Moffat Era Rewatch: Notes on "The Husbands of River Song"

·      I’ll put my stake in the ground on this one. This is the best River Song story. Not necessarily the best story to feature River Song (although it’s a very good one), but the best use of her character in the show.

·      The central brilliance comes in the way the episode uses the conceit of River not recognising the Doctor to basically make this a backdoor pilot for "The Diary of River Song": this isn’t a story where River arrives in one of the Doctor’s adventures, but where the Doctor stumbles into one of River’s adventures. We've always had hints of her adventures without the Doctor in her previous episodes, but it's nice to fill the last gap in her story by actually showing us one of those adventures in full and it's bigger, madder, and slightly more amoral than any of the Doctor's adventures. Great fun.

·      The episode also cleverly finds a good reason for the Doctor coincidentally bumping into River: she’s looking for time travel, so tracks him down so that she can ask for his help or steal his TARDIS, which is why the Doctor’s around to get mixed up with the surgeon. It’s a nice way to cover a potential bit of wishy washy plotting in a way that actually serves the story.

·      And because he has ended up in one of her adventures, the Doctor basically plays the role of River’s companion. She confronts Hydroflax with a big “I’m the Woman Who’s Gonna steal it back” speech about the Halassi Diamond, she takes his hand to lead him when they are running from Hydroflax’s rogue body, and, best of all, the Doctor gets the chance to do the “bigger on the inside” reaction to the TARDIS takes the Doctor by the hand when running from danger, possibly the best of Moffat’s twists on the concept.

·      But there’s a serious side to this fun concept: the Doctor sees what River is like when he’s not around, and in his own words, can’t approve of any of it. At first this is played for comedic effect, as the Doctor sees her many marriages that don’t involve him. And in spite of being played for farce, it’s actually quite a sensitive take on their polyamorous relationship, something that had been hinted at before, but is only explicitly shown here. The Doctor is clearly a little jealous, but doesn’t act betrayed, mostly just feeling a little awkward that he has to watch her snogging Ramone, and slightly incredulous that she married Hydroflax. His little “down girl!” when she flirts with Ramone at the end of the episode is playful, not jealous or possessive (and thank goodness for that, that would have been ugly to watch): he’s clearly fine with her seeing other people. This is further evidenced by the scene where they try to salvage the crashing spaceship, and they both matter of factly acknowledge the other’s ridiculous list of celebrity marriages: it generates humour out of the situation without sneering at the concept of a polyamorous relationship. In fact, the episode treats it as a sensible way for River and the Doctor to make their highly unusual relationship work. But after the initial jokes that lightheartedly explore this polyamourous relationship, the episode then takes on a more serious tone, as the Doctor realises the disturbing morality of River’s adventures: her wilfully casual attitude towards murdering Hydroflax, and lack of concern for whether the diamond returns to the Halassi standing out.

·      The story builds on this serious turn from the moment the Doctor and River discuss the fact that her diary (I love the Oscar Wilde reference with the “one always needs something sensational to read” quote) is almost full, and the Doctor sees not just how she conducts her own adventures, but how she talks about him personally when she’s not around. Once again, this thread starts with comedy, such as the the “damsel” codename and the joke that he’s never noticed her stealing the TARDIS before, but then builds to more serious tone. River describes falling in love as “the easiest lie you can tell a man. They’ll believe any story they’re the hero of”, a quote that plays with the fact that the Doctor isn’t the hero of this episode, so can see what River might actually think of him without the bias of thinking he is. Except she’s hiding her feelings, both because of insecurity and also because her love for the Doctor probably isn’t something she wants to talk about to random strangers. She’s being understandably guarded about her feelings, but it’s clear the Doctor worries she might be genuine: he’s been given a different perspective on their relationship through the lens of a story where he isn’t the hero. I also love the Doctor’s face when he says “he sounds horrible” after River points out that the Doctor is the kind of man who would know how many pages she would need: it’s as if he only just realised that, yes, that’s exactly why he gave her that specific diary. In this episode, he sees what River really thinks of her relationship with him, and is confronted with the mistakes he’s made over the course their marriage, with the fact he has hurt her by not being clear about his feelings, and by the way he has handled the chronologically messed up nature of their relationship.

·      This exploration of the Doctor learning about River’s hidden insecurities about his feelings towards her culminates in her “you don’t expect a sunset to admire you back” speech (one of Alex Kingston’s finest moments on the show). River isn’t hiding her feelings about the Doctor with an insecure pretense he doesn’t matter to her, but unashamedly acknowledging that she loves him, even though she is clearly convinced he doesn’t love her (which, as with the “sounds horrible” exchange, says volumes about her insecurities regarding the Doctor’s feelings towards her). But River’s fears are answered with possibly the best “Hello Sweetie” ever. In many ways, the scene serves a metatextual purpose, as well as an in story one. It’s Moffat’s impassioned argument against the line of thinking that claims falling in love is something the Doctor shouldn’t do, expressed through River’s insecurities about her relationship with the Doctor: she cites the arguments many fans have claimed applies to romance in Doctor Who, that it’s too “small” and “ordinary” for the Doctor. Moffat’s response is the Doctor’s visible love for River in that “Hello Sweetie”. The Doctor absolutely is in love with River enough to find himself standing in it with her, and love isn’t too small and ordinary for him, as there is nothing small and ordinary about love.

·      The episode’s final scene is also centered on this issue as the Singing Towers of Darillium are used as a metaphor for the Doctor and River’s relationship, nicely tying this long teased part of the Doctor and River’s story into the episode’s themes surrounding the previously unaddressed side of the Doctor and River’s relationship. “They’re ignoring me” says River of the towers, though she’s really talking about the Doctor, who does seem to be ignoring River, talking about the harmonizing of the wind in the towers, just as he talks about the planets to avoid the emotionally weighty conversation with Clara in “Mummy on the Orient Express”: but he’s actually building to a conclusion where he shows that he has been listening, and is trying to put his love for River into words: when he needs it the most, there is always a Song.

·      Beautifully setting up the mix of heartbreak and redemption in the final scene. For me, it's one of the most powerful messages in the show. The Doctor shows that he has learned from his experience in the series nine finale, admitting that everything ends, and nothing can last forever, only for River to respond by pointing out that "Happily ever after doesn't mean forever, it just means time. A little time", a wise and actually quite subversive take on the fairytale themes that have run through the Moffat era. River critiques the Doctor by pointing out that things don’t have to be forever to be worthwhile, that knowing things don’t last means we should make the most of the time we have, instead of worrying about their inevitable end, an idea the Doctor has yet to fully grasp, evidenced by his grim attitude to accepting that everything ends. And then, as River predicted, the Doctor smiles his smug smile when all hope is lost, and saves the day with a night that lasts twenty-four years. The picture of the words "And they lived happily ever after" fading out to become "And they lived happily" before further fading out to “happily” would have been a lovely note to end the Moffat era on (much as I'm looking forward to series 10 and Moffat's remaining Christmas specials). It's a low key, unobtrusive way to say a reassuring goodbye, which I hope Moffat takes when he actually leaves the show, just as he meant to when this was intended to be his final script. It doesn't matter that good times come to an end. Just that they were lived well, and happily.