Doctor Who‘s Alex Kingston and Steven Moffat Talk Closure for River Song

Many of us have already marveled at the warmth and sincerity of the final (??) appearance of River Song on Doctor Who in this year’s Christmas special, “The Husbands of River Song.” Now, Alex Kingston, along with Steven Moffat, are sharing their thoughts on closure for their favorite time-traveling archaeologist.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Kingston and Moffat discuss this year’s Christmas special, and what it meant to both of them.

Steven Moffat, in addition to not wanting to rush into a new companion so soon after losing Clara, wasn’t sure he’d continue showrunning Doctor Who:

I brought River Song back in because I thought there’s a possibility I’d never write it [Doctor Who] again so that’ll be my goodbye. I hadn’t written River for a couple of years and I’d always loved writing for her and I’d missed her.

Kingston was grateful to be working with an actor like Peter Capaldi, with whom she has undeniable chemistry:

I described working with Matt, Karen, and Arthur [Darvill] as spending a day with a basket of puppies. But with Peter its very different because he’s much more focused. He’s just so funny with the faces he pulls on-screen. He’s one of those actors that when you’re actually working next to him you don’t actually see it. He’s brilliant to watch.

She was also glad that River got actual closure, considering her less-than-successful appearance in “The Name of the Doctor”:

I didn’t really know my role in it. For me, it was sort of a strange episode. It ended in a way that I felt I was somewhat left hanging with no idea or confirmation or anything that my character would be back. In the time in-between meeting fans, of course, that was the overriding question. ‘When is River coming back?” I said, ‘You’ve got to tweet Steven and ask him.’

I think that River Song and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor was the perfect way to end her run. I’ll see you in The Library, River.

(via io9)

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