Happy Halloween everyone.
TW: Yep.
THWA: Thanks.
DCMarvel heroes: Yep. Huh, interesting.
After finishing lunch, Jane led the group back to the viewing room. Once more, they retook their seats before the TARDIS started the next recording.
The scene opens at a cornfield, birds chirping when a car goes flying through it. In the car, Amy tells Rory to take a sharp left turn while holding a piece of paper. Rory does so, driving through the cornstalks. Amy then tells him to go right and Rory moves to correct his course. Once he does, Amy tells him to loop the loop and Rory does. Rory drives through the cornstalks back to where he had first started, creating a loop and Amy shouts at him to stop. Rory slams on the breaks and the car stops. They get out of the car to see The Doctor and the TARDIS standing in the center of the shape they have carved into the cornfield. The Doctor holds up a Leadworth newspaper, which has a caption about a crop circle. "Seriously?" he asks. The recording zooms up onto the cornfield, showing Amy and Rory have spelled the word 'Doctor' in the crop.
"Well, that's one way to get his attention," Jack said, a slight smirk on his lips.
"Well, he never answers his phone," Jane noted.
"Which is what River said at the end of the last set. Bloody Hell, she really is their daughter," Donna muttered, seeing it clearly now.
"How did we not see it earlier?" Martha grumbled as she face palmed.
"Well, it's not something you see every day," Mickey muttered, still not having completely wrapped his head around the idea.
Rory points out The Doctor never answers his phone before Amy says The Doctor has had all summer, eagerly demanding to know if he's found Melody. The Doctor asks Rory for permission as he hands him the newspaper. Rory grants it before The Doctor hugs Amy. The Doctor points out Melody grows up to be River, so Amy knows he will find her. Amy notes sadly he hasn't yet.
"So it's been a few months since Melody was taken," Mickey noted.
"Those two must have been going through Hell," Martha whispered, all of them feeling for Amy and Rory in that moment.
Rory spots something in the paper and The Doctor and Amy walk over to him. In the photo of the crop circle, there's a line through 'Doctor'. Amy says that wasn't them and The Doctor takes the paper from Rory. The Doctor uses the paper, walking around as he tries to find the entrance of the line when they hear a car engine. The Doctor lowers the paper and the trio sees a red sports car cutting through the cornstalks heading straight for them. They all scream before Amy and Rory jump out of the way as The Doctor scrambles to dodge. The car bursts into the circle and the truck hits The Doctor in the legs, sending him falling onto his back. The car pulls to a stop, barely avoiding hitting the TARDIS.
"What the bloody Hell!?" Mickey exclaimed as they all looked at the screen startled.
"Who the Hell is driving that car?! They could have killed them!" Donna snapped angrily.
"Spoilers," Jane said with a slight smile.
"This gets more and more interesting," Jack said as he looked at the screen intrigued.
"Only you would find a reckless driver interesting," Martha sighed in exasperation.
"Reckless? I call it careless. She could have killed any one of them!" Wilf exclaimed horrified by the driver's lack of regard for safety, either themselves or others.
Amy and Rory look up as the owner of the car steps out in front of The Doctor. He looks up, seeing their features are obscured by the sunlight at first. "You said he was funny," the driver says as sunlight dims enough for The Doctor to make out an attractive black woman. "You didn't say he was hot." Rory greets her as Mels as Amy demands to know what she's doing there. Mels says she was following them as The Doctor stands up, asking where she got the car. "It's mine," Mels says before they hear the sound of police sirens. "Ish."
"So, Rory and Amy know her then," Jack noted interested.
"I'm more interested in the fact she stole a car," Mickey said, grinning slightly.
"You would be," Martha said, torn between amusement and exasperation at her husband's antics.
Amy moans not again as Rory tells Mels she'll end up in prison if she keeps doing this. The Doctor interjects, saying he's very lost. "You never said I was hot?" he asks.
"Not the time Spaceman," Donna sighed in exasperation.
"Only you Doctor," Martha shook her head fondly.
"To be fair, saying he's not hot is a crime in itself," Jack shrugged.
Mels asks about the TARDIS, calling it the 'bigger on the inside phonebox'. The Doctor looks at Amy and Rory confused as Mels feels the TARDIS, geeking out about time travel. The Doctor walks over to Mels, who introduces herself as Amy and Rory's best mate and that she's heard a lot about him. The Doctor asks why he doesn't know her, pointing out she wasn't at the wedding and he danced with everyone there, men and women. Mels says she doesn't do weddings as the sirens grow closer. Mels says she's out of time before pulling a gun on The Doctor, to Amy and Rory's horror.
"Blimey," Mickey said as the past viewers all stared.
"Good Lord," Wilf said horrified.
"Much less impressed now," Jack said.
"Oi! This girl's mad!" Donna exclaimed.
"I can't disagree," Jane shrugged.
"The Doctor, this Mels, River. Amy and Rory seem to have a habit of picking up insane friends," Martha said in exasperation.
"You have no idea," Jane said with a grin, looking forward to their reactions in a few minutes.
Mels says she needs to get out of there now as The Doctor puts his hands up, asking if she'd wish to go anywhere in particular. "Let's see, you've got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the Hell? Let's kill Hitler," Mels says. The words 'A long time ago in Leadworth' then appear on the screen. A young Amelia Pond is opening a box with a young Mels, who asks if The Doctor is hot. Amelia says he's funny as she pulls out a paper Mache TARDIS. Amelia begins playing with her toy TARDIS as Mels asks how The Doctor can travel in time, "Because he's got a time machine, Stupid," Amelia says.
"Well this is…weird," Martha noted.
"We went from Mels threatening Boss to seeing her as a kid. It's very weird," Mickey agreed with his wife.
"Well, on the bright side, looks like we'll learn more about Mels," Donna noted.
A young Rory walks in, complaining that they were supposed to be playing hide and seek. Amelia says that they just haven't found him yet. Young Rory sighs, heading out of the room, he and Mels greeting each other on the way out.
"Well, that was about what I expect a young Amy and Rory's relationship to be like," Jack mused.
"Considering how damaged Amy was, I'm surprised it's not worse," Martha shrugged.
The scene changes to a school. A teacher asks Mels if she understood a question, asking why the titanic sank. Amelia and the rest of the class watch as Mels stands up, declaring the Titanic sank because The Doctor didn't save it and calling the teacher stupid for not knowing about The Doctor.
"Blimey," Mickey muttered, the past viewers surprised at Mels' boldness even as a child.
"So she was always a Hell raiser. I like her," Jack said with a smirk.
"You remember she's holding The Doctor at gunpoint, right?" Donna asked incredulously.
"Hey, you should have seen the first time I met The Doctor. We all have our pasts," Jack shrugged.
Later, Mels is let out of the head teacher's office, Amelia waiting for her outside. Amelia and Mels head out onto the playground, Amelia asking why Mels is always in trouble.
Amelia and Mels bicker as they pass Rory, who is blindfolded. He asks if he's getting warm and Amelia says yes as they walk away.
"Okay, now that's just mean," Mickey said with a chuckle.
"Kids at that age can be mean, even to their friends," Martha said, trying not to laugh.
"Poor Rory," Donna said, likewise finding it difficult not to laugh.
The scene changes to years later. A teenage Mels tells a teacher than a significant factor in Hitler's rise to power was The Doctor not stopping him. Mels is later let out of the head teacher's room, a teenager Amy waiting for her outside. Amy tells Mels she can't keep doing this. The scene then changes, showing an adult Mels being let out of a jail cell with an adult Amy waiting on the other side for her. Amy races after Mels as she walks out.
"Always a Hell Raiser indeed," Wilf muttered.
"She seems to go out of her way to antagonize people of authority," Donna noted.
Which wasn't far from the truth, Jane mused silently. Were all those authority figures projections at Melody's anger at Kovarian from her subconscious? Maybe, maybe not, but she'd probable never know the truth for sure.
In Amy's room, Mels jumps onto the bed, saying she was late so she took a bus as she plays with Amy's toy TARDIS. Rory is sitting in a chair across the room as Amy paces. Rory argues Mels stole a bus as Amy demands who steals a bus. Mels say she returned it but Rory argues she drove it through the Botanical Garden.
