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We’ve been (un)lucky enough to have River Song accompany us and the Doctor for a long while now, but, whereas we’re following the chronological timeline of the Doctor, River is following her own, rather different timeline. This is my handy guide to understand the order that River Song has been part of events.

Born- A Good Man Goes To War River Song (Born Melody Pond) was born during the battle of Demons Run. The child of the Eleventh Doctor’s companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, Amy was kidnapped by Madam Kovarian so her child could be conditioned to kill the Doctor.

Childhood- The Impossible Astronaut/ The Day of The Moon A young girl was being kept by The Silence, a renegade faction of the Papal Mainframe known as the Kovarian Chapter, they used NASA technology to build the weapon with which young River would kill the Doctor. Luckily for our favourite Time Lord, young River escaped from the Space Suit and the Silence, and was left alone, homeless and dying.

Regeneration I- Let’s Kill Hitler After the first regeneration of River, she managed to get herself to England, where she could grow up alongside Amelia Pond and Rory Williams, her parents, as she awaited the Doctor’s arrival.

Regeneration II- Let’s Kill Hitler After meeting the Doctor in the guise of Mels, whom Amy and Rory named their child after, River regenerated again, this time into the woman we know as River Song. River successfully killed the Doctor by giving him a kiss, using lipstick laced with the poison of the Judas Tree, but after hearing what a great man the Doctor is, she gave up all of her remaining regeneration energy to him so he could survive.

Being Recaptured- Let’s Kill Hitler/ Closing Time After failing to kill the Doctor, Madam Kovarian recaptured River Song whilst she was studying archeology, placing her in the Space Suit from The Impossible Astronaut/ The Day of The Moon and sending her to Lake Silencio where she’d have no control over killing the Doctor.

Becoming A Murderer/ Changing The Future- The Impossible Astronaut/ The Wedding of River Song In the Space Suit at Lake Silencio in 1969, River Song was forced to kill the Doctor, however she splintered the timeline when she refused, draining all of the energy from the suit. This is where River learns that the Doctor has a plan to escape his death and River agrees to the murder. The timeline is fixed and the Eleventh Doctor is killed by River Song. River folds back on her own timeline, this time watching her younger self escape, all the time keeping the secret of her true identity from everyone.

Resetting the Universe- The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang River stands by the Doctor, Amy and Rory as the Pandorica opens, trapping the Doctor in the perfect prison, helping him escape and ultimately resetting the whole universe.

Meeting Mum- The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone This would be the first time that Amy Pond ever met her daughter, Melody, before she was even conceived. River helped the Eleventh Doctor and Amy escape the Byzantium and send the Weeping Angels through the crack in time.

Demons Run- A Good Man Goes To War River is recruited and freed by Rory as he helps her escape from her Stormcage Prison, letting her be part of the Doctor’s army against the Kovarian Chapter, trying to save Amy and her newborn child, Melody.

Telling Mum- The Wedding of River Song After the events in Flesh and Stone, River uses her Vortex Manipulator to meet up with Amy to tell her that the Doctor is still alive, in hiding. Whilst Amy was delighted, River knew a much darker day was coming for her.

Losing Mum and Dad- The Angels Take Manhattan River travels to New York after reading a book, The Angel’s Kiss written by Melody Malone. It transpires that the book is in fact written by River using a pseudonym to help the Doctor, Amy and Rory take on the Weeping Angels, however the Eleventh Doctor is unable to stop events, Amy and Rory get sent back in time by the Weeping Angels and the Doctor can never see them again.

Meeting Twelve- The Husbands of River Song Virtually nothing is known about what will happen in this years Christmas Special, but Steven Moffat has said that this episode will take place for River immediately after The Angels Take Manhattan.

River’s Death- Silence In The Library/ Forest of the Dead River meets the Tenth Doctor, who has no idea who she is, let alone how important a role she’s played in his future/ her past. River sacrifices herself to save the Library and she’s stored in the Library’s hard drive, watched over by Doctor Moon.

River’s Goodbye- The Name of The Doctor Having died, River mentally joins with Clara, Jenny and Madame Vastra to help them unknowingly send the Eleventh Doctor to Trenzalore, where his grave is. We also discover River’s grave here and she gets to say goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor, despite her being a mental projection.

So there we have it, River’s timeline. If you want the short version so you can watch in order, the order is… A Good Man Goes To War The Impossible Astronaut The Day of The Moon Let’s Kill Hitler Closing Time The Impossible Astronaut The Wedding of River Song The Pandorica Opens The Big Bang The Time of Angels Flesh and Stone A Good Man Goes To War The Wedding of River Song The Angels Take Manhattan The Husbands of River Song Silence In The Library Forest of the Dead The Name of The Doctor