to find someone who believes the same thing. Oddly enough, the person who was bashing my Rani theory was adamant the person behind the season finale was the Valeyard. And still does believe it from what I understand. Oh well.

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  3. OOOO I just read who Rani is. (since I'm a new Dr. Who fan - only the last 5 seasons). I think you might be onto something there Jeff!

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  4. Nice theory...but no.

    I think they've pushed their luck bringing The Master back using the fobwatch as cover. I don't think they'd repeat that idea.

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  5. I too have considered the possibility that River Song is Jack. Possibly a pre immortality Jack, could those be the stolen memories he refers to in The Empty Child?

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  6. Great thoughts! Stolen memories. Almost forgot about that.

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  7. But Jack said in Last of the Time Lords that he was one of the first Time Agents and that they called him the Face of Boe. Jack is immortal but it doesn't mean to say at one time he loses his immortaility and then when he "transforms" becomes the Face of Boe.

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  8. I agree that with as much as mystery as Moffatt is giving River's identity, she is most-likely someone we already know or someone he will soon introduce. This weekend I re-watched Time of the Angels and wondered it a good case could be made for River Song being Amy Pond. The only reason I had for this was watching how much River loves baiting The Doctor about what type of relationship they have. She constantly enjoys flirting with him because it makes him so uncomfortable. And we have seen that Amy is an incessant flirt and even jumped The Doctor once.

    And both share a water themed name. This isn't enough to build a strong case, I think, but it is intriguing and self-contained (ie-being accessible to people who do not watch Classic Who) enough to warrant consideration.

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  9. SHE'S A REGENERATION OF DONNA NOBLE. THAT'S WHY RIVERSONG IS SAVED IN THE LIBRARY IN THE END-INTO DONNA'S WORLD (WITH DONNA'S IMAGINARY KIDS) DONNA STILL HAS TIMELORD ENERGY AND AFTER THE METACRISIS COULD PILOT THE TARDIS. THAT'S WHY THE OOD ARE COMING BACK AS DONNA'S 'SONG' HAS JUST BEGUN...LIKE A RIVER....HEEHEE

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  10. I'm a Donna fan so I'd welcome this twist.

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  11. Just re-watched "Time of The Angels", which has a lot of teasing about River. This isn't so much a theory as a hope, but I would love it if River has been completely misleading The Doctor. What if The Doctor (in the future, not a future incarnation, per se, but the near future of The Doctor's timeline) needed to ensure that his younger self trusted River implicitly so the younger Doctor would do a specific action or have a specific attitude that would enable him to defeat a great evil. Thus, the future Doctor gives River certain information, knowing that River and The Doctor meet out of order. River can tease and cajole The Doctor in ways that will enable him to trust her, causing the younger Doctor to do what the older Doctor needs him to do. This explanation is not only unexpected and unpredictable, it also fits with Steven Moffat's "timey-wimey" method of storytelling. And how fascinating, the idea of The Doctor manipulating his past self....

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  12. That would be an interesting idea, I'm just afraid too many fans would call foul. Especially when everyone seems to have a valid viewpoint on who they feel River Song will ultimately be. I do like the mystery behind all this. It's nice to have something in Doctor Who for people to debate about.

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