"She what?!" Wilf asked in alarm.
"She's mad," Donna repeated in disbelief.
"This is too much even for me," Jack said, stunned by Mels' gall.
"Let me guess, she'd make a good Torchwood agent?" Martha asked dryly but Jack shook his head.
"You remember the purpose of Torchwood was to remain secret, right? Mels wouldn't have lasted a day," Jack said firmly.
Mels laughs, calling it a shortcut as Amy explodes on her, demanding to know why she can't act like a 'normal, legal person'. Mels quips she needs a doctor and Amy angrily takes the toy TARDIS away from her, telling her to stop it. Rory stands up, saying he has to leave because he has earlies tomorrow. As Rory begins to head out, Mels argues it's okay for Amy because she has 'Mr. Perfect' keeping her right. Amy, misunderstanding, says The Doctor was a dream she had when she was a kid. Mels says she wasn't talking about The Doctor. Amy realizes she's talking about Rory and he freezes on his way out. Amy asks how she has Rory and Rory, stammering slightly, asks the same question. The two agreeing that Rory isn't Amy's. "Oh come on. Seriously, it's got to be you two," Mels says and they look at her blankly. "Oh, cut to the song, it's getting boring." Amy says it's impossible between her and Rory. Rory does his best to hide his disappointment and agrees.
"Ouch," Mickey said, wincing in sympathy for Rory.
"Wait for it," Jane said as she smiled, trying not to giggle.
Amy says she would love to, putting an arm around Rory's shoulder as she calls Rory gorgeous and her favorite guy. "But, he's, you know, gay." "A friend." Rory and Amy look at each other in surprise.
"She thought he was gay?" Mickey asked as Jack burst out laughing.
"Well, Amy is not the best at picking up obvious hints. And since Rory obviously wasn't interested in any girls besides Amy, I can understand why she might have thought Rory was gay," Jane shrugged.
"Either way, this should be interesting," Jack said with a grin once he stopped laughing.
Rory says he's not gay and they arguing about it. "In the entire time I've known you, when have you ever shown the slightest interest in a girl?" Amy asks. "Penny in the air," Mels says as she twirls the toy TARDIS. "I've known you for what, ten years? I've seen you practically every day. Name one girl you've paid the slightest bit of attention to you," Amy challenges the nervous Rory.
"She really was oblivious," Martha said as she and Donna joined Mickey and Jack in their laughter.
"Usually how things go," Mickey noted, remembering how Rose had just as oblivious to his feelings for her.
Rory stares at her nervously before running out of Amy's room, to her surprise. Mels laughs as the truth dawns on Amy and she runs after Rory.
"So not only did he get out of the friend zone, Rory got out of the gay friend zone," Mickey said in disbelief. "Thank you Mels?"
"Well, if Mels hadn't ousted him, Rory probably never would have told Amy how he felt," Martha pointed out and Mickey nodded, conceding her point.
"She is quiet a character," Wilf noted and Jane disguised a laugh as a couch.
"You have no idea Wilf."
"And the penny drops," Mels says as she gets off Amy's bed. She says she'll catch The Doctor later before tossing the toy TARDIS onto the bed. In the present, the TARDIS is flying through the air when there is the sound of a gunshot.
"Great, and now she's shot someone," Donna grumbled as they all watched uneasily.
Inside, The Doctor shouts that Mels shot the TARDIS as a hole is shown in the console, steaming shooting out of it. They all hold onto something as Mels blames The Doctor, as he said guns didn't work in the TARDIS. "That was a clever lie, you idiot! Anyone could tell that was a clever lie!" The Doctor snaps. Amy screams as the TARDIS spins out of control.
"She shot the bloody TARDIS!" Donna exclaimed in the same tone as The Doctor.
"She really is mad," Mickey said in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry old girl," Martha said in sympathy as she looked around the room, the TARDIS seeming to give an extra 'Vwoorp' as if to say 'thank you'.
"I guess it could be worse," Jack mused.
"How?" Wilf asked in disbelief.
"She could have shot someone else," Jack pointed out and they all paused.
"Good point," Wilf conceded.
In Berlin, 1938, a Nazi walks into a building with an eagle standing atop the blood flag. Two blood flags flank the doorway with two Nazis standing guard.
"Looks like they're heading to Nazi Germany then," Jack noted.
"Well, it was one of the few places he never took any of us, so seems fitting," Martha mused.
"For good reason," Wilf said darkly, remembering having lived through this era of history. "It is not a time any sane person would want to visit."
"For good reason," Jack echoed darkly and no one disagreed.
The man walks down a corridor, passing a janitor. The janitor turns to watch the man, the movement of the neck followed by mechanical sounds. The scene changes to a kind of control room. The image of the man is shown. A young man looks at the image, asking if they like him. A woman is sitting at a computer nearby, asking if he wants to know about the suit. The man says he only wants to know about color and shape before he's told that the musculature is ready. The man notes this is quick before being informed that the department wants to know about skin tone. Automated doors open and an older woman in the same uniforms walks into the control room. The woman says she doesn't trust the sensors and wants to see herself. A man argues with her that they're not trying to win an award but the woman argues he said that when they made Rasputin green.
"I am so confused," Mickey declared.
"For once we agree," Jack said as the past viewers looked at the screen in bewilderment.
"It makes sense in a minute," Jane assured them.
The man orders them to 'get your fat one up there'. The woman begins heading out and he orders her to run. "Yes captain," she says as she runs towards the doors. The captain sits down in a chair says that Harriet is 'going to eyeball'.
"Well that's a sentence I never thought I'd hear," Martha muttered as the past viewers all stared, wondering what was going on.
The Nazi who had been seen walking into the building is going through a filling cabinet when the janitor enters the room. The Nazi looks up, asking what he wants. The Nazi turns back to the file he was reading when the janitor approaches him. The Nazi quickly puts the file back before asking what the janitor is doing. In the control room, a man and a woman discuss the Nazi's height as the janitor's height increases until he is standing eye level with the stunned Nazi.
"What the bloody Hell?" Mickey asked in disbelief as the past viewers looked at the screen in disbelief.
"It actually exists," Jack said in disbelief and the past viewers turned to him.
"What, you've heard of this to?" Donna asked annoyed.
"It was an old story from the Time Agency; none of us ever thought it was true. Allegedly there was a ship piloted by a crew of people who shrunk themselves and went traveling through time to punish war criminals. The ship could apparently shape shift into various people," Jack explained, in a bit of disbelief this story was true. "We thought it was a joke someone told."
"Apparently not, as what we're seeing seems to fit," Martha pointed out.
"This just gets more and more ridiculous all the time," Mickey muttered.
The captain calls up to Harriet, asking if she's up there yet. Harriet is in the lift when a wristband on her wrist turns from green to red and alarms begin blaring. She frantically begins messing with the wristband before the doors to the elevator open. "Welcome. You are unauthorized," a deep voice tells her as a shadow is seen. "Your death will now be implemented."
"Good Lord," Wilf said horrified as the past viewers looked at the screen startled.
"I've heard of tight security, but this seems like overkill," Martha muttered.
"They're not for security," Jane said darkly, causing the past viewers to wonder what these things were for if not security.
The captain asks if she's updated her privileges and Harriet says she has. She messes with the wristband and it turns back to green. She shows it to the shadow, insisting she is staff. The shadow says she's authorized and will continue to exist, to her relief.
"I understand now. Anyone not authorized is killed," Jack mused.
"So they go around history, taking people inside the ship where they're murdered," Donna summed up.
"Or worse," Mickey added.
"Can you say 'God Complex'?" Martha asked dryly.
The Nazi stares at the janitor in bewilderment before, to his shock, the Janitor's clothes changes into an exact replica of the Nazi's uniform. Harriet is seen running down a metal corridor, announcing its five seconds to eyeball. She reaches the end of the corridor and a small window seems to appear. She looks out, announcing the shapes and tells them to compensate for his sweating. It's revealed the window Harriet is staring out is actually the eye of the janitor.
"Looks like the story is true," Jack said, still in disbelief. "First the Pandorica, then Santa, now this. If the Easter Bunny turns out to be real, I'm out. You can drop me off at the nearest psychiatric ward."
