10 Doctor Who Cliffhangers That Made You Say WHAT?!

3. River's Identity (A Good Man Goes To War)

Doctor Who A Good Man Goes To War River Song
BBC Studios

The identity of River Song had been a long-standing mystery ever since her first appearance in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. While many people, including Amy Pond, had accurately guessed that she would become the Doctor’s wife, there was another layer to the character that many people didn’t see coming.

In hindsight, this reveal was somewhat obvious, but it was executed so well that it still felt like an unexpected twist in the moment. River Song is Melody Pond. Melody Pond is Amy and Rory’s daughter. Mind. Blown.

The range of reactions – from the Doctor’s flustered excitement, to Amy and Rory’s absolute disbelief – summed up the varied reactions from the audience too. While it was wonderful to finally know who River Song truly was, this bombshell actually left us with even more questions than we started with.

How is River older than her parents? What happened to her once she was taken from Demons Run? Why didn’t she say anything sooner? How does Steven Moffat’s brain work?!

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.