Previous Episode: “The Almost People”
… Meanwhile, on Demon’s Run, Amy is holding her new baby (the name on the side of the crib reads “Melody Pond”) with armed guards and the one eyed lady (Madame Kovarian) standing behind her menacingly. She lets them all know that a man is on his way who will save them, but it may not be who we are thinking:
…Meanwhile, twenty thousand light years away in the Cyber Fleet, an intruder is coming. The Last Centurion (Rory) emerges to confront the Cyber Leader:
…And back on Demon’s Run, two of the soldiers are milling about doing soldiery things, and introduce themselves to a third marine Lorna Bucket:
The three are talking about The Headless Monks (deeply hooded monks who are silently walking around Demon’s Run) and that lifting a Monk’s hood is a capital offense. They all know that the Doctor is on his way to save Amy. Lorna confesses that she volunteered for this assignment just to meet him again, recounting how she had met him when she was a child in the Gamma Forests:
The Fat One goes with the Headless Monks for his “Conversion Tutorial.” He’s laughing and joking, until they convert him to the order by chopping off his head. No more Fat One.
…Meanwhile in London 1888 AD, a mysterious woman — Madam Vastra — returns home, putting her katana away. She turns to reveal that she is a Silurian.
The TARDIS stands in her living room and she comments excitedly that a very old debt must be repaid.
… Meanwhile, in the midst of The Battle of Zaruthstra, 4037 AD, a sontarin (Commander Strax) enters a war hospital. Surprisingly, he is a nurse and proceeds to save the little boy, although his bedside manner leaves a bit to be desired:
He explains that he is paying penance that has been placed on him by the Doctor to restore the honor of his clone batch.
…Meanwhile at River Song’s jail, River is obviously happy after her birthday celebration with the Doctor, when Rory approaches her.
Rory asks her to come with him to help the Doctor at Demon’s run, but she refuses. She can’t — not yet, anyway. He will rise high, and then fall so much further. This is when he finds out who she is.
… Meanwhile, in Dorium Maldovar’s bar, Madame Kovarian is getting details from Dorium who warns her that the Doctor will be coming, and god help her if he’s called in his favors. He tells them that Demon’s Run is where a good man goes to war. They leave as does Dorium separately out the back and the TARDIS appears, and the shadow of the Doctor falls against the wall.
Back at Demon’s Run… Colonel Manton is giving the troops a pep talk with Amy looking on from her room. Lorna enters and wants to give her a present: the child’s name embroidered in the language of the Gamma Forests. Amy refuses at first:
But they share stories of their encounters with the Doctor and eventually bond and Amy takes the cloth.
Colonel Menton continues his pep talk, revealing true nature of the headless monks, slowly lowering their hoods. They are truly headless with their necks tied off in a knot. The Colonel explains that the Headless Monks can not be persuaded, afraid, or surprised. The troops are startled by the monks, but not half as startled as when the Doctor is revealed dressed as one:
The Doctor’s friends take command of Demon’s Run station and the lights go out and, in the confusion, the soldiers loose track of the Doctor. The lights come up and the soldiers shoot at the Monks thinking that the Doctor is among them. The Monks return fire with thunder bolt swords. Colonel Menton discharges energy weapon to defuse situation, admonishing his troops to put down their arms and begins to chant “We are not fools.” The Monks put down their swords.
Lorna sees the Doctor, still dressed as monk, sneaking about, and follows him. Suddenly hundreds of Silurians and Jadoon appear, surrounding the Colonel and his marines. “Danny Boy” — from the episode “Victory of the Daleks” — pops up and takes out communications array, cutting Demon’s Run off from calling for reinforcements.
Madame Kovarian is trying to flee with the child, Melody Pond, but The Captain and his band of Pirates — from the Episode “The Curse of the Black Spot” — have already taken command of her ship and return Melody to Rory.
The Doctor has Colonel Menton in the communications room and tells him to deliver a message to everyone on Demon’s Run:
Rory returns Melody to Amy:
Everyone is now reunited and happy. The soldiers are peaceful leaving the station. Demon’s Run has been won with no blood spilt.
Back at the TARDIS on the flight deck of Demons run, The Doctor brings out an ancient crib/cot with a stellar mobile and Gallifrayian writing on the side. He ducks question of whether he has ever had children, and tells them that the cot was his.
They must have taken Amy “before America.” The visions that AMy had were the Woman bleeding through from Amy’s reality.
Melody is Human + Time lord DNA. Vastra inquires whether Melody is the Doctors, but it looks like it might be that she was conceived on the TARDIS, and the timely wimley thing mutated her into a Time Lord.
Lorna warns that this is a trap, and soon Madame Kovorian appears on a view screen, apparently having finally escaped. She tells the Doctor that they wanted Melody because she was hope in the long bitter war against the Doctor.
The Headless Monks reappear chanting the attack prayer.
Amy clutches Melody as they hide during the battle, but the baby suddenly disintegrates in her hands. The “baby” is actually a ganger! The Monks slay the the Doctor’s friends, except for but Vastra and Jenny:
Lorna lays dying, but wants a last word with the Doctor. The Doctor remembers everyone and they share the memory of running through the GammaForests as she dies.
River shows up suddenly and the Doctor is very angry at her:
River lays it down on the Doctor, explaining that to the people of the Gamma Forest “Doctor” means mighty warrior. All of this they do in fear of the Doctor.
The Doctor asks her who she is. River shows him. There is something he sees in or on the crib that illuminates him:
The Doctor, now elated with the news tells River to take everyone home as he jumps in the TARDIS promising to bring Melody back to them and the TARDIS disappears.
River shows Amy and Rory the embroidery that Lorna made, and that the Doctor had ben looking at, with their daughter’s name on it. The TARDIS translation circuits are only now kicking in (takes longer for written words). They don’t have ponds on the Gamma forest — only rivers:
And with that, Series 6, Part 1 comes to a conclusion.
