The Husbands of River Song [TV/2015.12.25]

★★★☆☆

  Whether you like it or not (I'm comfortably on the former, just so you know), River Song is a very important part of the Doctor Who mythos. She's always been more than the sum of her parts, with Steven Moffat managing to make her into a fascinating mystery of the morally grey spectrum and Alex Kingston breathing life into her that no actor could. It was inevitable that River's story would have its final chapter someday, blowing one final kiss to the intergalactic archaeologist and setting the stage for the heartbreaking epilogue in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead.

  Surprisingly enough, this epic, emotional finale to River Song's story comes in the form of a Christmas special full with the silly, light-hearted fanfare we've all come to expect from the festive season. The typical Moffat jokes fly around, everybody seems to have a reasonable amount of fun, there are those cool new tidbits that would occasionally come around for another outing (in this case, the Harmony Shoal) and there's warmth and heart to pass around the entire family. I can't say that anything about the first 75% of the episode stood out to me as breathtaking and enrapturing, I don't really mind since a) Christmas specials have a habit of being quite frivolous, and b) it's still a lot of fun. 

  Then we come to the remaining 25%, namely the actual sendoff of River Song, and it's pretty darn glorious. Kingston and Peter Capaldi have an instant spark with each other, and it seems that Capaldi switched on his full charm offensive to match the festive occasion and the impending sweet-and-sorrow goodbye. Isn't it wonderful, when the Doctor gives River her sonic screwdriver and look on at the Singing Towers of Darillium, they talk about truths and sweet nothings and share a final, loving look? I'm not sure any other New Series story scene gives me quite the same warm, fuzzy and tearjerking feeling.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  So get your best Christmas antlers and a box of tissues, The Husbands of River Song is here to lighten up your day and subsequently barrage you with genuine emotions! Sometimes, all you need is a warm little episode that doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't; it's the final act of a play — Exit: River Song — and it does its job swimmingly.