Heroism is present in all versions of Doctor Whomain character, but there is an iconic scene from Matt Smith’s era as the famous Time Lord strongly establishes his Eleventh Doctor as the bravest. The Doctor has saved the day countless times, but the regeneration process makes heroism a little easier to pull off. However, of every actor who has played the Doctor, Smith has played the iteration with the most to lose, risking his life as he embarks on some of the biggest Doctor Who stories of all time.
During Eleven’s era, it’s easy to forget that he ran out of regenerations. At the very least, not knowing his origin as a Timeless Child makes him think he cannot regenerate again. Time Lords are traditionally limited to 12 regenerations – in other words; 13 faces. Although Smith is only the Eleventh Doctor, the existence of John Hurt’s War Doctor and Ten’s use of a regeneration to heal himself in “Journey’s End”, the transition from David Tennant to Matt Smith used the supposed final regeneration cycle of the Doctor. Then, Eleven has always taken much more risk than its predecessors.
Matt Smith is the only doctor to sacrifice himself hoping to die forever
Eleven made a unique medical decision under new circumstances
The 2013 Doctor Who The Christmas special, “The Time of the Doctor”, is Matt Smith’s final episode as the show’s lead actor. The Eleventh Doctor spends centuries defending Trenzalorefully aware of the fact that suffering a fatal injury would mean the end of not only his current form, but his life in general. Although the Doctor often appears emotional and unwilling to regenerate – especially in Doctor WhoIn the modern era, it is still preferable to something as definitive as an actual death.
Without the advantage of regeneration, it would be easy to understand if the Doctor suddenly became less willing to risk his life. Fortunately, he remains as resolute as ever in old age and at the end of what he believes to be his existence. Eleven’s sacrifice is the bravest thing the Doctor has ever done. For all he knew, he was about to die for real in the name of saving Trenzalore. Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald begging the Time Lords to grant the Doctor another regeneration was a welcome but unexpected twist.
Have other doctors made the same sacrifice on Doctor Who?
Every doctor is always taking risks (but none as much as Eleven)
While it may seem like the Doctor is immortal by human standards, he may die if he is killed before he has a chance to regenerate. The history of the show proves that regeneration could save the Doctor from some terrible injuriesbut it is not an inevitable process. Therefore, although regeneration gives the Doctor a much greater margin for error than other Doctor Who characters, each iteration of the character has risked their lives by diving headlong into conflicts with deadly enemies.
That being said, it’s impossible to ignore this Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor Was Missing in the Backup Department when it came to second chances. If he had been a little more unlucky at some point in his adventures, the Doctor could be dead and the show would be over. Therefore, it would be false to say that he was not at least a little braver than the others Doctor Who homologues.