10 Doctor Who Characters Who Died For No Reason

What's the best way for a Doctor Who character to survive? Easy - don't be an idiot.

Doctor Who Flesh And Stone Father Octavian death
BBC

You can describe Doctor Who in countless different ways. Some would call it a time travel series, others might say it's that show where an old man in a box kidnaps people, and those who are feeling particularly glum could look at it as a never-ending sequence of deathly events.

Basically, Doctor Who is a show where people die. A lot. From companions to random side characters, not an episode goes by without a whole bunch of people meeting their makers in a variety of grim ways. It's wholesome family fun!

The vast majority of these deaths feel well-earned, well-written, and make perfect sense within the context of their episodes, but every now and then, we witness one that's the exact opposite. Whether it was easily-preventable, frustratingly pointless, or just scripted in a stupid way, some Doctor Who characters have gone out with a whimper rather than a bang, dying for reasons that aren't very convincing.

Sure, not everyone needs a heroic final stand and an epic speech, but for what they were, the deaths of these characters just didn't feel quite right.

10. Lucy Saxon (The End Of Time)

Doctor Who Flesh And Stone Father Octavian death
BBC Studios

The grand finale to the Tennant era begins with the Master being brought back to life by his disciples, but his return is very nearly halted by his former wife, Lucy Saxon, who attempts to undo his resurrection by hitting him with a death potion.

This creates a huge explosion that destroys Lucy in the process, and to make things even worse, this supposedly powerful potion ends up doing absolutely nothing.

It's the very definition of a pointless death, because Lucy ends up dying for no real reason. Not only does the Master survive her attack, he even goes on to enact his evil plan, and what's more, Lucy's name is never mentioned again. Hell, all the potion does is dye his hair blonde, and make him a little bit crazier than normal.

Step back and look at The End Of Time as a whole, and Lucy's death is completely irrelevant to the plot. The Master would still come back with or without her intervention, and the new abilities he gains from the death potion could easily be removed from the story, without affecting much.

Lucy wanted revenge, sure, but her death ultimately ends up feeling rather hollow.

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WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.