A Good Man Goes to War ( TV story ) A Good Man Goes to War was the seventh episode in the sixth series of " Doctor Who " and the last episode of the spring half of the series . It was , in a sense , the first episode of a two - part story , followed by " Let ' s Kill Hitler " . It revealed the identity of River Song , naming her as Melody Pond , the daughter of Amy Pond and Rory Williams . The midseries finale also introduced the Headless Monks , a militaristic faction of the Silence , and formally introduced the ubiquitous " Eye Patch Lady " as the malevolent Madame Kovarian . It also showed the extent to which the Doctor had become feared and the lengths to which those who feared him were willing to go to be rid of him . Equally so , it revealed how easily the Doctor could assemble a small army and counter an enemy ' s force , and the severity of his anger when someone he deeply cared about was tormented to the point that irreversible damage was done to their life . Further notable moments were the reappearances of several of the Doctor ' s allies , enemies , and neutral acquaintances - and the introduction of several previously unseen friends . Three individuals who debuted in this story would later become known as the Paternoster Gang as they continued to make appearances as a collective : Madame Vastra , her lover Jenny Flint , and the Sontaran Strax , the last of which died in this episode , but had his death reversed in the mini - episode " " . This story marked the first time that the BBC Wales series had not broadcast an uninterrupted thirteen - episode run for a series of " Doctor Who " . As a result of its status as a midseries finale , the length and allotted run time of the episode was extended to 50 minutes . The episode was also given an ending that would allow for a reasonable time skip to take place in - universe , where the Doctor sets off on his own in search of Melody Pond . However , viewers can still watch Series 6 in full without any difference in the story arc progression . The major plots introduced at the beginning of this series were continued in the latter half of the broadcast and tied up in a standalone finale . The practice of splitting apart a 13 - episode series would be repeated with Series 7 , which contained further experiments with the series format . It was comprised of two different character - related story arcs that were contained in the first and second parts of Series 7 , and premiered new episodes across two years , incorporating a Christmas special in between the break that bridged the two halves of the series . The singular run format , reduced to 12 episodes rather than 13 , would return when the Twelfth Doctor ' s era began . It wouldn ' t be revealed until " The Time of the Doctor " , that Madame Kovarian was revealed to have not been truly villainous ; the " war " she spoke of wasn ' t simply the Doctor ' s enemies trying to kill him like normal , the Kovarian Chapter of the Papal Mainframe was trying to kill him before he could even take part in the Siege of Trenzalore in his personal future . In irony , they not only created the cracks , but also raised the Doctor ' s sociopath wife River Song to be his assassin . Both of these actions would lead to the events that Madame Kovarian was trying to prevent . In " The Time of the Doctor " , the Doctor would call Madame Kovarian and her followers ' actions as being part of the Destiny Trap : " you can ' t change history if you ' re a part of it . " Despite the beheading of Dorium Maldovar in this episode , he would return in " The Wedding of River Song " as a still - living head . In that case , it was revealed that Dorium possessed vital information about what Madame Kovarian and her followers were up to with Melody Pond that he didn ' t share with the Doctor at Demons ' Run . Dorium would defend himself as it being " a busy day and I got beheaded " for his reasons for not sharing what he knew at the time . Synopsis . On the asteroid Demon ' s Run , Amy Pond has given birth . But the villainous Madame Kovarian and the religious order of the silence are waiting to make a collection that tears Amy ' s world apart . Across the galaxy , the Eleventh Doctor and Rory Williams are assembling an army to fight the battle that lies ahead , whilst in Stormcage , River Song prepares to escape for what may be the last time . For this is the battle of Demon ' s Run . On this day , the Doctor will rise higher than ever and fall so much further , and finally , this is the day he discovers who River Song is . . . Plot . On the Demon ' s Run base , Amy calms her infant daughter , Melody Pond , as Cleric guards and Madame Kovarian look on . It has been some time since she gave birth to her child , and now Melody is ready to be raised by a parent . However , Amy has been denied the privilege of caring for her own baby . Kovarian has plans to enact another kind of parenthood for Melody Pond . She gives Amy two minutes to say goodbye to her child before approaching her with two armed guards . Amy tells Melody of her father . Though he looks young , he has lived for hundreds of years and he is coming for them , so their captors had better beware as not even an army would stop him . When Amy ' s time with