"Relax Jack, there are no Easter Bunnies in these," Jane assured him, looking at him in amusement.
The Nazi wonders what the janitor is as Harriet heads back down the corridor. An automated voice announces to prepare for pixilation before the janitor's face changes into a replica of the Nazi's. The Nazi steps back in shock, closing the file cabinet as the replica approaches him. He reaches out and takes the Nazi's glasses. The replica puts on the glasses and the captain orders clean up. The eye suddenly flashes and the Nazi is hit by a ray of light. The Nazi cries out before he seems to shrink down. The Nazi then finds himself inside the metal corridor, looking around in shock and bewilderment.
"Okay, what the Bloody Hell did I just see?" Mickey asked as he stared at the screen in bewilderment.
"Miniaturization ray. Like I said, they take people inside the ship. What did you think I meant?" Donna asked and Mickey looked sheepish.
"I think Mickey Mouse is still having trouble with the ship operated by tiny people," Jack said shooting a teasing smirk at Mickey.
"Oh and you aren't," Mickey shot back.
"It is kind of ridiculous," Martha noted and none of them disagreed.
Watching from a security feed, the captain asks who the Nazi is. He's informed the Nazi is Erich Zimmerman, a member of the Nazi party guilty of category III hate crimes. The captain orders he be left to the antibodies.
"While what they may be doing is wrong, I can't bring myself to feel too bad for him," Martha admitted.
"Bloke was a Nazi. He deserves what he gets," Mickey said darkly.
"And if that data is correct, he was one of the worst," Jack noted, none of them feeling much sympathy for Zimmerman.
Zimmerman stands up, not able to see properly without his glasses and begins making his way down the corridor. Behind him, a part of the floor lifts up with a buzzing sound as a light shines on Zimmerman. He stops, turning around to see what appears as a blur as a voice tells him he is unauthorized and his death will be implemented. Zimmerman runs but finds another antibody waiting. It approaches him, politely explaining what will happen to him. He tries to run twice more but finds his way blocked by other antibodies. He screams in terror as he's teleported out of the corridor.
The past viewers all looked a little uncomfortable at this. While Zimmerman undoubtedly deserved what he got, it was still a little uncomfortable to watch.
A man is seen from the back at a desk, writing when the door to the room is opened. The replica walks in and slams the door shut. The man stops writing, asking what the replica wants and who let him in. The replica begins making his way towards the man as, inside, the captain's cup is thrown to the floor. He asks what's wrong with the shock absorbers and is told they have a problem in the knees. The captain sarcastically says to hope they don't have to run.
"Is that who I think it is?" Martha asked as the past viewers all stared at the screen in complete disbelief.
"Well, he would be up their alley," Jack mused.
"So…do we root for the guys in the ship?" Mickey wondered.
"No," Wilf said firmly. "There is a natural order to things. Even The Doctor knows better than to disturb then. That man may be indescribably evil, but no one has the right to change history however they choose."
"Wilf's right. They may think they're doing good, but like you said Martha, they really just fancy themselves as gods," Jane said firmly. "Even Dad, for all his flaws, knew better than to play God with history, a few incidents notwithstanding."
Outside, the replica reaches the man, informing him not to scream, as the room has been sound screened. "You have been found guilty. Justice mode activated," the replica says before shooting out a beam of light at the man. The man screams as the captain is informed that this is 1939 and they need to go later to his time stream. A woman announces they've got incoming and the captain wants it on screen. The replica stops, turning as the TARDIS crashes through a window. The replica is struck by the TARDIS and the people inside are sent flying. The TARDIS lands a few feet away from the replica as it lies on its back. The doors open and The Doctor walks out, ordering everyone out of the TARDIS. They get off and Amy asks where they are. The Doctor says a room and Rory repeats Amy's question. The Doctor snaps he doesn't know, as he hasn't memorized every room in the universe.
"Well than stop acting like you do Spaceman," Donna said amused.
"So does that mean that they just saved…" Martha trailed off as they all caught on.
"Blimey," Mickey muttered.
"Time travel. It's a messy business," Jack sighed.
Mels moves to head into the TARDIS but The Doctor stops her, closing the door and telling not to breathe the smoke, as it's deadly because 'somebody' shot the TARDIS.
"Well he's not letting this go anytime soon," Martha noted.
"As he shouldn't," Donna said angrily.
Seeing the replica, Rory calls over The Doctor. Inside, the crew move to transmit normal life signs and get the artificial gravity running. Rory is confused when he feels the replica's life signs as The Doctor puts the gun he had taken from Mels by a fruit bowl. The man then gets up from behind his desk and The Doctor asks if this is his office. Amy and Rory get up as The Doctor explains about the TARDIS crashing. The Doctor stops talking as the man turns around, revealing himself as Adolf Hitler. Amy and Rory step up next to The Doctor, Amy in disbelief as Hitler thanks The Doctor for saving his life. Horrified, The Doctor assures him it was an accident. Hitler walks over to the TARDIS as Amy snaps that they cannot have just saved Hitler. The Doctor whirls on Mels, snapping that time travel never goes to plan as Mels rolls her eyes.
"Truer words have never been spoken," Jack mused.
"I think this puts even his worst case scenarios as to the possible. No one wants to be known as the person who saved Hitler," Martha said, all of shuddering at the mere thought.
"Poor Spaceman," Donna muttered as they all felt sympathy for The Doctor.
Hitler asks about the TARDIS and The Doctor tells him that it's a police box from London. "That's right Adolf, the British are coming," The Doctor says. But Hitler is distracted as the replica gets to its feet. Hitler points to the replica and The Doctor looks over his shoulder as Hitler orders them to stop the replica. Hitler pulls out a gun and fires. The Doctor barley manages to jump out of the way and the replica is hit before Hitler fires a second time. Inside the control room, the captain demands a damage report as the controls spark. Hitler fires again before Rory slugs him. Hitler goes down to the floor and Rory quickly grabs his gun. Hitler looks up to see Rory aiming the gun at him. "Sit still. Shut up," Rory orders and Hitler holds up his hands fearfully.
"Alright Rory!" Mickey cheered.
"He definitely channeled his inner Captain America there," Jane agreed with a smile.
"Anyone who does that to Hitler deserves a metal," Wilf said happily.
"You said it Gramps," Donna said with a smile.
"My, how far you've come Rory," Jack muttered, remembering how Rory was at the beginning of these.
"How far we've all come," Martha noted, remembering being just a med student when first meeting The Doctor.
Amy rushes to the replica, asking if he's okay and the captain uses a control to speak through it, telling Amy he's fine. Hitler protests that the replica was going to kill him and Rory snaps at him to shut up. The Doctor orders Rory to put Hitler in a nearby cupboard and Rory grabs Hitler by the arm, forcibly leading him over to the cupboard and throwing him inside, ignoring Hitler's protests. Hitler demands to know who they are before Rory closes the door in his face.
"Sorry Hitler, you don't have any people who are afraid of you anymore," Donna said smugly.
"Now you're just like everyone else," Martha said with a smirk.
The Doctor inspects the replica, asking if it's okay. The crew worries what to do now and one of them suggests they go into surveillance mode. The captain agrees, ordering a faint. The Doctor watches as the replica seems to faint. Amy and Rory rush over and Rory says he fainted. The Doctor suspiciously notes it was a perfect faint.
"They're not fooling The Doctor," Wilf noted with a chuckle.
"He's been around humans for centuries. He knows what it looks like when someone faints," Jack noted. "I'm curious to see how he plays this."
Amy notices Mels is holding her side and calls out to her. The Doctor and Rory look over as Mels says Hitler is a lousy shot before falling down. The trio rush over to her, seeing Mels has been shot. The Doctor calls out to Rory, who inspects the wound as he says they've got to stop the bleeding.
"Great, Hitler's claimed another victim," Martha grumbled as the past viewers all worried about Mels.
"Not exactly," Jane said with a smile. "This is where it gets complicated."
"Brilliant," Donna said sarcastically, wondering what was going to happen now.
In the control room, a member of the crew has found a match on the TARDIS, saying they've got the biggest war criminal ever right under their nose. The captain stands up as he's informed if they take this one out, the justice department will give them the rest of the year off. The captain asks if he's sure and the crewmember says there's no question. "It's her," he says.
