Doctor Who: 8 Reasons Why River Song HAS To Come Back!

3. Moffat Left An Opening!

Doctor Who The Husbands of River Song
BBC Studios

For all intents and purposes, Moffat closed River’s story arc with the 2015 Christmas special, The Husbands of River Song. This is something that, as an audience, we had been anticipating from the moment River returned in series 5 and became a much more significant character than we were initially led to believe.

We always knew that once she reached Darillium her next meeting with her beloved husband would end in her death, and in cruel Moffat fashion it became a fixed point from the moment we witnessed it way back in 2008. River Song is one of the very few characters who we have literally seen from birth to death, which may well be why fans feel so connected to her.

Once Steven Moffat’s departure as showrunner was announced and Chris Chibnall revealed his plans to start his run with a fresh vision, River’s future on the show did begin to feel slightly threatened; a new audience wouldn’t have the same level of connection to the character and would perhaps struggle to understand her significance.

It made perfect sense for Moffat to bring this chapter to an end, but he did of course leave us with that small glimmer of hope with the whole one night on Darillium lasting 24 years. Now if that isn’t an invitation for more River Song content then what is?!

Contributor
Contributor

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.