Melody is up , Kovarian ruthlessly advances with her arms outstretched to obtain Melody by force if she has to . Crying , Amy begs Kovarian to leave the baby alone . She removes the child from her mother ' s arms and puts her in a cot to be taken away . A young female soldier reluctantly watches Amy ' s heartbroken reaction , and two cloaked figures from an upper balcony step forward to watch Melody being brought into Kovarian ' s care . Before her baby is completely separated from her , Amy gives Melody a kiss and continues talking about her father ; though he has a name , the people of Earth know him better by a different title : the Last Centurion . Twenty thousand light years away , on the flagship of the Twelfth Cyber Legion , Cybermen detect an intruder working his way to their command centre , wreaking havoc with a sonic screwdriver . They try sealing him off , but every attempt fails . They prepare to confront him , weapons raised as the door opens to reveal Rory . Fearless , Rory tells the Cybermen that he has a message from the Doctor and a question from himself : " Where is my wife ? " The Cybermen don ' t answer , prompting Rory to explain that they hear everything in the quadrant ; he will leave in peace if they tell him what he wants to know . The Cyber - Leader demands the message and gets it : the rest of the ships explode outside the window . Message delivered , Rory asks if he needs to repeat his question . On Demon ' s Run , the Fat One and the Thin One discuss the Doctor and how he scolded the Atraxi after scaring them off a planet . The Thin One reminds the Fat One that they ' re being paid to fight the Doctor . Praising costs more . A Cleric named Lorna overhears them , smiles , and continues to sew on her break . This is seen on a security monitor by two guards in the control room , Dominicus and Lucas , who are practising how to tell the difference between psychic paper from actual identification . Lucas incorrectly chooses the psychic paper , and Dominicus reminds him he has to look for the psychic fractals to recognise which ID is real . However , Dominicus is too bored to care because the Clerics have been on Yellow Alert over three weeks . The Thin One and the Fat One talk about the Headless Monks they are sharing the base with , pondering if they are truly headless . Lorna overhears them and explains . They believe " the domain of faith is the heart and the domain of doubt is the head " , hence the name " headless . " They introduce themselves by their nicknames and reveal that they are married . Lorna asks if they have real names , but the Fat One rattles off a large number of labels that make them too easy to identify regardless of who they are . Three Headless Monks show up and leer in the direction of The Fat One . He leaves with the monks to complete a conversion tutorial . The Thin One deduce s that Lorna has had an " encounter " ( met the Doctor ) ; he is right . Lorna met him when she was a little girl in the Gamma Forests , something that made her join the Clerics , despite her planet being " heaven neutral " , as the Doctor ' s time there was the only exciting thing that happened . When asked what he ' s like , Lorna mentions the Doctor said " Run " a lot . Elsewhere , the Fat One is taken to the Headless Monks ' headquarters and told by an automated voice that they hold a tradition for visiting armies of other faiths to offer individuals for conversion to the order . He has been selected for conversion to their faith and must make a donation . The Monks advance on him with an empty box . The Fat One figures out that this " donation " is more malicious than he made it out to be and the Monks have the intent of bagging his head . In the meantime , the Thin One closes an inspection hatch in a manner resembling a metaphorical guillotine drop , unaware of his husband ' s fate . He asks Lorna why she thinks the Doctor isn ' t at Demons Run yet . She guesses it ' s because he can be " anywhere " in time and space . London , 1888 : a woman returns home and informs her carriage driver she won ' t be needing him again that night . She enters and greets her maid Jenny , telling her to send a telegram to Scotland Yard informing them Jack the Ripper is dead . When asked how she found him , the woman reveals herself to be a Silurian named Vastra , saying , " Stringy , but tasty " . Jenny then takes her to the drawing room , where the TARDIS has materialised . Vastra knows the time has come to repay an old debt to the Doctor and tells Jenny to pack . In the Battle of Zaruthstra in 4037 , Commander Harcourt heads to a medical tent to inform Madame President Eleanor that they must leave a child behind as the enemy is closing in and the nurse has yet to arrive . Just then a Sontaran named Strax enters and does a medical scan on the boy , telling him that he will soon be well . Upon leaving with his work done , Strax is questioned by Harcourt about why a Sontaran is serving as a nurse ; it ' s a penance to restore the glory of Strax ' s lost clone batch . Upon seeing the TARDIS arrive , Strax sees his penance is over , telling Harcourt to get some rest . In the Stormcage Containment Facility , a tipsy River Song returns from one of her " outings " with