"Her? What does that mean?" Martha asked wearily as the past viewers looked confused and Jane grimaced.
"You'll find out in a few minutes anyway, so just watch," Jane sighed as the past viewers looked at the screen wearily, wondering what was going on.
Amy asks Rory what to do and he says to keep her conscious as he works, urging Mels to stay with them. As Mels gasps in pain, she tells The Doctor she used to dream about him from the stories Amy told her. The Doctor urges her to tell him which stories, trying to keep her conscious and Mels says she dreamed of marrying him when she was little. The Doctor promises to marry her as long as she stays alive.
As the past viewers watched tense, Jane smiled slightly. Her father had certainly kept that promise. He'd just proposed to River without even knowing. River probably had a big laugh about that later on, Jane mused.
Mels notes he needs to ask her parents' permission and he promises to phone them once she's well. "Might as well do it now, since they're both right here," Mels reveals.
"Huh?" Mickey asked as the past viewers all looked confused.
"Did I just hear that right?" Martha inquired.
"You heard it perfectly. Just keep watching," Jane said her smile widening.
The trio exchange bewildered glances as Mels says penny in the air. Mels' begins glowing with regeneration energy as she says penny drops. Rory asks what's going on before The Doctor grabs Amy and Rory's hands, pulling them away from Mels. Mels gets to her feet, noting she ended up a toddler in the middle of New York last time she did this.
"No!" Donna exclaimed as they all caught on.
"You mean Mels is really…" Martha trailed off.
"Yes," Jane confirmed, trying not to laugh at the looks on their faces.
"How…why…what?" Mickey stammered, trying to put his thoughts into words.
"It was part of a plan by Kovarian to make sure Amy and Rory ended up together. She couldn't have anything, even chance, screwing up her plans," Jane said, her smile replaced by a scowl. "Of course, she couldn't count on the fact that Amy and Rory's influence would prevent Mels from turning into a complete psychopath. Their influence is probably the only reason Mels eventually ended up becoming River."
Amy asks The Doctor what's happening. The Doctor realizes Mels is a nickname and Mels confirms its short for Melody. Amy says she named her daughter after her. "You named your daughter…after your daughter," The Doctor says. "It took me years to find you two. And I'm so glad I did. And you see? It all worked out in the end, didn't it? You got to raise me after all," Mels says. Amy and Rory realize she's Melody, which means- "Shut up Dad. I'm focusing on a dress size," Mels cuts Rory off. Mels then holds out both hands, screaming as the regeneration energy flows from her hands. From the control room, the captain watches as the energy fades and River Song now stands in the room.
"So Mels was Melody, who is also River. This is getting more and more complicated all the time," Donna grumbled.
"I need to lie down," Martha muttered feeling lightheaded.
"Imagine how they must feel," Jack pointed out.
"You're taking this oddly well," Mickey noted and Jack shrugged.
"Well, after I found out River was Melody; nothing can really surprise me anymore. Although I do have to admit, I was not expecting this," Jack noted.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory look up as Melody begins examining her new body. Melody feels her hair and rushes to a mirror, examining her hair and happily declaring she loves it. The Doctor, Amy and Rory watched in a bit of disbelief as Melody turns around, noting she's all 'mature'. "Hello Benjamin," Melody says as she puts her leg up on a piece of furniture.
"Great, she's already flirting with him," Martha sighed in exasperation. "A wilder River with The Doctor, this can't go well."
"You have no idea," Jane grimaced, knowing what was about to happen.
The Doctor puts a hand to his face before asking who Benjamin is. Melody begins clicking her teeth, putting a finger in her mouth to examine them before rushing over to The Doctor. He backs up into Hitler's desk as Amy and Rory jump apart. All three are uncomfortable as Melody makes a suggestive remark about the bowtie.
"I could have lived my whole life without that imagine in my head," Donna said, the past viewers and Jane grimacing as they imaged such a scenario.
Except Jack who looked intrigued. But he didn't say anything, to the relief of everyone else.
Melody then turns around, saying she needs to weigh herself before running out of the room. Amy and Rory sit down on either side of The Doctor as the three of them process that that's River. Melody pops her out from around the corner, asking who River Song is and they look over at her. "Spoilers," The Doctor says.
"Guess that's where River got that from," Mickey mused.
"Good Lord, this is truly complex," Wilf muttered, barely able to keep up.
"Time travel always is. But you need a chart to make sense of all this," Jack said, having the same feeling as Wilf.
Melody asks what that means before saying to hang on while she goes to check something. Melody runs out of the room and Rory asks if anyone else finds this day a bit difficult, complaining about a banging in his head. Amy says that's Hitler in the cupboard and Rory says that's not helping.
This would be humorous under normal circumstances, but given recent revelations, none of the viewers' really paid attention.
The Doctor gets to his feet, explaining this isn't the River Song they know, its River at the start of her timeline, not even knowing the name River Song. "Oh! That's magnificent!" Melody exclaims. They turn around as Melody enters the room, exclaiming she's going to wear lots of jodhpurs.
"I wondered what a young River Song was like. I no longer have to wonder," Jack said with an amused smile.
"Not that far off from what I imagined," Mickey shrugged.
In the control room, the captain says that it's her. "Melody Pond. The woman who kills The Doctor," he says darkly.
"So then it's true. She really does kill him," Donna muttered, the little bit of hope that it wasn't River dying.
"She's the one in the suit on that lake," Martha sighed sadly as the mood plummeted.
"But how? And why?" Jack wondered as he narrowed his eyes and Jane smiled tightly.
"Spoilers."
Melody pulls out a gun, taking aim at The Doctor, who says he thought they were getting married. Melody walks into the room, reminding him she's not wedding person.
"Wait, why does she have a gun?" Donna asked startled as the past viewers looked at her startled.
"To kill The Doctor," Jack said, having expected it. "Haven't you been paying attention? River was meant to be a weapon to kill him. She's probably been conditioned to kill him on sight."
"So why didn't she?" Wilf wondered and Jack shrugged, not really having an answer.
Rory asks what she's doing and The Doctor notes what she's programed to. Rory asks where she got the gun. "Hello Benjamin," The Doctor says. The scene flashes back to when Melody said that, revealing she took her gun back from the fruit bowl. Melody is impressed that The Doctor noticed and pulls the trigger. Amy and Rory step back but the gun is empty. The Doctor says of course he did as the scene flashes back to when Mels had regenerated; revealing The Doctor had taken the opportunity to empty the gun of bullets. The Doctor explains he tidied up a bit once he knew she was coming.
"So he knew she was going to try and kill him once she Regenerated," Martha realized.
"You are good Boss," Mickey muttered, all of them impressed.
"He spent all that time searching for her, he probably prepared for this possibility," Jack noted.
Melody tosses the gun aside, explaining she knows he did. The scene flashes back to when Melody had back him up against the desk, revealing she'd taken a gun off it. In the present, The Doctor says he knows as the scene flashes back to show The Doctor had turned the fruit bowl, revealing she'd taken a banana instead of the gun. In the present, Melody pulls it out and Amy and Rory back up before realizing what it is. "Goodness, is killing you going to take all day?" Melody complains. The Doctor takes the banana from her, asking if she's busy as he tosses it over his shoulder. Melody says she's not complaining, taking a letter opener off the desk and trying to strike The Doctor with it. But he uses his screwdriver to send it flying out of her hand, noting she could have killed him in the cornfield. "We had just met. I'm a psychopath, I'm not rude," Melody says.
"This is the weirdest fight I have ever seen," Mickey declared.
"The Doctor seems to know everything River – Melody, whatever – is going to do before she does it," Donna noted.
"But since she was trained by the Silence since birth, she probably knows all of his to. Which leaves the question as to what she's really doing," Jack said as he narrowed his eyes, unable to shake the bad feeling in his chest.
Melody then takes the gun out of the fruit bowl and fires it. Amy screams as she and Rory try to take cover but the gun is empty again. The Doctor pulls out the ammo, blowing on it.
"Okay, now you're just showing off," Mickey said in amusement.
No one else said a word as they watched, tense, completely engrossed in what they were seeing; wondering what was going to happen next.
