The Valeyard is one of the most confusing characters in the history of Doctor Who
but an unused Third Doctor story would have made everything much simpler. With a show that has been on the air for over 60 years, the show's canon is bound to get confusing at times. But add to that time period a time-traveling regenerating alien who has access to all of time and space, and it becomes a certainty.
Throughout the show's history, many forms of the Doctor have come and gone, with a limited number becoming canon versions of the Doctor. However, the classic series introduced a number of variants that appeared to have some future connection to the Doctorbut its origins and explanations were unclear. One of the hardest to rationalize in the context of the series was a character called The Valeyard, who seemed to be a future version of the Doctor with no more regenerations. But another untold Doctor Who the story could have made the character better.
The Master as Valeyard's doctor would have made more sense
Doctor Who's logic for the Valeyard didn't exactly work
In one of the unused Doctor Who stories that were originally written for the Third Doctor, there was a story that would have seen the Master revealed as a darker version of the Doctor. Of course, the Master has long been one of the Doctor's greatest rivalsbut having the character also fit the mold of this dark version of the hero would mean he could have taken on the role of the Valeyard who appears in a Sixth Doctor adventure.
However, The Valeyard was never properly defined within the confines of the show, and any mention of the character seems to be a contradiction now that the Doctor has undergone his twelfth regeneration, which is where The Valeyard was supposed to appear. But having the Master take on that character's role, as an enduring and recurring villain who frequently returns to taunt and torment the hero, would have at least added to the narrative and made the character a valuable addition for the show.
Doctor Who's Valeyard Mystery Still Unsolved
Instead, nearly 40 years after The Valeyard first appeared in “The Ultimate Foe,” the character still lacks a satisfying explanation. Although they were supposed to appear between the Sixth and Twelfth Doctors, they never did. During this period, the Doctor received a new cycle of regeneration and, more recently, discovered that they have an extensive history as The Timeless Childof which they were previously unaware.
Although they were supposed to appear between the Sixth and Twelfth Doctors, they never did.
Now, they also added the irregularity of bigeneration that saw the Fourteenth Doctor split in two, creating a copy of himself that would live on as the Fifteenth Doctor. But the remaining Fourteenth Doctor shouldn't have another regeneration left. Unless David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor decides to reject his retirement, adopt an identity as The Valeyard and pursue the Doctor to absorb and consume his regenerations and continue living, the mysterious character remains an inexplicable anomaly within the Whoniverse and Doctor Who.