I agree with the phazer in that that is what is implied, i still don't think it's that simple though although i don't see how it could have been an adult because, assuming it is the same space suit as before, there was only room enough inside for a child

Actually, that can only be a retro-active implication because at the time we didn't 'know' River was the Wiliams' daughter - who is assumed to be the little girl.

So actually, the implication couldn't have been there - it's a hindsight.

Fair enough but ignoring the technicalities of my mistaken language skills i do believe that moffat wanted us to think that the reason she said "of course" was because we are being led to believe it is a younger River in the suit

If that were the case, then she'd have the subsequent memories of in-between then and getting to that point to be the observer - so wouldn't at all be upset as she'd know how it would pan out.

But she's clearly upset. Her 'remembering' being in the suit (which wasn't mentioned to have time-travelling abilities - which it would need) doesn't gel with that, nor with the way she said it. I don't agree it's the obvious choice at all.

and as I pointed out, it could only become 'obvious' in hindsight, so couldn't be the obvious choice.

I posted this on another thread but this one seems more appropriate for my theory.

I suspect River is the girl in the astronaut suit and kills the doctor but she has no memory of actually doing that because she's been kidnapped and raised to be a weapon to kill the doctor. Kinda like a sleeper agent and had been programmed.

The only way to break her programming is to let her complete her mission which is why the Doctor has no issue letting her kill him, as we all know the Doctor has no problem letting himself die to save others, it's just his friends don't usually let him.

The doctor that dies could be a ganger, I know it seems a bit obvious but we know the Doctor thought of his ganger as his equal and the same as him in every way, he also tested Amy to see if she could tell them apart. Also If this ganger doctor had been stabalised by the tardis then maybe he wouldn't return to goo when dead.

River says "of course" when trying to shoot the astronaut because she realises due to timey wimey stuff that she can't kill a younger version of herself.

I suspect the good man she kills is Rory, perhaps by accident trying to get to the doctor (while under programming). It is possible the good man she kills is the Doctor but considering how many people have tried to kill him/want him dead I doubt she would end up in prison for it.

just my thoughts on it.

I'm not saying that it was actually her, i don't believe it was but i personally believe it was intended for us to look back on the episode and think that it was supposed to be River in the suit. we may just have to agree to disagree here

Jonathan Powell

Next time they show the Doctor being shot will Amy know that River is her daughter this time round? I love Doctor Who but I don't have a clue what goes on half the time

i Think it was Amy (Future Amy ) that killed the Doctor, who was the Ganger Doctor, and River said of Course because she couldnt kill her own mother before she was born

Ganger Doctor was stablized in the Tardis before the Impossible Astronaut

She would already have been born to the future Amy so no paradoxical problems with that

My idea is based on my interpretation of what happened in the Big Bang. The official story is that the Doctor lied about his future self dieing. My idea was that the future Doctor died, current Doctor lent him some life force to revive him, but then his own lifeforce was so low that the half powered stone dalek could kill him.

So, applying this sort of idea to TIA, the Doctor's dead body from 2 hours in the future is in the Astronaut suit. The suit does all the walking and shooting on autopilot. It steals the regeneration energy from just getting shot Doctor and uses it to restart 2 hours from the future dead Doctor back to life.

Why? He was on the run and needed a really really convincing "fake" death to get them off his back.