Amy says Melody is not a psychopath, asking The Doctor why she would be one. "Oh, Mummy, Mummy, pay attention," Melody says as she and The Doctor begin to circle each other. "I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill The Doctor." The Doctor reminds Amy of Demon's Run, pointing out this is what they were building. "My bespoke psychopath," The Doctor says as he and Melody walk up to each other, only an inch apart. Melody says she's all his, calling him sweetie before kissing The Doctor. The Doctor says only River Song gets to call him that and Melody asks who she is. The Doctor says an old friend and Melody calls that a stupid name.
"Well that's an ironic reaction," Jack said with a slight chuckle.
"Like Oliver Queen calling Green Arrow a lame name. God that show went downhill," Jane mused.
"Not even gonna ask," Mickey said, beginning to grow used to Jane's strange pop culture references that were lost on the rest of them.
"At this point, I can't tell if they're fighting or flirting," Martha admitted.
"Knowing them, probably both," Donna pointed out.
Melody then runs up to the broken window, looking out over Berlin and noting it's on the eve of war. Melody calls this her kind of town. She warns Amy and Rory not to follow her and The Doctor notes no warning for him. "No need, my love. The deed is done. And so are you," Melody says. The Doctor suddenly doubles over.
"Spaceman!" Donna cried out in worry as the past viewers all tensed.
"What did she do? What did she do?!" Mickey cried in panic as Jane grimaced.
"It's explained in a minute," Jane sighed.
Amy and Rory rush over to him as The Doctor asks Melody what she's done, calling her River. Melody notes River is more than a friend, given how often The Doctor talks about her. The Doctor demands to know what she's done before falling to his knees, groaning in pain. "It was never going to be a gun for you, Doctor," Melody says. "The man of peace, who understands every kind of warfare except, perhaps the cruelest." The Doctor puts a hand to his lips and remembers Melody's kiss.
"Poison lipstick. She poisoned him with her kiss," Martha realized in horror.
"Bloody Hell," Donna breathed.
Melody blows The Doctor a kiss before jumping out the window. Rory asks what Melody did to The Doctor and he explains she's poisoned him but he's fine. "Well, no. I'm dying," The Doctor groans. The Doctor says he has a plan and Amy asks what. "Not dying," The Doctor groans. "See? Fine."
"Need a better plan Boss," Mickey muttered as they all watched tense, worried for their friend.
"You realize he lives through this, right?" Jane pointed out. "I mean, he still has to show up on that lake."
"Doesn't mean we can't be bloody worried!" Donna snapped as she watched the screen worriedly.
In the control room, the crew scans The Doctor and determines he is dying, to the disbelief of the captain. The Doctor groans as Rory and Amy help him to his feet, Rory asking how they help him. The Doctor gives Amy his screwdriver, saying The TARDIS can override it and tells them to go after Melody. Rory heads over to the window and looks down, seeing Melody approaching some German soldiers. They aim their weapons at her as Melody greets them cheekily. Amy points out The Doctor said the smoke was deadly and The Doctor says the poison will kill him first.
"Oh that's a bloody comfort," Donna grumbled.
"He doesn't have many options. It'll be fatal to humans, but a Time Lord should be able to survive for a few minutes. If he can clear out the gas, he should be alright," Jane shrugged.
He tells her to 'get after River' and Amy says she doesn't understand as The Doctor opens the TARDIS doors. The Doctor explains Melody has been brainwashed, and is a woman. "Oh shut up, I'm dying," The Doctor says as Amy gives him a look.
"I'll let that slide because you're dying. But only once Spaceman," Donna said tersely as she narrowed her eyes.
Martha rolled her eyes at The Doctor's antics, hardly impressed by his antics as Jack and Mickey eyed them wearily. The Doctor was lucky he was not in the room.
The Doctor enters the smoke filled TARDIS and orders the extractor fans on. The fans clear the smoke out of the console and The Doctor is happy to see they work.
"Well at least he doesn't have to worry about the gas," Wilf said optimistically.
"No, just the poison," Martha muttered, wondering how The Doctor could get out of this.
On the streets, the soldiers ask Melody what she's doing there and Melody antagonizes them, claiming she's going to kill Hitler as Rory climbs down the wall behind her. Angrily, the head soldier orders her to be shot. Rory is horrified as the soldiers open fire on his daughter. But, to the shock of Rory and the soldiers, Melody is unharmed. "Tip for you all, never shoot a girl while she's regenerating," Melody says. She then raises her arms, laughing as a stream of regeneration energy emits from her body and knocks all the soldiers down.
"She is bold," Mickey muttered.
"Not bold, mad," Martha disagreed as she stared at the screen in amazement. "Time Lords can do that?"
"While Regenerating. Dad once regrew a hand after Regenerating all," Jane shrugged.
"He did?" Wilf asked startled.
"Long story Gramps," Donna told him.
"I can see why the Silence wanted her so badly," Jack said as he narrowed his eyes. "This kind of power in the hands of Kovarian…I'm glad River decided to change sides."
"You're telling me," Jane muttered, all of them shuttering at the thought of what Kovarian could have done with River as her weapon.
Once the energy has faded, Melody takes a gun from one of the soldiers and heads over to a motorcycle. Amy joins Rory on the ground and tries to rush towards Melody but Rory holds her back as Melody gets on a motorcycle. Amy demands to know what she's doing and Melody says she's going shopping before driving off. Hearing an engine, Rory and Amy turn to see a Nazi ride in a on a motorcycle. He gets off and walks over to them as Rory offers to explain the situation. He does the Nazi salute instead, declaring 'Heil'. The Nazi mimics him and Rory punches him. As the Nazi falls to the ground, Rory gets on his motorcycle, telling Amy to come on.
"What has gotten into Rory today?" Martha asked, all of them surprised.
"Well, his psychotic daughter is running amok in Nazi Germany. Would make anyone a bit gung-ho," Jack noted.
Amy gets behind Rory on the motorcycle, asking if he can ride it. "I expect so. It's that sort of day," Rory says before driving off after Melody. The Nazi gets to his feet, mechanical sounds heard as it moves. The captain declares they do the bike as well and the Nazi has a motorcycle appear under him before he drives after Rory and Amy.
"Oh great, and they're still here," Donna said sarcastically.
"As if they didn't have enough problems," Martha groaned.
The crew argues about The Doctor not dying but the captain notes The Doctor is confirmed deceased. A crewmember notes he doesn't die here, he dies in Lake Silencio on April 22nd, 2011. A female crewmember argues that time can be rewritten but he says not this time, as The Doctor's death is confirmed as a fixed point.
"So that means it can't be changed," Donna realized in misery. "No matter what happens, he needs to be there on that lake."
"Yeah, but things are not as they appear," Jane said ominously and they looked at her in bewilderment.
"Any chance you're going to be a little less vague?" Martha asked.
"It's complicated but like I said, he survives. Just trust me," Jane explained.
"Going an awful lot on faith here," Mickey muttered.
The crewmember says The Doctor must always die at Lake SIlencio and the captain notes someone screwed up, as The Doctor is dying right now. On the TARDIS, The Doctor crawls on his hands and knees before pulling himself into a sitting position on the steps. He asks for an interface and a holographic form of The Doctor appears, declaring the voice interface has been activated. The Doctor orders the interface give him someone he likes.
"No one hates Dad more than he hates himself," Jane sighed sadly as the room descended into silence.
"Spaceman," Donna said softly.
The interface changes to a holographic projection of Rose Tyler and The Doctor sarcastically thanks the interface for giving him guilt. It then changes to projection of Martha, which The Doctor calls also guilt. It then changes to one of Donna, which The Doctor calls more guilt before gasping in pain. "Come on! There has to be someone left in the universe I haven't screwed up yet," The Doctor says.
"Doctor," Martha said, looking pained.
"I know you've all suffered because of knowing Dad. You think he doesn't know that, you think it doesn't haunt him? It does, more than you'll ever understand," Jane said softly as the past viewers looked at the screen, startled.
"I guess I never really thought of it like that," Jack admitted and Jane smiled tightly.
"I know you guys were all hurt by traveling with Dad. But so was he," Jane said gently as they all stared at the screen, viewing The Doctor's reaction to their departures with new eyes.
