Why Donna Noble Had the Most Tragic Couple Arc in 'Doctor Who'

Donna Noble is the most tragic Doctor Who ever.

Doctor Who's companions are almost always tragically separated from their experiences with the Doctor, with the exception of Martha Jones (Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman)) and all 13th Doctors (Jodie Whitt Ke (Jodie Whittaker), who made it by choosing to leave on their own. Rose Taylor's (Billie Piper) famous exit from Doctor Who is often considered the most tragic departure since she was brought into into another universe, thus ending her romance with Doctor Who. But Ross at least gets the chance to live with a clone of the Doctor with a mortal lifespan. That makes Donna Noble's (Katherine Tate) companion arc the most tragic in the Doctor Who franchise to date -- yes, Beavers, Amy (Karen Gillan), Clara (Jenna Coleman), Bill (Pearl McKee), Sarah Jane (Elizabeth Sladen), and even Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), He was one of the few companions to die in the classic Who's Who. Every Doctor Who companion (that is, those who are still alive) will have memories of spending time with the Doctor, no matter how short. Unfortunately, Donna didn't. But with the 60th anniversary approaching in 2023, there are many ways to extend this partnership arc.

Donna and the Doctor's History on 'Doctor Who'

not like Among many other Doctor Who companions, Donna Noble's introduction to the show was a bit odd. Her first appearance was in the Doctor Who Christmas special "The Runaway Bride" between seasons 2 and 3, where they began a shaky friendship as Donna just wanted to get back to her wedding. It's moments after the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) has just lost Rose, and is in a much darker place than we've seen before. At the end of the episode, he and Donna parted ways. We don't see Donna again until Doctor Who season 4 begins, this time alone investigating strange occurrences, knowing that one day she's bound to find the Doctor in one of them. She was right - she did meet him, and she knew she wouldn't leave his side this time.

The most interesting thing about Donna is that she is very different from her previous companions in the Doctor Who reboot. She has no romantic relationship with the doctor (albeit one-sided), but only sees him as a friend - her best friend - and they are inseparable. donna does Doesn't consider herself an extraordinary or special person, and the doctor helps with that because he thinks she's special and can remind her effortlessly. But other than that, Donna was obviously not suitable for a normal life; her enjoyment of the days with the doctor was clear at a glance, and she even said that she would not leave voluntarily. This is her life, and at the end of Doctor Who's storyline, she was stripped away.

Donna's Fate and Future in 'Doctor Who'

Donna's fate (at least at this point) will always be that of Doctor Who's most tragic companion, as she has no memory of her time with the Doctor. A similar effect happened to her after she accidentally caused the birth of Doctor Meta Crisis (a genetic copy, but half-human), and she gained Time Lord DNA, becoming "DoctorDonna". Unfortunately, her mind starts to become overloaded, because time lords and humans don't mix. If nothing is done, Donna will die. So, in turn, the Doctor is forced to take her memories against her will to save her. Donna is still alive, but not the same Donna that adventured with the doctor.

as As for Donna's future, well, it looks like she's living a normal life, like she's never seen a doctor. In her mind, she never was. After bringing her home, the doctor gave Donna's grandfather and mother Wilfred (Bernard Cribbins) and Sylvia (Jacqueline King) specific instructions never to mention him or TARDIS, for fear it would activate her memory and overwhelm her brain. For the remainder of Tennant's time as Doctor Who, we'll only see Donna again in his final arc, "The End of Time." Here, on the cusp of Tennant's farewell tour as a doctor, we see Donna for the last time. She leaves the church to reveal that she is married to Sean (Carl Collins). The doctor made sure she was doing well, and his anonymous wedding gift was a lottery ticket. Only Wilfred and Sylvia knew who the gift giver was. That was the last time we saw Donna and her family - until now.

The Most Tragic Companion of 'Doctor Who' Returns

In a shocking announcement, it was announced that David Tennant, Katherine Tate, Jacqueline King and Carl Collins would all return to play their respective Donna Family roles in Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special, which also stars Heartstopper alum Yasmin Finney as Rose (she may be Donna and Shaun's daughter, but that hasn't been confirmed yet!). If Rose is her daughter, Donna's choice of name must indicate that some memory has slipped through the cracks of her erased memory, even if she doesn't realize it. Not much has been shared about the 60th Doctor Who special, but what we do know is that for now Donna is still under threat of regaining her memory, as the Doctor is trying to avoid in the Christmas release trailer where she hides from Sylvia behind. There's a good chance some kind of catalyst will remind Donna, otherwise why bring her back?

The question is: will Donna keep her memory this time, or will she forget the doctor again? It would be truly cruel and tragic if she did have to return to a normal life again, but Doctor Who has steered in that direction with his companions in the past. Donna has been through enough tragedies that if anyone is worth remembering, it's her. without them, as Donna says in the trailer that she feels like she's missing something, even though at this point she doesn't know what she's missing.

Donna Noble is a fan-favorite character (and my personal favorite sidekick), and it's highly likely that she will return to Doctor Who. This could finally bring some heartwarming endings to a character arc that's been more than a decade in the making. What other show can do this? Donna's tragedy never leaves the character, because even if she finally regains her memory now, she'll spend years wondering why her life was so empty without it, and she'll never get those years back. But that doesn't mean she can't have a happy ending to Doctor Who's arc, which she deserves.

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