Doctor Who: 7 Supportive Women Seared Onto Our Hearts

By Mary Ogle / October 18, 2012

2. River Song

Episodes: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (series 4), Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone (series 5), The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (series 5), The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (series 6), A Good Man Goes to War (series 6), Lets Kill Hitler (series 6), Closing Time (series 6), The Wedding of River Song (series 6), The Angels Take Manhattan (series 7) River Song is so many things the daughter of the Doctors beloved companions, part Time Lord child of the Tardis, kidnapped baby, former brainwashed assassin, time traveling super hero, archaeologist, and of course the Doctors wife that trying to describe her to the uninitiated makes her sound like the ultimate fan fiction archive. She shouldnt work as a character and some people think she doesnt. I beg to differ. I think River Song, in all her inspired complexity, is one of the most intriguing characters ever created for New Who not just because of the way the characters identity is written but also because of the non-linear fashion in which she appears. Youre never quite sure which River youre going to get which is a brilliant way to keep her story line fresh and interesting. River Song is one of the most criticized characters in New Who and a lot of the complaints have to do with the fault finders expectations of what a woman should be and how River isnt living up to them. River is called smug and arrogant, she shows up the Doctor, she acts like she knows more than him, shes better than him at some things. Well, um, yeah, sometimes she does know more than him. Shes witnessed his future. Plus shes brilliant in her own right. Funny how Rivers charisma, intellect and ability to spar with words is so much more threatening than the Doctors or Captain Jacks. For those of you who rant about the age difference between the couple well you have a point. The Doctor is several hundred years older than River after all, but Im sure they can work it out. River is flawed she gives up too much of herself in order to protect the Doctor but frankly a lot of women do this. Were trained to hide our pain in service of our loved ones and we need to take responsibility for changing that. Rivers vulnerability is often understated but expertly played by Alex Kingston the fleeting looks of sadness, the change in her posture when the Doctor does something especially selfish or hurtful, the stricken gaze after the loss of her parents - give us brief but telling glimpses into Rivers battered psyche. Shes not so different from the majority of women I know sad, traumatized, brilliant, funny, loving, brave and flawed gloriously complicated and very, very human.