We look at two similar moments in Doctor Who history when a friend broke the Doctor’s trust, and how each Doctor reacted. When was he right, and when was he wrong?
When re-watching Doctor Who and the Silurians, while the whole story of an earlier dominant race on Earth returning and wanting their planet back is fantastic, one moment in particular stood out. At the very end of the story, the Silurians go back into hibernation in their caves, planning to awaken once more at a much later point. The Doctor hopes to awaken them even sooner, still believing that peace could be achieved.
However, his hopes are utterly destroyed when the caves explode, completely wiping the Silurians out. Even worse, it was a friend that did it: Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
A friend of the Doctor’s betraying his trust by suddenly wiping out another race that wasn’t even attacking. Sound familiar?
It’s hard not to be reminded of the ending of The Christmas Invasion, when Harriet Jones gave the order to destroy the Sycorax ship…despite the fact that they were already leaving. Both moments are major for the Doctor, describing his friend’s actions as “murder” in both cases and being filled with anger. But how did each Doctor react to such a major betrayal?
It took a while, but the Third Doctor eventually forgave the Brigadier and they eventually became the closest of friends.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Doctor’s forgiveness
The Third Doctor was angry at the Brigadier for quite some time. It didn’t help that, like Harriet Jones, the Brigadier hadn’t shared many adventures with the Doctor at that point. The Silurians was only his fourth story overall, so their friendship wasn’t quite as close as it would become later.
But the friendship did grow, despite the Brigadier’s actions. And there are key reasons for that. The biggest is that the Doctor was able to forgive him, eventually. It wasn’t easy, but he and the Brigadier did become close colleagues over time, before arguably becoming the very best of friends.
The Brigadier grew and began to see things a better way while sharing a brilliant friendship with the Doctor, and that wouldn’t have happened if the Doctor hadn’t forgiven him. Or worse, tried to destroy the Brigadier’s future.
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The Doctor’s mistake
That’s what the Tenth Doctor did to Harriet Jones. With just six words, he removed Harriet from power. Ironically, it was the older Doctor who made the more unwise choice.
Now don’t get me wrong: what Harriet did was morally questionable. After all, the Sycorax ship was already leaving the Earth. On the other hand, they were far from innocent, and their leader actually went back on his word almost immediately – something the Doctor actually killed him for!
While Jones’s action was arguably rash, so was the Doctor’s reaction to it. He knew – knew – that Jones was meant to serve three terms in power, while she had barely served one when the Doctor deposed her. He could have helped to show her a better way over time, like he did with the Brigadier. If he had given her the same chance that he had given the Brigadier, Jones could’ve easily given Britain a golden age, and possibly more. More than that – perhaps she and the Doctor would’ve remained friends for a much longer time.
If that wasn’t enough, the Doctor removing her from power meant that there was a power vacuum. A very noticeable vacuum, especially for a time traveler. And we all remember who took over in her place…
I’m not saying I hate this moment. Quite the reverse. The Doctor is always more interesting when they’re flawed, and the Tenth Doctor was definitely very flawed. I think the only problem this moment has is that it was never addressed. Flaws in a main character are always more interesting when they’re more directly addressed, especially when they do make mistakes.
Regardless of both outcomes, both moments in The Silurians and The Christmas Invasion are fantastic moments of drama. They each show different sides of the Doctor’s anger, and are key reminders why both Pertwee and Tennant were such brilliant Doctors.
Which approach do you like better? The Doctor forgiving the Brigadier after The Silurians? Or the Doctor immediately destroying Harriet Jones’s career in The Christmas Invasion? Let us know in the comments below.