The Doctor Who Scene That Proved Matt Smith's Eleven Is Low-Key The Most Heroic Doctor Ever

Heroism is baked into every version of Doctor Who's main character, but there's an iconic scene from Matt Smith's era as the famous Time Lord that strongly establishes his Eleventh Doctor as the most courageous. The Doctor has saved the day countless times, but the process of regeneration arguably makes heroics a little easier to pull off. However, of every actor to play the Doctor, Smith played the iteration with the most to lose by risking his life as he embarked on some of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time.

During Eleven's era, it's easy to forget that he has run out of regenerations. At the very least, being unaware of his origin as the Timeless Child makes him think he can't 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 Doctor's supposed final regeneration cycle. So, Eleven was always far more at risk than his predecessors.

Matt Smith Is The Only To Doctor To Sacrifice Themselves Expecting To Die Forever

Eleven made a signature Doctor decision in new circumstances

The 2013 Doctor Who 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 Trenzalore, fully aware of the fact that suffering a fatal injury would mean the end of not just his current form, but his life in general. Although the Doctor often seems emotional and unwilling to regenerate - especially in Doctor Who's modern era, it's still preferable to something as final as an actual death.

Without the advantage of regeneration to fall back on, it would be easy to understand if the Doctor suddenly became less willing to gamble with his life. Thankfully, he remains as resolute as ever in his 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. As far as he was aware, he was about to die for real in the name of Trenzalore's salvation. Jenna Coleman's Clara Oswald begging the Time Lords to grant the Doctor another regeneration was a welcome but unexpected twist.

Have Other Doctors Ever Made The Same Sacrifice In Doctor Who?

Every Doctor is always taking a risk (but none so much as Eleven)

Although it may seem as though the Doctor is immortal by human standards, he can die if he's killed before he has the chance to regenerate. The show's history proves that regeneration can save the Doctor from some pretty grisly injuries, but it's not an inevitable process. So, although regeneration gives the Doctor a much bigger margin for error than other Doctor Who characters, every iteration of the character has been risking their lives when plunging headfirst into conflicts with deadly enemies.

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That being said, it's impossible to ignore that Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was severely lacking in the backup department when it came to second chances. If he had been just a little more unlucky at any point during his adventures, the Doctor could have been dead, and the show would have been over. Therefore, it would be disingenuous to say he wasn't at least a little braver than his other Doctor Who counterparts.

doctor who (2005)

An alien from the planet Gallifrey travels through time and space to explore, solve problems and fight injustice while also making friends with human beings. His spaceship, called TARDIS, resembles a police box, but it is much more than it appears to be.
 

Cast Jodie Whittaker , Christopher Eccleston , David Tennant , Matt Smith , Peter Capaldi , Billie Piper , Karen Gillan , Catherine Tate , Jenna Coleman , Alex Kingston , John Barrowman , Tosin Cole , Arthur Darvill

Release Date March 26, 2005

Seasons 13

Writers Steven Moffat , Russell T. Davies