The Doctor closes his eyes as the interface changes again. "Voice interface enabled," The Doctor looks up to see 7 year old Amelia Pond. The Doctor is happy to see her, calling her his 'sweet little Amelia' before he got it all wrong. The interface announces she is not Amelia Pond but an interface as The Doctor, almost delirious, asks her to come along on adventures. The interface repeats itself and The Doctor calls her 'so Scottish' before asking how he's doing. The interface says he's been poisoned by the Judas Tree and will be dead in 32 minutes.
"The Judas Tree," Jack said startled.
"You've heard of it then?" Martha wondered and Jack nodded.
"Only in stories, it was wiped out by the time I was born. According to legend, it was used by a group of anarchists to depose monarchs throughout the galaxy. The poison extracted from the tree was so effective it could kill a human within seconds," Jack said, to the horror of the past viewers.
"And River used that on Boss," Mickey muttered horrified. "How did she even get her hands on it?"
"If I had to guess, the anarchists in the story were The Silence," Jack mused. "They must have given Melody a tube of lipstick made with it in preparation for this moment."
"Brilliant," Donna said sarcastically.
The Doctor argues with the Interface, which keeps repeating that he will be dead in 32 minutes, informing him that Regeneration has been disabled. The Doctor pleads with 'Amelia' to help him before he seems to pass out.
"Spaceman," Donna whispered as they looked at the screen worriedly.
"Come on Boss, get up. Just get up," Mickey pleaded.
"Fish Fingers and Custard," The interface says. The Doctor's eyes snap open and he asks what she said. The interface does not answer and The Doctor laughs. He pulls himself to his feet and towards the console, repeating fish fingers and custard all the way. The Doctor then pulls a lever on the console.
"Well at least he's on his feet," Jack mentioned.
"For how long with that poison in his system?" Martha fretted.
"Honestly, it's a miracle he's standing at all," Jane admitted, to the dismay of the past viewers.
"There has to be a cure, isn't there?" Wilf asked pleadingly.
"The Judas tree was gone for centuries by the time I was born. According to the legend, it was set aflame by a group of people who feared what the anarchists could do with it. There was never any need for a cure because the tree was gone," Jack admitted.
"So The Doctor's been poisoned by a poison with no antidote, is that what you're saying Immortal Man?" Donna demanded as the past viewers stared at Jack in horror.
"I don't like it any more than you, but The Doctor got out of this somehow," Jack defended himself.
"He always does," Mickey muttered lowly as they watched the screen uneasily.
In a restaurant, German high society is winning and dinning when gunshots pierce the air. The women scream as everyone takes cover. Melody walks in, wielding two rifles. She declares she doesn't have a thing to wear before aiming her guns at the crowd and ordering them to take off their clothes.
"Okay, wasn't expecting that," Martha said as the past viewers stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Maybe she is a psychopath," Mickey muttered.
Outside, Rory and Amy pull up outside the restaurant. Rory asks how they find Melody in all of Berlin and Amy tells him to look for clues. They bicker before they hear screams and see the men and woman running out of the restaurant in various states of undress. Rory and Amy stare at the scene for a moment before hearing a motorcycle pull up beside them. They turn, shocked to see a second Amy on the motorcycle. The replica turns its head towards them.
"Ah Bloody Hell," Mickey muttered as they all realized where this was going.
"So now they're going to kill Amy and Rory as well?" Wilf asked horrified and angry.
"Doesn't exactly fit their MO," Jack noted, unconvinced.
"Amy and Rory will be fine…for the most part," Jane said, grimacing as she remembered how everything had gone wrong.
In the restaurant, Melody is looking in the mirror while trying on the clothes she'd taken when the replica runs inside. Thinking its Amy, Melody says she told her not to follow her. The replica approaches her as Rory and Amy sit up inside the metal corridor. Rory mentions the ridiculousness of the situation, which he is trying not to see as a metaphor. Amy wonders how they got here and Rory says it was a miniaturization ray. Amy asks how he knows that. "Well, there was a ray and we were miniaturized," Rory points out. They hear a sound and turn around. The antibody is rising out of the floor, declaring they are unauthorized and will be killed.
"Fine huh?" Donna snapped at Jane, who held up her hands defensively.
"I said fine for the most part. They survived this anyway, with some help," Jane assured them.
"For the most part is really all you can ask from life with The Doctor," Martha noted.
The antibody says to remain calm and Amy raises her hands, saying they come in peace. Rory snaps that's never worked and she tells him to shut up. They try to run only to find another antibody blocking their way. A third antibody blocks their remaining way out and Amy and Rory are backed up against the wall as the antibodies advance on them. Amy pulls out the screwdriver and points it at the antibodies. Amy doesn't know how to use it and Rory tells her to just point and think. They bicker about how to use it as the elevator door opens. A crewmember quickly places a wristband on both of them, granting them privileges. He shows the antibodies their wristbands and antibodies say they are authorized.
"Oh thank God," Martha said as they breathed a sigh of relief.
The antibodies leave and the crewmember says they can put their hands down now. They do and the crewmember welcomes them aboard the Tesselecta. Outside, Melody tells the replica that she might take the age down a bit to freak people out when it says she killed The Doctor. Melody gives a sarcastic response as she puts on a hat, noting regeneration gives you a new coloring to work with. As Melody continues examining herself in the mirror, the replica walks over to her, noting she killed The Doctor on the orders of the Silence and 'Academy of the Question'. The replica asks if she accepts this as true and Melody says she doesn't really remember, as it was 'all a bit of a jumble'.
"Okay, first question, what's the Academy of the Question? Second, she doesn't even remember?" Donna asked in disbelief.
"Like The Doctor said, she was essentially brainwashed. It's no surprise that she's having black outs," Jack pointed out.
"The first part of your question gets answered in a bit," Jane assured Donna.
"So just keep watching?" Donna asked dryly.
"Now you're getting it," Jane said with a smile.
The replica pushes the mirror aside and begin shooting a beam of light out of its mouth like it did with Hitler. Melody stumbles back, groaning in pain as she tells it to get off her. "Sorry, did you say she killed The Doctor?" The replica stops as it and Melody turned to see The Doctor and the TARDIS standing a few feet away, The Doctor dressed in a suit and a hat with a cane. "The Doctor?" Melody stares in shock as he turns his head towards them. "Doctor who?"
"Seriously Doctor?" Martha asked in disbelief.
"You know how Boss loves to make an entrance," Mickey said with a grin.
Inside the control room, the crew bickers about The Doctor as Amy and Rory are led inside. The captain tells them their memories will be erased but Amy and Rory are distracted by seeing the footage of The Doctor. Back in the restaurant, River is surprised The Doctor stopped to change while he's dying.
"At this point, I'd be surprised if he didn't," Jack shrugged.
"She has a point though, maybe he should be trying to find a way to save himself," Martha mused.
"That was never how Dad operated. He couldn't rest as long as his friends were in danger," Jane pointed out and they realized she was right.
"Sounds like Boss alright," Mickey mused.
The Doctor dances over to Melody, saying he should always waste time when you don't have any. The Doctor looks over at the replica, immediately able to tell it's a machine. The Doctor picks up the cane, which opens as The Doctor explains it's a sonic cane.
"Of course he has a sonic cane. Because why not?" Donna asked sarcastically.
"You know how he loves his toys," Martha joked with a giggle.
Melody asks if he's serious and The Doctor says to never knowingly be seriously as he backs up to scan the replica. He tells her this is rule 27 and to write these down. The cane determines the replica is a robot and seeing 427 life signs inside, The Doctor realizes it's operated by 'tiny people'. The Doctor wonders how they all got in there, asking if it's bigger on the inside before checking the readings on the cane, realizing it has a miniaturization ray. He jokes that they need to watch what they eat before telling Amy to signal him if she and Rory are okay. The crew turns to Amy as she turns on the screwdriver. The Doctor receives the signal on his cane and thanks Amy.
"So now he needs to somehow get them out of the Tesselecta and still somehow save himself. Tall order, even for him," Jack mused.
"Well if anyone can pull it off, he can," Martha noted.
A crewmember asks how Amy did that before The Doctor suddenly screams, falling to the floor, using the cane to stop himself from falling. He apologizes, claiming his leg went to sleep as he stands back. He hops from foot to foot for a minute before he sits down on some nearby steps, claiming he needs to sit down.
