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You may not want to read this... big, big spoiler for next season.

Personally I will shed half a tear

Why not? The whole point of DW is that it's a revolving door of both companions and Doctors - only the Tardis and the Doctor's fundamental nature are constants. Besides which, it's been over forty years since they killed off a companion (permanently) without triggering mass celebrations. It's about time they properly made the point that travelling with the Doctor is a dangerous business.

I have mixed feelings on that, really. On the one hand, I am fed up of them dangling "death of a companion" and then cheating out of it at the last second. Both Rose and Donna had long periods of "You will die!" only to find that "Well we didn't mean DIE die, we meant..." Then they did the same with the Doctor himself. You can do that once and get away with it, twice and it starts to get lame, three times is just too much.

That said, it raises a character issue for the Doctor... if a companion dies, okay, we can say he didn't expect it, show how devastated and guilty he is. There's good drama to be had from that. But then having had that... he gets another companion and takes her along too? Knowing now that it might be the death of her? That pretty much makes him a douche. How does the audience root for him knowing he is doing that?

You could argue that this bridge has already been crossed with Adric, of course.

I have always felt for major characters, death has to mean something and not be random. I hate random deaths.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:I have always felt for major characters, death has to mean something and not be random. I hate random deaths.

I don't like them either, but they do happen in reality...

Tsukiyumi wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:I have always felt for major characters, death has to mean something and not be random. I hate random deaths.

I don't like them either, but they do happen in reality...

Yeah... in reality. And trust me, Tsuki. After this year I am well aware of that. It's why I try to escape into fiction.

There is an argument to be made for that, for sure.

Yeah, my argument. It's just how I am, dude. It's what I prefer.

While I can't say that I'm surprised considering how the last season ended. I'd be curious to see if and how they continue with considering that, however.

And certainly, the issue of conscience with the Doctor which GK mentioned has been addressed. Both in the more prosaic sense and in "The Girl Who Waited."