the Doctor and sets off the alarm . Calling the guards to tell them that she is returning to her cell , River notices someone in Roman garb in the shadows ; it ' s Rory . After confirming she knows who he is , River quickly looks in her diary to know why he ' s there : Demons Run . Rory explains the situation , asking River to come help with the others the Doctor is recruiting . River explains that the Battle of Demons Run is when the Doctor will finally know who she is and that she cannot be there until the very end . It is also the day the Doctor rises higher than before , but falls lower than that . Elsewhere , at the Maldovarium , Dorium Maldovar is closing down his bar in a hurry , out of fear of something . He is caught by Colonel Manton and Madame Kovarian , who ask him what he knows ; they have been on Yellow Alert for three weeks and the Doctor hasn ' t done anything . Dorium explains that there are numerous people throughout time and space that owe the Doctor a debt for helping them ; he ' s gathering an army . Dorium explains the stories about the Doctor are true and not myths . Seeing they are getting nowhere , Kovarian and Manton leave . Dorium prepares to follow suit , but finds the TARDIS has landed in the backroom of his bar . As the Doctor ' s silhouette bears down on him , he pleads , " No . No , no , please . Not me . You don ' t need me . Why would you need me ? I ' m old , I ' m fat , I ' m blue . You can ' t need me ! " At Demon ' s Run , Colonel Manton speaks to the assembled Clerics and Monks about the Doctor . They are told not believe any of the stories they ' ve heard about him ; the Doctor is neither a goblin , trickster , god , nor devil , but a living , breathing man . He then tells the Clerics that they are going to " fix " that . Amy watches from above , in her cell . Lorna enters , apologising and offering a prayer leaf with Melody ' s name sewn on it in the language of her people . Amy becomes annoyed with Lorna , asking for her gun if she keeps talking . Her focus then goes back to how the Clerics react to the Doctor . Lorna explains that he ' s seen as a " dark legend " , earning a scoff from Amy , who asks if she ' s met him . To her surprise , Amy learns Lorna met the Doctor as little girl as well . Seeing that Lorna is genuinely being compassionate towards her , Amy accepts the gift , but warns Lorna that the Doctor " is " coming and that she needs to be on the right side . Lorna hurries to the speech , arriving as Manton says he has received divine permission to lower the hoods of the Headless Monks . He reveals knots of skin in place of a neck and head , making the Thin One horrified about what happened to the Fat One . However , as Manton explains what the lack of heads gives the monks , the third one lowers his own hood to reveal himself to be the Doctor . Everyone is shocked while Amy and Lorna smile . The Doctor invites the Clerics to point their weapons at him if it helps them relax . In the control room above the hangar , Vastra and Jenny hold two technicians at sword point , much to their horror . Vastra encourages them to resist being held hostage as she ' s hungry for " ape " . Jenny then politely asks them which button controls the lights . In the hangar , Colonel Manton tells the Doctor that he will be taken into custody . However , the Doctor mumbles , " 3 minutes 40 seconds " , before yelling for Amy to get her coat . The lights go out as he puts his hood back up . When the light come back on , the Doctor has disappeared from the stage . His voice echoes through the room , informing them that he is amongst the monks . The Clerics begin panicking and wondering which of the monks is the Doctor . One of the Clerics shoots a Monk , who turns out to be headless . This causes the monks to begin killing the Clerics and vise versa . Lorna spots a monk using a sonic screwdriver on a door across the hangar and follows it out . Madame Kovarian also leaves with two Clerics . In the control room , Vastra comments on the Doctor ' s brilliance , accidentally insulting Jenny . Apologising , she quickly knocks out one of the hostage Clerics with her tongue to prevent him from tripping a lockdown button . Back in the hangar , Manton regains control , ordering the Clerics not to fire . He removes his weapon pack and drops his gun as a show of good faith , urging the Clerics to do the same . However , as soon as they ' re all disarmed , an army of Silurian s and Judoon materialise . Commander Strax holds Manton at gunpoint , claiming the base . Manton says his fleet will come to help if Demon ' s Run goes down . However , the Doctor announces from the speakers that their communications relay can ' t work if it ' s taken out , explaining that they ' ve got incoming . Danny Boy radios the Doctor and is order to " give ' em hell " . Outside the base , a group of Dalek - upgraded Spitfire s ( curtesy of Churchill ) attack and disable their communications . The base shakes , with Amy laughing . Upon hearing that they ' ve succeeded , Manton is at a loss for words . The Doctor smiles . Elsewhere , Kovarian gets to her ship with Melody in a portable cot . She orders her aides back to the hangar , saying the Doctor must think he is winning " until the