"The poison's reached the stage where motor functions are being affected," Martha said in alarm. "He doesn't have a lot of time left."
"Come on Spaceman, you can figure a way out of this," Donna almost pleaded as they all watched the screen tense.
Melody tries to make a break for it and the replica shoots out another beam at her. Melody cries out in pain as The Doctor shouts for them not to harm her. It stops, turning to The Doctor as Melody staggers, surrounded by an energy field. The captain uses the control to ask The Doctor why he cares, as Melody is the one who kills him. The Doctor takes off his hat, declaring he's not dead but the replica notes he's dying. "Well, at least I'm not a time traveling, shape shifting robot operated by miniaturized cross people, which I have got to admit, I didn't see coming," The Doctor says. The Doctor asks what they want with River and the captain reveals Melody is the one who kills him. The Doctor asks what that has to do with them. Amy and Rory watch as the captain gets to his feet. "Throughout history, many criminals have gone unpunished throughout their lifetimes. Time travel has certain…responsibilities," the captain says. The Doctor laughs, asking if they got time travel and decided to punish dead people. The captain explains they don't kill them, they extract them near the end of their timelines and The Doctor asks then what. "Give them Hell," the captain says.
"You were right Martha, they do have a God Complex," Mickey said as they all looked at the screen in disgust.
"And I thought the Three Families were bad," Jack said in disgust.
"The what?" Wilf asked in confusion.
"Long story, doesn't matter right now," Jack said, his eyes not leaving the screen.
"I'd ask who you think you are, but I think the answer is pretty obvious. So who do you think I am, hmm?" The Doctor asks. The Doctor notes since they know River kills him, they have his biography in there. The Doctor says he'd love a peak but the captain says foreknowledge is dangerous. The Doctor notes he'll be dead in three minutes as the captain sits down. The captain refuses and Amy turns his chair around, declaring The Doctor is her best friend and Melody is her daughter and orders him to give The Doctor anything he wants. A crewmember points out Amy has privileges if she's a family member and, reluctantly, the captain takes Amy's wristband, instructing her how to access The Doctor's personal records. She does and the replica tells The Doctor his records are available.
"So that's what it takes to be granted privileges. They have some really warped rules," Donna muttered.
"God Complex, plus a sense of justice, it's hardly a surprise," Jack shrugged.
"On the bright side, maybe we'll learn something," Martha said as they all paid close attention.
The Doctor uses the cane to get to his feet and the replica asks if he has a question. The Doctor says he's dying, asking who wants him dead. It says the Silence and The Doctor asks what the Silence is. The replica explains the Silence is a religious order than believes Silence will fall when the question is asked. The Doctor asks what question. "The first question. The oldest question in the universe. Hidden in plain sight," the replica explains. The Doctor asks what the question is and the replica says unknown.
"Well that disappointing," Mickey muttered.
"So this whole thing has been in fear of a question?" Donna asked in disbelief.
"A prophecy more like," Jane said and they looked at her in confusion. "Bad things happen when people misinterpret prophecies. This is no exception."
"And what prophecy was misinterpreted?" Jack asked and she smiled tightly.
"Spoilers," she quipped and they shot her unamused looks. "I promise, I'll explain it all in the end. But for now, just keep watching."
Frustrated and unsatisfied, the past viewers turn back to the screen, wondering what prophecy could have caused The Silence to go after The Doctor.
The Doctor complains that's useless when he falls to his knees with a scream. He loses his cane and realizes his kidneys are failing. A crewmember announces The Doctor is finished.
"No. No, he can't," Donna stammered as the past viewers all looked stunned.
"Come on Doctor. If ever there was a time for you to pull off one of your brilliant plans, now's the time," Jack said worriedly.
Amy buries her face in Rory's shoulder as Rory looks shocked. The captain orders to give Melody Hell. The energy field around Melody turns red and she cries out in pain. The Doctor weakly crawls on his knees, calling out to Amy and Rory, asking if they can hear him. Reluctantly, the captain hands the control he used to speak with The Doctor to Amy. She takes it and asks The Doctor what to do. The Doctor tells her to stop them and save her daughter. Amy asks how and he snaps to just do it.
"He's still trying to save her," Wilf whispered, surprised by depth of The Doctor's selflessness.
"It's who he is. He just can't help himself from trying to save everyone," Donna said softly, praying to whatever god was out there to save The Doctor.
"It's not completely selfless. If Melody dies here, she never becomes River. Which causes a whole bunch of problems," Jane pointed out.
Amy remembers the antibodies and how the wristbands work. Amy takes out the screwdriver and Rory asks what she's doing. Amy says hunting and tells him to be ready to run. Amy uses the screwdriver on her wristband and it sparks lightly before it turns red. Alarms begins blaring as an antibody rises up out of the floor. Amy orders they release Melody or she'll take down the Tesselecta. The captain confidently says they can't and Amy leans close to him, saying they can before using the screwdriver to turn the wristbands of the crew to red.
"Bloody Hell. Amy just turned their own ship against them," Mickey said, torn between shock and being impressed.
"Atta girl," Jack said with a smirk, some of the tension breaking.
"That's why you never stand between a mother and her child when they're hurt," Donna said smugly.
"Especially not Amy Pond," Martha said with a grin.
"Except now the antibodies will come for them," Mickey realized.
"Best they could do under the circumstances," Jane shrugged.
Amy and Rory head for the elevator as the antibodies advance on the crew. The doors close behind Amy and Rory as an antibody wraps its tentacles around a female crewmember's neck. The captain orders a crewmember to shut it down and he says he's trying as he frantically tries to stop it. The captain orders everything to shut down and the crewmember complies. The Tesselecta loses power as Melody falls to her knees, the energy field fading.
"At least Melody's safe for the moment," Donna said optimistically.
"But what about Amy and Rory?" Wilf fretted.
"And Boss is still poisoned," Mickey muttered as they watched the screen uneasily, hoping The Doctor could figure a way to save everyone.
The Doctor pleads with Melody to help him save her parents. Melody gets to her feet as The Doctor he knows she's scared, but not to run while she's scared, which he calls rule seven. Inside the Tesselecta, Amy and Rory run into a group of antibodies. Amy tells Rory to keep running and he asks where. Amy tells him to just run. The captain radios the mothership, telling it to get them out of there, ordering an emergency beam up as two antibodies approach him. The crew all vanishes in a beam of light. An antibodies notes only two life forms remain, which they will soon rectify.
"Brilliant. So they just left Amy and Rory to die," Donna snapped angrily.
"Cowards. They created the situation and then jumped ship when it was convenient for them," Mickey said angrily.
"It's the nature of people like them," Jack mused.
Amy and Rory run down the corridor and pause as they notice everyone's gone. They wonder where they disappeared to before they hear the sound of the antibodies approaching. Amy puts the control to her mouth, asking if The Doctor can hear them, using it to ask The Doctor for help. The Doctor has passed out but is awakened by Amy's cries for help. The Doctor pushes through the pain, getting to his feet as Melody watches surprised from where she sat at a table. The Doctor stumbles towards the TARDIS before collapsing onto his knees. He tries to crawl towards the TARDIS as Melody notes with surprise that he still cares.
"Not the evil monster Kovarian convinced you he was, huh?" Jack noted.
"Kovarian told River one side of the story, all the awful things he did, the Time War, Pompeii, a lot of other stuff. She failed to mention Dad's kindness, how he always looked out for his friends no matter what, that he only ever tried to save people. Didn't support the narrative that he was a monster that needed to be stopped," Jane explained.
"So naturally, she's surprised when she sees he's not so bad after all," Martha realized. "Makes sense."
Amy continues to ask for The Doctor's help as he struggles towards the TARDIS but is barely able to move. Melody calls this is impressive and he pleads for her help, calling her River. Melody stands up, noting he keeps calling for River and asks who she is. She asks if River is a woman and The Doctor weakly pleads with her to help him save Amy and Rory. Melody demands he tell her about River and The Doctor growls, asking her to help him.
"She's oddly interested in River," Martha noted.
"What, she's jealous?" Mickey asked slightly disbelieving.
