Doctor Who: 10 Defining Moments In River Song's Timeline

9. The Orphanage

No, 'The Orphanage' isn't a reference to the 2007 horror film although the story of Melody Pond's upbringing could be adapted into one of its very own. If you're already confused, be warned because it's about to get even more complicated. Melody spent the formative years of her life confined to a care home in America where she grew up under the watchful eyes of Kovarian and her silent minions who obviously couldn't look after her on a more permanent basis because they were far too busy planning the next stages of their evil ploy to kill the Doctor. Talk about priorities. It says a lot about Kovarian's malevolent mind that she would give Melody a picture of her and mother after mercilessly ripping them apart but the photograph did serve its narrative purpose of pointing Amy in the right direction when she stumbled upon it in Melody's room whilst investigating the orphanage in 1969 (bear in mind that Amy didn't even know she was pregnant at this point which made the whole thing even more confusing). Melody, meanwhile, was getting up to all kinds of mischief inside the Apollo astronaut spacesuit which the Silence had upgraded with alien technology. Not only did it move autonomously but it also provided sustenance so at least Melody wasn't being forced to partake in Kovarian's evil bidding on an empty stomach. The Impossible Astronaut's initial attempt to kill the Doctor failed, however, and Melody thankfully managed to escape. The next time viewers saw her she was living on the streets of New York and she would've died from a fateful disease had she not had an old Time Lord trick up her sleeve...