trap closes . " Unbeknownst to them , Lorna is listening . She runs off . Rory appears and confronts Kovarian . She taunts him , asking how he will take her ship , when she has a crew of 20 men waiting in it . Rory smirks . Henry Avery and his son Toby exit the ship with a captured crewman ; Henry points his blunderbuss at her , declaring , " The ship is ours , milady " . Kovarian and Manton are brought to the Doctor , who has joined Vastra and Jenny in the control room . He then laughs , saying it took him " 3 minutes 42 seconds " to take the base . Strax tells Manton to order his troops to retreat , but the Doctor decides to punish Manton by having him be famous for instead saying , " Run away " . He intends to slap Manton with the label for life so that everywhere he goes , he ' ll be called that name , and children who find his house will laugh outside his door knowing it belongs to " Colonel Runaway " . Explaining why , the Doctor says it ' s a warning for those who try to get to him through the people he loves . The Doctor bellows with anger as he says this , becoming so enraged that he notices it is a new sensation and doesn ' t know what is going to happen next . Manton refuses to retreat until Kovarian tells him to do so , harshly applying the Doctor ' s humiliating nickname : " Give the order , Colonel Runaway . " In her cell , Amy hears someone trying to get in and realises it ' s Rory , who asks her to wait as he unlocks the door with the sonic and he enters with the baby in his arms . They reunite tearfully as the Doctor enters , trying to excuse himself as it ' s an emotional moment . However , Rory orders him in . The Doctor talks to Melody , claiming that he can speak baby . Madame Vastra enters , telling the Doctor the Clerics are leaving without any bloodshed . When she gloats that the Doctor has never risen higher ( no - one in the history of the universe has managed to win a battle without killing someone ) , Rory remembers River ' s warning . The group , minus Dorium and Vastra , gather in the hangar , preparing to leave the base , but the Doctor does not want to leave until he figures out why the base was used in the first place . There is a debate as to why Melody is crying . The Doctor emerges from the TARDIS with a cot , saying the baby is sleepy . Rory and Amy try to come to terms with what has happened and why Amy was kidnapped ; the Doctor knew , but didn ' t tell Rory in case they were listening in on them . Vastra calls the Doctor to the control room . Before he leaves , Amy implores him to tell them something about their baby . The Doctor says the cot he ' s letting Melody use was once his . In the control room , Dorium hacks into Kovarian ' s files and finds scans of Melody ' s DNA , which contain traces of Time Lord DNA . Vastra wonders where Melody was conceived , knowing that Time Lord s became what they were through exposure to the time vortex and the Untempered Schism . At first , the Doctor does not want to think about the event in question and goes off on an awkwardly spun tangent to avoid the touchy subject . However , his avoidance of the question leads him straight to the answer . Figuring out his huge blunder , he stops dead in the middle of his yammering , leaving Vastra to prompt him to finish his sentence and Dorium inquiring , " Mmm . . . ? " . The Doctor remembers that the first time Amy and Rory were together on the TARDIS in this version of reality was on their wedding night . Knowing he left the couple alone and this is his fault , the Doctor gawks with his mouth agape and a giant blank stare . Vastra deduce s that Kovarian wants a part - Time Lord to turn her into a weapon . Dorium fears that victory came too easily and something is wrong ; Vastra agrees . The two hurry back to the hangar . The Doctor , scowling , stays , remembering the little girl from 1969 America and the super - human strength with which she escaped from the astronaut suit . Kovarian appears on a view screen in the control room . When he asks what the baby is for , Kovarian says Melody is hope in their endless , bitter war against the Doctor . In the hangar , Lorna is captured by Strax , who found her eavesdropping . She warns them of Kovarian ' s trap , but they refuse to believe her , given her uniform ; she only joined the Clerics to meet the Doctor , a " great warrior . " When Amy tells her the Doctor is not a warrior , Lorna confusedly asks why he is called " the Doctor . " The lights in the hangar switch off and Strax scans the area , confirming there are no life forms on the base apart from them and the Silurians . Lorna tells him the monks aren ' t alive , so they don ' t register . Elsewhere , the monks kill the Silurians . Rory ushers Amy and Melody to safety before joining the others as the real battle begins . As Vastra and Dorium join the others , a force field surrounds the TARDIS and the hangar doors lock . Dorium identifies the Monks ' chant as their attack prayer and steps forward , hoping to negotiate with them as their old friend and business partner , but Rory warns him that he just sold them out to the Doctor . Dorium foolishly walks up to the Monks as their swords are blazing with electricity , and Vastra desperately warns him to come