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32X13 The Wedding of River Song (Grading/Discussion) SPOILERS

What did you think of "The Wedding of River Song"?


  • Total voters
    176
Along with poll numbers and the AI index score, the critical reception has been very good...

And thus Steven Moffat is pressing a reset button. He said in April, “We’re putting the Who? back in the Doctor.” If this promises less Last Gallifreyan grandstanding, the Doctor playing on a smaller stage like it was in the old days, I’ll be delighted.

So where does he go from here? I’m happy to see many more years of Matt Smith’s Doctor – up to the 50th anniversary in 2013 and beyond. But, much as I like Amy, Rory and River (and the actors who play them), I reckon their work is done. It’s time for some new playmates.

Not only does The Wedding Of River Song tie almost everything up, it moves along the bigger, 50-year story and effectively reboots the show. After seven years of saving the Earth/universe/future of humanity, The Doctor was in danger of becoming ubiquitous. Now, with everybody thinking he's dead, things will be different. Next year we will presumably be back to covert operations under cover of darkness. And that gives us somewhere new to go.

As ever, the script was snappy and witty throughout, but the episode had its eery and touching moments where necessary, too. The Doctor certainly knows how to bow out in style. This was a finale that will have us waiting on the edge of our seats for the next series to begin.

In all it was an uneven ending to a slightly uneven series which at times has been in danger of overcomplicating itself, but still has been one of the most creative and distinctive series on television.

What really excites though is the potential inherent in the massive thematic reboot button that's just been pressed. With the Doctor's faked death essentially giving the show the opportunity to explore a tantalisingly fresh 'black-ops covert' angle and dial the bombastic-asity back, things would be interesting enough as they were.

But throw in the revelation that the show's title is now linked to its very being ("Doctor WHO?"), and you've got a whole raft of new possibilities conveniently laying the groundwork for 2013's 50th anniversary celebration
 
I haven't had a chance to rewatch the finale but on one viewing I felt the wedding was forced and had no real meaning. Why did the Doctor marry River Song?
 
I haven't had a chance to rewatch the finale but on one viewing I felt the wedding was forced and had no real meaning. Why did the Doctor marry River Song?
To have the opportunity to convince her, why else does he play along with anything until he gets through it. But, the Wedding did feel a very Romantic part/point in their relationship. I assume they are married, because, although it was the Tesselecta, he was piloting it, and providing it's words
 
Well, I felt the wedding was so he could say his name. Then it turns out he didn't say his name. But it fooled me and fooling others might have been the point (although only Rory and Amy were witnesses and River said it anyway).
 
[grammar nazi]
The word is fazed.

Being phased is what Captain Kirk will do to you when he comes in peace.
[/grammar nazi]

:D Sorry couldn't resist.
 
I haven't had a chance to rewatch the finale but on one viewing I felt the wedding was forced and had no real meaning. Why did the Doctor marry River Song?
To have the opportunity to convince her, why else does he play along with anything until he gets through it. But, the Wedding did feel a very Romantic part/point in their relationship. I assume they are married, because, although it was the Tesselecta, he was piloting it, and providing it's words
We know he told River to look into his eyes, but he said out loud that he told River his name. I wonder if the Doctor thinks not only Amy and Rory are watching what's going on, and the wedding gave him an excuse to whisper something in River's ears and people won't suspect that it wasn't his name that he whispered. Since he would presume that other people were watching his 'death' (how else would the universe knows that he's dead?), and we know the Silents are in the pyramid just about to come up, so there could be Silents around in that scene.
 
I haven't had a chance to rewatch the finale but on one viewing I felt the wedding was forced and had no real meaning. Why did the Doctor marry River Song?
To have the opportunity to convince her, why else does he play along with anything until he gets through it. But, the Wedding did feel a very Romantic part/point in their relationship. I assume they are married, because, although it was the Tesselecta, he was piloting it, and providing it's words
We know he told River to look into his eyes, but he said out loud that he told River his name. I wonder if the Doctor thinks not only Amy and Rory are watching what's going on, and the wedding gave him an excuse to whisper something in River's ears and people won't suspect that it wasn't his name that he whispered. Since he would presume that other people were watching his 'death' (how else would the universe knows that he's dead?), and we know the Silents are in the pyramid just about to come up, so there could be Silents around in that scene.
Good additional point, very good.
 
We know at some point River learns his name. If it's not at the wedding, maybe at the fall of the 11th?
 
I don't think anyone has really mentioned it but am I the only one who thought what The Doctor did to The Dalek was especially brutal. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel that bad for a single minded killing machine but still. Apparently The Doctor had to cripple The Dalek first, open it up and access it's data base then as a finale he rips off it's eye stalk. I thought it was a pretty dark moment.
 
I liked the episode a lot more on my second run of it. I still wonder about the ending though. How does the Doctor really intend to keep off history's radar? He would effectively have to stop traveling, avoid another companion, etc. And I still want to know where the silence fit into the overall story of the show ...
 
^ Maybe he'll actually get the chameleon circuit working. Surely no one would think that was the Doctor coming out of the piano.
 
This is an interesting look at River's timeline: http://www.twitvid.com/019TG

I haven't seen the library episode from which the clips at the end are taken, so I can only go by what's in those clips, but if I understand correctly River's memories are stored in a computer somewhere? Since she knows the Doctor's name, perhaps this computer will come into play again next series when apparently answering "Doctor Who?" is going to be a major issue.
 
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