A Good Man Goes To War
EPISODE: 218a
AIRDATE: June 4,2011
COMPANIONS: Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song
VILLANS/ALIENS/MONSTERS: Madame Kovarian, Colonel Manton, Headless Monks
OTHER CHARACTERS: Dorium, Henery Avery, Toby Avery, Colonel Manton, Madame Vastra, Jenny, Strax, Lorna Bucket, Thin man, Fat man
LOCATION: Demons Run, Storm Cage Containment Center, London,1888, Cyber Chip, Battle of Zaruthstra
PLOT: Amy picks up her newborn daughter, Melody, as a group of guards – including Lorna Bucket – watch on. She tells them about her father who is coming for them, and has lived for hundreds of years though he looks young: the Last Centurion.
On the ship of the Twelfth Cyber Legion, a group of Cybermen detect an intruder who is steadily working his way up the levels. The intruder is revealed as Rory, who says that he has a message from the Doctor and a question. He demands to know where his wife is as the rest of the ships around them explode.
On Demon's Run, the Fat Man and the Thin Man discuss the Doctor and pass Lorna Bucket, who is spending her break sewing. Another pair of marines watch on monitors and train to recognise psychic paper, mentioning that they've been on yellow alert for three weeks. Lorna, the Thin Man and the Fat Man discuss the Headless Monks; they believe that doubt lies in the head and faith lies in the heart. The Fat Man leaves with the monks for "conversion counselling". The Thin Man deduces that Lorna has met the Doctor; she confirms that she saw him as a kid in the Gamma Forests.
The Fat Man enters a room where the Monks are gathered. A voice tells him that he was selected to be converted to "their faith" and told to make a donation.
In Victorian London, a hooded figure arrives home. She is greeted by a maid and tells her that she has killed and eaten Jack the Ripper. She reveals herself as a Silurian named Madame Vestra. The maid (named Jenny) leads her to the drawing room; the TARDIS is sitting there.
In the middle of the Battle of Zaruthstra, 4037, a man searches for a nurse for a boy who is clearly unwell. A Sontaran nurse enters. A few minutes later, the boy is awake, and the nurse reveals himself as Commander Strax. He says that being a nurse is his penance. The TARDIS is heard, and Strax says that his penance is about to finish.
In Stormcage, River Song returns from a birthday outing with the Doctor, accidentally setting off an alarm. Rory appears and River seems stunned at the sight of him. Rory asks that she come with him, but she says that she can't come until the 'very end', as it's the day he when the Doctor will rise so high, and then fall further than ever before. It is also the day he finds out who she is.
Dorium appears to be leaving a bar of some kind before he is interrupted by the Eye Patch Lady, who he names as Madame Kovarian. He says that the reason the Doctor hasn't come yet is because he's raising an army of people who owe him a debt. Dorium also mentions that the Headless Monks are customers of his, and he therefore knows the location of their base. After Madame Kovarian leaves, the TARDIS arrives for him.
At Demon's Run, one of the Colonels gives a speech about the Doctor, saying that he is only a man and he can be defeated. Amy watches from above, but is interrupted by Lorna, who says that she should be at the speech. Lorna offers her a prayer leaf with Melody's name on it in the language of her people; if a parent keeps such an item with them, their child will always come back. Amy ignores the offer of kindness, but turns when she realises that Lorna met the Doctor. She accepts the prayer leaf, and warns Lorna to be 'on the right side' for her sake.
Lorna hurries to the speech, where the Colonel removes the hoods of the monks, to reveal a knot of skin where the bases of their necks should be. The third monk removes his own hood; it is the Doctor in disguise. The Monks raise their swords and all the marines except Lorna raise their guns. At the same time, Madame Vestra and Jenny hold the men in the control room at sword point. In the main room, the Doctor puts up his hood as the lights go out. The lights come back on and the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. The Doctor tells them that he is disguised as one of the Monks. A man shoots one who turns out to be a real Monk and is killed. The Monks begin to kill the marines in retaliation until the Colonel tells everyone to stand down. Lorna sees a Monk with a sonic screwdriver and follows him out of the room as the rest of the marines disarm themselves. Silurians suddenly appear with their guns pointed at the marines, as do the Judoon. Commander Strax holds the Colonel at gunpoint, claiming the base as their own.
