David Tennant’s “Time Lord Victorious” could have created Doctor Who‘s greatest enemy – the Valeyard. The Valeyard was introduced in the 1986 epic “The Trial of a Time Lord.” He was originally presented as just another Time Lord, albeit one greatly antagonistic towards the Doctor. In fact, he was the prosecutor at the Doctor’s trial, continually trying to up the stakes in an effort to secure the Doctor’s execution.
The Master ultimately revealed that the Valeyard was a being who had been created by the Time Lords for the express purpose of destroying the Doctor. He was the living embodiment of every dark thought the Doctor had ever had: every ruthless inclination, every temptation he considered succumbing to. According to the Master, the Time Lords had created the Valeyard by using the Matrix to peer into the future, and he was formed around the time of the Doctor’s final, twelfth regeneration. Former showrunner Steven Moffat tossed in lines suggesting the Master was lying, and the Valeyard originated further in the Doctor’s future, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Assuming the Master was actually correct, the Valeyard would have actually originated at the end of the David Tennant era, with the Time Lords reaching forward into that part of the Doctor’s timeline. Interestingly, this is indeed a period where the darker sides of the Doctor’s character did indeed begin to dominate. In “The Waters of Mars,” the Doctor began to see himself in a different way. “For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor,” the Doctor observed. “But I’m not. I’m the winner. The Time Lord Victorious.” The Doctor has always had something of an ego, but that manifested like never before, with the Doctor becoming convinced history itself should bend to his will. When challenged, he arrogantly insisted there was nothing and no-one to stop him.
This was the beginning of an arc that continued into the Doctor’s regeneration story, “The End of Time.” Showrunner Russell T. Davies had long presented the Doctor in a Messianic light, but here he was forced to decide whether or not to literally sacrifice his life for a friend. It was a difficult choice for the Doctor, as he looked upon his friend Wilf. “You had to go and get stuck,” the Doctor fumed, “Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get.” The dialogue clearly signposted the struggle going on in the Doctor’s heart; he didn’t want to die, and as he wrestled with the decision he expressed darker thoughts than he had ever given voice to before. In the end, of course, the Doctor did indeed choose to die for Wilf’s sake.
No wonder the Time Lords could harvest the Doctor’s inner darkness from this particular regeneration. There is a certain darkness to this regeneration arc that is seen in no other regeneration story. The Doctor’s greatest weaknesses rise to the surface like never before; his selfishness, his pride, his vanity. Presumably the burst of regeneration energy released this darkness, allowing the Time Lords an opportunity to tap into it. Thus, they created the Valeyard.
If this is indeed the case, the Valeyard essentially embodies the Time Lord Victorious. He is a dark Doctor who knows what is coming for Gallifrey, and who believes he has the right to change the past. That retroactively explains why, in “The Trial of a Time Lord,” the Valeyard’s plans are greater than just stealing the Sixth Doctor’s remaining regenerations. He has designs for Gallifrey itself – an assassination plot that would have killed off the High Council. This was presumably an attempt to exert his lordship over time, to become the Time Lord Victorious who led Gallifrey to triumph in the Time War. It all comes together surprisingly well.