back . A loud , swishing metallic slice connects in the darkness and a thump is heard : Dorium has been beheaded . His body joins the Monks as they advance on the group . The Doctor ' s allies prepare for battle . Vastra tells the group to protect Amy ' s child at all costs . Rory unsheathes his sword and draws a gun , taking the lead position . Strax , Lorna , Vastra , and Jenny train their own guns on the Monks . In the control room , the Doctor angrily tells Kovarian that a child is not a weapon . Kovarian gives the Doctor a cruel reply that Melody can be and " will " be . The Doctor fiercely states to her hologram that he will never let her near Melody again after she lost her in the battle . Kovarian gleefully informs him that fooling him once was a joy , but fooling him twice in the same way is a privilege . She ends her message with a with a very hateful tone and a cold - hearted glare . The Doctor remembers the moment he learned Amy Pond had been replaced with a Flesh duplicate , and immediately connects the dots . Realising that Kovarian has made a Ganger of Melody , the Doctor rushes off to warn Amy . Rory , Vastra , Jenny , Strax and Lorna battle the Headless Monks while Amy waits , holding a crying baby . As the monks are slain , they manage to inflict devastating blows to Strax and Lorna that leave each of them on the verge of death . As the fighting continues , Melody , looking over her mother ' s shoulder , sees a slot open in mid - air through which Kovarian recites the poem " A Good Man Goes to War " and at the end tells her ; " Wakey , Wakey Kiddy " . Suddenly , Melody dissolves into Flesh and Amy tearfully screams for Rory . The Doctor arrives at the battle as it ends . A sullen Rory informs him they know Melody was Flesh . The Headless Monks have been defeated , but Lorna and Strax are fatally wounded . Rory goes to help Strax , who dies happy as it was in battle . The Doctor tries to comfort Amy , but she backs away from him . Vastra brings the Doctor to Lorna . She says they met once and she fears he does not remember her ; the Doctor quells her fears , saying he remembers everyone and that he knows they ran together . She soon dies . The Doctor is profoundly saddened to see Lorna pass away in front of him . After asking Vastra who she was , Vastra replies that Lorna was very brave . The Doctor agrees that everyone who dies for him is always brave . Vastra wonders if the Doctor is going to pursue the Silence in search of the real Melody . She believes with great certainty Melody was taken to Earth , where the Silence would raise her in a proper environment . However , to her surprise , the Doctor declares , " Yes , they did . And it ' s already too late . " Sickened by his failure , the Doctor walks away without another word . Vastra protests that he never gives up , but the Doctor retorts , " Yeah , and don ' t you sometimes wish I did ? " As the Doctor considers quitting his pursuit of the Silence , River Song appears . He angrily confronts her , demanding to know why she did not come when he asked as he ' s " always " been there for her . River replies that she could not have prevented the battle . The Doctor tells her that he didn ' t want this , but River says it ' s " exactly " like the Doctor ; his legendary adventures have made others frightened of him . She asks him if this is how he pictured things turning out when he first took off to see the universe , explaining that the word " Doctor " comes from him . However , the Gamma Forests translates " Doctor " as " Mighty Warrior " , reflecting how he defeats foes and the reason Lorna sought him out . The Doctor , tired of her riddles , demands to know who she is . She runs to his cot and directs his attention to it , asking him if he can read what ' s down there . Once he does , his expression changes from anger to joy . He asks River several incomplete questions , all of which are answered , " Yes " , even those that obviously seem to be about their relationship . He bids Vastra and Jenny goodbye , orders River to get them all home safely , and takes off in the TARDIS despite Amy ' s protests . Amy points a gun at River and asks what she told the Doctor . River simply explains that the TARDIS translation circuit takes awhile to translate the written word and directs Amy to Melody ' s prayer leaf which is still indecipherable to Amy . River explains that in the Gamma Forests they don ' t have a word for " Pond , " since " the only water in the forest is the river " . As Amy and Rory watch , Melody ' s name on the prayer leaf is translated : River Song . " The Doctor will find your daughter and he will care for her whatever it takes . And I know that . Its me . I ' m Melody . I ' m your daughter , " River tells her shocked parents . Story notes . Filming locations . " to be added " Home video releases . This story was released as Series 6 Part 1 with " The Impossible Astronaut " , " Day of the Moon " , " The Curse of the Black Spot " , " The Doctor ' s Wife " , " The Rebel Flesh " and " The Almost People " on 11th July 2011 . The episode was later released in the complete series 6 , which included the first and second half of the series . It was released on DVD and Blu Ray on the 21 November 2011 .