Summary

• River Song's timeline is unique and must be watched from her perspective to truly understand her story. She and the Doctor meet in a different sequence and frequently have to check their diaries to avoid spoilers.
• River's relationship with the Doctor is complex and tragic. The Doctor knew from the start how River's life would end, as their first meeting was right before her death.
• River Song's timeline concludes with her final meeting with the Doctor in the Christmas Special, "The Husbands of River Song." They spend a memorable night together before her eventual death, solidifying their unique bond.

Played by Alex Kingston, River Song is one of the most fascinating characters in Doctor Who - and here's her complete timeline and a recommended viewing order. River Song is the time-traveling archeologist who has one of the closest relationships with the Doctor in the entire show. The two even married, albeit in an alternate timeline that was erased from existence. What makes River Song unique is that she and the Doctor meet one another in a completely different sequence. They frequently have to check diaries to figure out where they are in one another's personal timelines, ensuring they don't accidentally drop any "spoilers" for each other.

Tragically, the Doctor knew throughout their relationship how River's life would end because, for him, the first time they met was right before she died. River Song's story is told in the order the Doctor encounters her, but that makes it particularly interesting to rewatch from her perspective instead. The River Song Doctor Who timeline from River's perspective brings clarity to one of the most impressive multi-seasonal stories in Doctor Who, and shows just how unique River's relationship with The Doctor truly is.

River Song Is Born

Season 6, Episode 7 - A Good Man Goes To War

The Doctor Who River Song timeline begins in season 6, episode 7, which is the story of her birth. River's unique abilities, such as Time Lord regeneration, are explained here too – she was conceived aboard the TARDIS. Melody Pond (River's birth name) is the daughter of Amy and Rory. Unfortunately, the Doctor's enemies used this to their advantage after they identified her as a potential tool. They kidnapped Amy, replacing her with a duplicate while they awaited the birth. "A Good Man Goes To War" is the story of the Doctor's rescue of Amy, but he fails to save Melody, who vanishes into the timeline with the Silence.

River Song Regenerates As A Child

Season 6, Episodes 1 & 2 - The Impossible Astronaut / The Day Of The Moon

River Song's personal timeline then continues in Doctor Who season 6, episodes 1 and 2. In "The Impossible Astronaut," the Doctor's friends watch in horror as the Doctor apparently dies before their eyes, only to find a slightly younger Doctor has been also called to the scene. They are whisked away to 1969, where the Doctor uncovers President Nixon's secret — he's getting mysterious calls from a little girl who can only be kept alive so long as she lives inside a spacesuit. Though they don't know it, the child is Rory and Amy's daughter; the two-part story ends with the mysterious girl regenerating.

River Song Takes The Form Of Alex Kingston

Season 6, Episode 8 - Let's Kill Hitler

The next significant moment in River Song's timeline came when Melody Pond (calling herself "Mels") traveled to England and became childhood friends with her own parents. In fact, she played a major part in getting Amy to realize Rory was more than just a friend, match-making her own parents in a move that's straight out of Back to the Future. Mels finally encountered the Doctor in Doctor Who season 6, episode 8, where she regenerated into the familiar form of Alex Kingston.

After attempting to kill Hitler Inglourious Basterds style — for no reason other than she felt like it — she was transported to the future to train as an archeologist. These first four episodes essentially bring River Song's origin story to an end.

River Song Is Forced To Kill The Doctor

Season 6, Episode 12 - Closing Time

The next significant event in the River Song timeline comes in Doctor Who season 6, episode 12, "Closing Time," which reveals she could never escape the Silence. This is one of Doctor Who's darker episodes but also a satisfying offering because of the big reveal it delivers. The Silence believes The Doctor will ask "the first question" in the future, bringing unspecified doom. River is forcibly recruited to kill the Doctor, being revealed as the mysterious person inside an astronaut suit who ended his life in season 6, episode 1.

River Song Marries The Doctor

Season 6, Episode 13 - The Wedding Of River Song

As shown in Doctor Who season 6, episode 13, "The Wedding of River Song," River initially attempts to resist the Silence's control. The Doctor's death is a fixed point in time, so River's actions come close to destroying all reality, but the Doctor persuades her to marry him and then kill him. There's a trick, of course, but the upshot is that River Song is officially the Doctor's wife, and Amy Pond is his mother-in-law.

River Song Meets Amy, Rory, And The Doctor For The First Time

Season 6, Episode 7 - A Good Man Goes To War

Viewers who want to watch the full River Song story will occasionally need to repeat some episodes, and "A Good Man Goes To War" is one of them. River is newly imprisoned at the Stormcage Containment Unit, sentenced to no less than 12,000 consecutive life sentences for murdering the Doctor. She breaks out to head to the Battle of Demon's Run and properly introduces herself to the Doctor, Amy, and Rory at last.

The Doctor Makes River Song Watch Herself Kill Him

Season 6, Episodes 1 & 2 - The Impossible Astronaut / The Day Of The Moon

River Song crosses her own timeline again, and a later version of her also appears in "The Impossible Astronaut" and "The Day Of The Moon". This version of River is summoned by the Doctor to bear witness to his apparent death at the hands of her younger self. Although there's no actual evidence River knew about this in the episode itself, she later claimed to just be acting. It's a somewhat clunky explanation; it would perhaps have been better for Doctor Who to suggest the experience of crossing the timelines erased River's memory (a concept Doctor Who has used in multi-Doctor stories).

