Missy = River Song? I Hope Not!

I will be so disappointed if Missy turns out to be River Song on the penultimate (and part one of two) episode of Doctor Who (airing November 1st). Titled Dark Water it does not take a huge leap here to think that writer/showrunner Steven Moffat is giving us a evil version of River (after all Dark Water equals River as well). 

Though I admit, I would be even more if this was a female version of The Master.

I understand the thematic aspect of taking a hugely popular character such as River (who has proven again and again to have suspect morals and willingness to do dangerous things in pursuant of her goals) and making her bad. It’s a hollowed trope within almost every genre, as it gives the hero (i.e. The Doctor) to strive to save someone, say Clara. 

But I think keeping her ambiguity -and the one who is able to make huge decisions in mere moments without going through a committee- is much more fun and interesting.

I realize bringing an old villain back from the TOS is complex -Moffat has said to do that, he needs a very logical reason for it. Mostly though, it’s a rights issue, as writer and creator of any previous villain must be compensated financially as well as acknowledged on screen. It was how it was done in the old days. So a dark version of River Song is easier, I guess (Moffat created her), but then does that not negate Moffat's reason for not bring back older villains like The Rani? Because making River Song dark would be a cop-out and a pointless thematic tool that writers use when they paint themselves in a corner. What is the logic in making River evil?

I may be wrong here, but I would think there is plenty of old villains in Doctor Who's canon that would deserve a return. Yes, the Rani would be nice. The Celestial Toymaker and even The Meddling Monk would be cool as well. 

But Moffat seems little interested in mining old Doctor Who these days (yes, he pays homage to it like the yoyo scene in Kill The Moon and the Jelly Baby scene in Mummy on the Orient Express), but he seems to think taking a characters like River and twisting her into something different is more creative.

It may be, but I like ambiguous River Song.

All of this, I will note, will be moot if what I wrote above does not play out. Carry on.