So River Song is Melody Pond, Amy and Rory's daughter. Steven Moffat chose to reveal the mystery identity of River to bring the curtain down on the first half of this year's run of Who - and it was a pretty entertaining way to head into the summer break.
A Good Man Goes To War instantly 'upped the stakes' on previous episodes with an entertaining build up to the 'Battle of Demon's Run'. It all felt more epic and cinematic with an unseen Doctor collecting together an intriguing band of warriors to help him rescue Amy and her new-born child from the clutches of Madame Kovarian (eye patch lady!).
I enjoyed the fact it was almost 20 minutes before we saw the man himself, content with some stylish shadow shots as the Doctor cashed in favours across the universe and destroyed a Cyber fleet in the process to prove a point.
Then, after the Doctor appeared amid the ranks of the wonderful headless monks, came the weakest section of the show. It all felt too easy as the Doctor's new army swept the enemy aside and rescued the baby. I know there was still a twist to come but it felt like all the tension of the long build up hadn't really been paid off properly. Similarly when there was a 'battle' between the Doctor's friends and the monks later it lacked the scale the rest of the episode had sought to bring. Maybe it was just me but the evocatively titled 'Battle of Demon's Run' lost a bit of its allure when it turned out to be a bit of a scuffle in an aircraft hanger.
The episode was rescued by a strong finish though. Firstly the revelation that the Doctor, and the viewer, had been duped twice and Amy's flesh baby evaporated into the ether and then River's reveal. Some people had guessed, some hadn't but the beauty of the truth behind Alex Kingston's character was that the solution was something you 'could' guess but was still satisfying and fun enough to pay off the build up regardless (although 'Let's Kill Hitler' was a little distracting as a next episode title to flash up as we comprehended the events). It may be argued though that the shock that Amy was 'not real' may have been a better cliffhanger to leave us hooked for the summer but this was still entertaining fare.
On the whole despite the disappointment of the middle section there was plenty to praise here. Top of the list had to be Matt Smith's portrayal of the wandering Time Lord. His Doctor had all of his usual boyish enthusiasm but Smith was superb in handling his character's realisation that sometimes, no matter how good his intentions, he has a bad influence on the world around him. His goading of Colonel Runaway showed a Doctor whose emotions had bubbled over too much, leaving him open to be tricked about Melody. This was a Doctor that, despite his age and experience, is still childlike in his desire to please his friends and fix the world - and is now starting to realise his own limitations. His performance shone above a couple of ropey guest roles to lift the episode and paper over some of the cracks.
8/10