The Doctor has a group of modified Spitfires (last seen in Victory of the Daleks) attack the base, and Kovarian orders that the child be brought to her. Melody is brought in a portable cot, and Kovarian says that the Doctor must think he is winning until the trap closes. Unknown to her, Lorna is listening, and she runs off. Rory suddenly appears and holds Kovarian at sword point; Henry and Toby Avery exit Kovarian's private ship with a crewmember tied up. She enters the control room where the Doctor is sitting and tells the Colonel to tell the marines to run away.
Amy hears Rory at the door with the sonic screwdriver and tells him that they took Melody; he enters with the baby in his arms. The Doctor walks in and calls the baby "Melody Pond", much to Rory's annoyance. He also comments that he speaks baby. Madame Vestra enters and says that the marines are leaving, and that the Doctor has never risen so high. Rory remembers River's words and looks concerned.
Amy leaves the TARDIS with a crying Melody, saying that the baby doesn't like the noise inside. The others all suggest what she'd crying about until the Doctor emerges with a cot before hurrying back to the control room, saying that the cot is his.
Dorium is going through the computers and discovers scans of Melody, which reveal that her DNA contains traces of Time Lord. Vestra asks when Melody was conceived, as she knows that the Time Lords became what they did through exposure to the time vortex. The Doctor realises that the first time they were together on the TARDIS was their wedding night, and that they might want her for a weapon having seen the Doctor. Vestra and Dorium leave as the Doctor remembers the little girl from America. Kovarian appears on a screen and says that the girl is hope in the war against the Doctor.
Lorna is brought to Rory and Amy at gunpoint, as she had been listening. She insists that they're in a trap, and that she only joined the clerics to meet the Doctor as he is "a great warrior". The lights go out, but Strax says that there are no life forms in the base excluding them, but Lorna says that the Headless Monks do not register as life forms.
Elsewhere in the base, Monks begin to attack the Silurians. Vestra joins the others; the TARDIS is suddenly surrounded by a force field and the doors are locked. Dorium identifies the Monks chant as the attack prayer. Amy goes to hide with Melody. Dorium goes into the darkness to try to reason with the Monks, but is beheaded; his body joins the Monks who are advancing on the group.
On the screen, Kovarian says that fooling the Doctor once was a joy, but fooling him again the same way is a privilege. He realises what Kovarian has done and runs off to find Amy. Melody, looking over Amy's shoulder sees a hatch appear in the air, through which Kovarian is watching them. Kovarian murmurs "wakey wakey", and Melody collapses into flesh, while Amy screams for Rory. The Doctor runs onto the scene where the battle took place moments before yelling that Melody is flesh; he is greeted by Rory who tells him that they already know. Rory then goes to help a wounded Strax, who says that he always dreamed of dying in battle before dying.
The Doctor tries to comfort Amy, but she only backs away. Instead, he goes to talk to Lorna. When she mentions that she met him, he remembers her before she dies. River appears in a flash of light. The Doctor angrily confronts her, saying that he was there for her but she didn't come when he needed her the most. She tells him that she couldn't have prevented what happened, but he didn't try. She says that Amy will be alright, and that the battle is exactly what the Doctor is. She says that, though the word "doctor" often means "healer" or "wise man", in the Gamma Forests it means "warrior". The Doctor finally asks her who she is; she only runs towards the cot before he grabs her. She asks him "Can't you read?" He has a realization that causes him to become increasingly jubilant, and River Song confirms his thoughts. He hurries to the TARDIS with a new found confidence as he tells Amy and Rory not to worry because he is certain now that he can save their daughter.
Amy holds River at gunpoint demanding to know what she just said. River tells her that she needs to focus on the written word as the TARDIS has more difficulty translating it; Amy tries and fails to read the writing on the cot, but River says that the Gallifreyan cannot be translated. River hands Amy the prayer leaf and tells her to read it. Amy says that she knows her daughter's name, but River tells her that they don't have a word for "Pond" in the Gamma Forests where Lorna was from, because "the only water in the forest is the river." As Amy and Rory read the leaf, the writing changes to read the words "River Song". River Song tells them that she is Melody, their daughter. The episode ends as Amy and Rory look shocked, and a "To Be Continued" appears on the screen...
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