"Wouldn't say that, but she probably learned all about his companions from the Silence, including us. Somehow, I don't think Kovarian told her about River Song," Jack noted.
"Because she'd have to explain who River was, which would be a bit complicated," Jane shrugged.
Inside the Tesselecta, Amy and Rory run down a corridor, finding themselves in front of a sealed door. Amy frantically tries to access it to no use. The antibodies approach and Amy and Rory slowly turn to face them. Amy and Rory turn to each other, declaring their love for one another before wrapping their arms around each other, bracing for the end.
"Come on Doctor, save them," Donna pleaded as they all watched tense.
Suddenly, they hear the sound of the TARDIS materializing. They look up as the TARDIS materializes around them and Amy and Rory look around in relief, laughing as Amy says The Doctor did it. To their surprise, Melody walks out from behind the console.
"No, she did it," Jack said surprised as they all looked at the screen in surprise.
"But how…" Donna trailed off, not understanding.
"It's explained in a minute," Jane assured them.
Melody says she seems to be able to fly her, explaining the TARDIS taught her. Amy and Rory stare at her in shock and dread as Melody says The Doctor called her a child of the TARDIS. Melody asks what he means as Amy demands to know where The Doctor is.
"So that's what River meant when she said she learned from the best," Jack mused.
"But if The Doctor didn't save them, that means…" Martha trailed off.
"No. No," Donna said in denial, refusing to entertain the thought.
The scene changes to The Doctor still lying on the steps. Amy and Rory are by his side, Amy saying he can't die here. The Doctor makes a joke and Amy says this doesn't make any sense as Rory asks The Doctor how to help him. The Doctor says they can't.
"No. No," Donna whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
"He has to be at that lake first. He has to," Jack whispered to himself, in denial.
Wilf looked close to tears himself as Mickey and Martha clung to each other, almost mirroring Amy and Rory. Jane watched silently, knowing pointing out he survived would be pointless. Knowing it was one thing, but seeing this happen was still hard to swallow.
The Doctor explains nobody can before he requests to talk to Melody. Devastated, Amy and Rory get to their feet and walk over to Melody. They look at her and Melody silently walks over to The Doctor. Amy and Rory cling to each other as Melody kneels down in front of The Doctor. The Doctor asks her to find River Song and give her a message from him. Melody asks what, leaning down so The Doctor can whisper something in her ear.
Donna remembered The Meta-Crisis Doctor doing something similar with Rose and almost laughed at the irony. Of course it would take being at death's door for The Doctor to admit how he felt about River.
Melody says she's sure River knows. But as she lifts her head, Melody sees The Doctor has passed out.
"Spaceman," Donna whispered softly, tears falling from her eyes.
Wilf closed his own eyes, tears falling as Martha buried her face in Mickey's shoulder. Mickey closed his eyes as Jack stared at the screen, unwilling to believe that The Doctor could be…
Melody gets up, stepping away from The Doctor before heading back towards her parents. She asks who River is. Amy and Rory turn to each other before Amy turns to the Tesselecta, asks if it's still working. She commands it to access files on River and it says the records are available. Amy commands it show her River and it changes into River's form. Melody stares in shock at her own form.
"So that's how she learned her name," Jack muttered.
"What does it matter if he's dead?" Donna snapped emotionally.
"If he were really dead, we would not be sitting here," Jack snapped back.
"Jack's right. I told you, he lived through this," Jane said gently. "Just calm down a bit and watch. I know this is hard to see, but trust me. He's fine."
Melody stares at the Tesselecta emotionally for a moment looking back towards The Doctor. Amy walks over to Rory before asking The Doctor told Melody to tell River. Melody doesn't answer, looking like she's about to cry before her face hardens. Her hands begin glowing with regeneration energy.
"What's happening?" Mickey asked in bewilderment.
"I'm not sure, but I think she's about to do something reckless," Jack noted as they all watched in anticipation.
Amy asks what's happening but Melody doesn't answer. Calling her River, Amy asks what she's doing. River doesn't answer, asking if The Doctor is worth it. Amy and Rory exchange a confused glance before Amy says he is. River then kneels down in front of The Doctor, taking his face in her hands and he opens his mouth, beginning to breath. He opens his eyes, saying River's name. He asks what she's doing. "Hello Sweetie," she says before she kisses him. For a moment, the two are surrounded in a bright glow of regeneration energy followed by a flash of light. When it fades, River is opening her eyes, seeing Amy and Rory standing over her. Amy greets her happily and River groggily returns the greeting before asking where she is. Amy says she's safe and reveals River used her remaining regenerations in one go.
"Time Lords can do that?" Donna asked in surprise.
"Apparently River did. But she was largely untrained. I don't think she really knew what she was doing, she just knew that she wanted to save Dad," Jane shrugged.
"And did she?" Wilf asked hopefully and Jane smiled.
"What do I keep telling you? Just keep watching," she said cheekily.
Amy tells her she shouldn't have done that and River says she had to try. River notes The Doctor said no one could save him but realizes he knew she could. "Rule one," Amy and Rory look over to see The Doctor standing a few feet away. "The Doctor lies."
"Oh thank God," Martha said as they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was too close," Jack said wearily.
"I'll say. You weren't kidding when you said this set was brutal," Donna muttered as she glanced over at Jane.
And worse was still to come Jane thought silently, thinking of Appalachia.
River closes her eyes, passing out. A nun assures them River will be fine. The Doctor says she won't as he walks up to River's bedside, placing something on a nightstand. He says she will be amazing. The recording zooms in, revealing he left her a TARDIS blue diary.
"So that's how she got her diary," Mickey mused.
"Well The Doctor did give her his screwdriver, makes sense he'd give her his diary to," Donna mentioned.
"He gave her his screwdriver? How did you not know she was his wife?" Martha asked incredulously and Donna flushed.
"Oi, like you would've expected it," Donna snapped defensively.
On the TARDIS later, The Doctor is standing at the console as Amy and Rory walk up the steps. Amy asks if they merely leave River there and The Doctor explains the Sisters of the Infinite Schism is the greatest hospital in the universe. Amy argues she may be River, but she's also her and Rory's daughter. The Doctor assures her he understands but they have to let River make her own way, as they have too much foreknowledge, which is dangerous. He looks over to the scanners, which has a page on The Doctor. It lists the date and time of his death.
"So he knows then," Martha breathed as they all tensed.
"He's known since the Gangers. Now he just knows when and where," Jack noted.
"This is what he meant. This is what he was running from," Wilf realized.
"Blimey," Mickey muttered as they all tried to process this new revelation.
Amy asks what that is and he says nothing, quickly wiping it as he explains he downloaded some date from the Tesselecta. He calls it boring, smiling at them. Rory asks if River was brainwashed to kill The Doctor, which The Doctor confirms, adding she used her remaining lives to bring him back. The Doctor calls this mixed signal on a first date.
"Only you would call that a first date Spaceman," Donna sighed in exasperation.
"Only that could be called a date with River Song," Jack pointed out.
Rory asks if the stuff they put in River's head is gone, adding the River they know in the future is in prison for murder. Amy asks whose murder and The Doctor turns back towards the scanner. He then smiles and walks off.
"The Doctor lies indeed," Jack muttered.
"So she really is in prison for killing The Doctor," Martha said sadly.
"It seems to be the case," Wilf said softly, this new information washing over the room.
Amy asks if they'll see River again and The Doctor promises she'll come looking for them. Amy asks how people look for him as he runs up the stairs. The Doctor looks back at her, asking if she's figured that one out yet. A shot of the earth is shown before the words 'The Luna University, 5123' appears on the screen. In an office, a man sits down at his desk, asking a person in a chair why they want to study archeology. River says she's looking for a good man, holding her diary in her hands.
"So River became an archeologist to look for The Doctor," Martha noted as the screen went black.
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Jack mused.
"It's a very River move," Donna agreed with a slight smile.
"So now what?" Mickey asked, wondering how things progressed from there.
"Now, we keep watching," Jane said as the next recording started.
Not one of my favorite episodes, but an enjoyable one. I enjoyed the bits with Mels/River along with the Leadworth flashbacks but the idea of a shape shifting ship operated by tiny people was a little over the top.