A Good Man Goes To War answered one of the biggest questions posed in the history of Doctor Who as a show. Who is River Song? Many guessed that she is the Doctor's wife from the future - others had more outlandish theories. Some guessed, correctly as it turns out, that she's Amy and Rory's daughter, Melody. But what else did it give us in terms of answers? Truthfully, nothing.
We know that Melody was taken - wanted - due to her unique Time Head (I use that phrase as her mother does. It's probably not the technical term). She's to be brought up as a weapon with which to defeat the Doctor. But who wants to defeat him? Who is the mysterious Eye-Patch Lady, Madame Kovarian? What has the Church got to do with any of it? It's an answer we were tricked into forgetting we needed. In all the fuss surrounding Amy's kidnap and the Ganger Melody reveal we forgot all about the real mystery - what the hell is going on?!
It's clear that Kovarian is in control. Her forces are intelligent enough to trap the Doctor using the same trick, twice. She knows what she's doing and now she has Melody (from now on, Melody is the name I shall use. None of this River nonsense) and could be anywhere in the universe. So, Unanswered Questions are the order of the day! And who would expect otherwise from Mr Moffat? So much going on - some we understand, some we don't, some we probably never will - and so many things to wonder about in the time we have between now and Autumn. After all, we're still only half-way through the series! I know, it feels like it's over already, but it's not. And wow, what a half-series it's been.
Since Melody has a Time Head (see? I'm running with it!) and we were treated to some blurred flashbacks to the opening two-parter, it is safe to assume (at least, for now) that the girl in America in the '60s is indeed Melody Pond. So that means ANYONE can now play an earlier incarnation of River Song, right? Does this mean, then, that we could have a younger River aboard the TARDIS as a full time companion soon? I hope so! But that's the future - or the past, if you're River Song... Complicated, isn't it? First of all there's the little problem of "where the fuck the Doctor went" to sort out.
Given that the very next episode is called "Let's Kill Hitler" and there are Nazis in the Series Six teaser - as well as being spotted on set - suggests that there's something big coming. But then, why? Why Hitler? Or is it something along the lines of "we need to mess time up or Melody will become River, as planned, and end up the weapon she was nurtured to be"? Maybe killing Hitler - thus disrupting history and time itself - is the only way to put a stop to the massive, sprawling plot of Kovarian and those she works for. Maybe messing up time will give our heroes a chance to put things right again, from scratch. Maybe. Who knows?
And who cares? In a couple of months we'll have Doctor Who back on our screens and we'll learn these answers. I've never wished I was spoiler-free more than I do now. This is one story I wish I could watch unravel on screen. Maybe I can forget the things I already know about what's to come - though, thinking about it, that's not a lot at all! Oh, BBC Wales. You beauty!