River Frees The Doctor From The Pandorica

Season 5, Episodes 12 & 13 - The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

In River's chronology, it's now time to head to Doctor Who season 5, episodes 12 and 13, "The Pandorica Opens." This two-part adventure sees the Doctor learn that the TARDIS will explode and destroy the entire universe. His greatest enemies combine to imprison him and ensure this won't happen, but unfortunately, River can fly the TARDIS, too. Naturally, the Doctor restores the universe, although this does have the side effect of warping reality a little (a convenient excuse for any inconsistencies in River's timeline).

River Meets Amy And The Doctor Early In Their Timeline

Season 5, Episodes 4 & 5 - The Time Of Angels / Flesh & Stone

Shortly after the Pandorica incident, River Song is assigned to work with a group of militarized clerics to deal with the threat of the Weeping Angels. That particular adventure is told in Doctor Who season 5, episodes 4 and 5, "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone." In the Doctor's personal timeline, which features a few interactions with the Weeping Angels, this is only the second time he has met River and the first time she has met her own mother. River carefully avoids giving away too much but can't resist telling the Doctor she'll see him at the Pandorica.

River Reveals Amy Is The Doctor's Mother-In-Law

Season 6, Episode 13 - The Wedding Of River Song

Having spent some time working with her mother back when she was younger, River decides to pay a visit to her parents at a time when they'll recognize her. This is the final scene in Doctor Who season 6, episode 13, "The Wedding of River Song," in which River reveals the Doctor is still alive and leaves Amy reeling as she realizes that she's now officially the Doctor's mother-in-law.

River Is There For The Doctor After Amy And Rory Depart

Season 7, Episode 5 - The Angels Take Manhattan

Based on dialogue in which she compares diaries with the Doctor, the next story in the River Song timeline is Doctor Who season 7, episode 5, "The Angels Take Manhattan." When Rory is ambushed by one of Doctor Who's infamous Weeping Angels, River finds a way to get a message to the Doctor for help, and the TARDIS team ally with her in New York in 1938.

Tragically, this story sees Amy and Rory part ways with the Doctor, ultimately stranded in the past. The Weeping Angels' powers had twisted the timeline too much for the Doctor to ever head there again. River reveals she's been freed from the Stormcage because the Doctor has been erasing records of his own existence, reasoning that imprisonment isn't possible for murdering someone who doesn't exist.

River Song's Last Night With The Doctor

Doctor Who 2015 Christmas Special - The Husbands Of River Song

River Song's story continues in Doctor Who Christmas Special 2015, "The Husbands of River Song." This is the only story in which River interacts with Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, and it's a haunting adventure because both are aware this will be the last time they meet before River's death. There's a beautiful twist, however, in that the Doctor ensures they spend a night together on Darillium — and a single night on this planet lasts 24 years. This serves as an explanation for why River considered this incarnation of the Doctor to be "hers" — they spent the most time together.

River Song's Death

Season 4, Episodes 8 & 9 - Silence In The Library / The Forest Of The Dead

River Song's timeline concludes in Doctor Who season 4, episodes 8 and 9 - "Silence in the Library" and "The Forest of the Dead," which was originally supposed to include the 45th (and final) Doctor. For the present-day Doctor, this is the first time he has met River – for the time-traveling archeologist herself, it is destined to be their last encounter. He saves River's mind by transporting her consciousness into a VR environment, and the overseer of the installation was originally supposed to be the 45th Doctor, but this idea was eventually dropped.

River Song's Consciousness Lives On

Season 7, Episode 13 - The Name Of The Doctor

There is, however, something of an epilogue to River Song's timeline; Doctor Who season 7, episode 13, in which River's consciousness is still interacting with the Doctor's friends across the timeline. What's more, she hints there's some untold story about these interactions when she finally speaks to the Doctor, teasing him with the promise, "Spoilers."

Hopefully, River will return. Doctors meeting recurring characters from previous seasons isn't uncommon ground for Doctor Who. So far River has only met the 10th, 11th, and 12th Doctors on screen (plus the secret 45th Doctor). While Whittaker never met River, it would be great if she did end up encountering another older version of her husband.

Will River Song Return In Doctor Who?

Alex Kingston Would Be Happy To Expand On River's Timeline

Season 14 of Doctor Who debuts in 2023, and it presents the best chance for a River Song return of any season since her exit. Russell T Davies is back as showrunner for Ncuti Gatwa's 14th Doctor. In 2008, River Song was introduced under Davies' production umbrella in season 4. Davies was known for arching multi-episode plot lines like River's, which is partly why his return is being so celebrated among Doctor Who fans.

Davies' return to the helm doesn't guarantee a River appearance in season 14 alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the 14th Doctor, but it's now more plausible than it has been in years. Alex Kingston is certainly up for a River Song Doctor Who return. Speaking at London Comic Con 2022 (via Radio Times), she sent a clear message for the new Doctor when asked if she'd like to join him for another adventure in the TARDIS – "Bring it on, Ncuti!"