5. River's Death in 'Forest of the Dead'
In our first meeting with River Song in the Library we have no idea who she is. She's mysterious, she knows all about the Doctor, hell she even has his future sonic screwdriver! The Doctor is flummoxed and maybe a little bit scared about this woman who knows more about him than he does. It's incredibly interesting; when does any character know more about the Doctor than the Doctor! We get all these tiny little nuggets from River in this two parter. First and foremost, she cares about the Doctor, she loves him and she hates having him look at her like a stranger. One of the best moments in the two parter, and in my opinion of the most beautiful little scenes in Doctor Who, is when River tells the Doctor something that no one in the universe knows. The one thing that can be said to the Doctor to prove that they can be trusted; his name. River's conflict when telling him, the Doctor's face when he hears his own name, the mysterious and beautiful score by Murray Gold all tie perfectly together in this scene. It is River's death however, her self sacrifice to save him, the man she loves and the Doctor's subsequent 'saving' of her that cemented her character as one of the most interesting and important characters in Doctor Who. She is someone who was willing to die for the Doctor, to keep those memories she had of him alive and to start off a tragic romance with the Doctor. Her final word was perfect for her character: "Spoilers".