Amy Pond
The cliffhanger resolves several plot threads that had been seeded throughout the previous episodes of the series. According to executive producer Beth Willis, the Amy Pond Ganger has been acting in place of the original Amy Pond since the beginning of the series. Amy claimed she was pregnant in "The Impossible Astronaut", but denied this in the following episode. Since then, the Doctor has performed several inconclusive pregnancy tests on Amy. The Eye Patch Lady, who was later revealed to be named Madame Kovarian in the episode "A Good Man Goes To War", previously made brief appearances in "Day of the Moon", "The Curse of the Black Spot", and "The Rebel Flesh". Gillan discussed the labour scene with her mother, and tried to make it "really horrific".