There’s a famous quote attributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” Or, as it tends to be paraphrased these days, courage is being afraid and then doing the right thing anyway.
Cowardice, then, could be being afraid and letting that compel you to do the wrong thing. The Doctor, of course, is never cruel or cowardly. That’s from The Making of Doctor Who, a 1972 behind-the-scenes reference book by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke, two men who certainly have a right to a say in what the Doctor’s defining characteristics should be. The “never cruel” part, I’m not so sure about. Tell that to Za, the unconscious caveman from An Unearthly Child who the Doctor almost brained with a rock, or Kid, the villain of The Interstellar Song Contest, who the Doctor kept electrocuting long after he’d been defeated. Cruel? Sometimes. But cowardly? The Doctor? Never.
Now, is the Doctor ever afraid? Of course. Referring back to An Unearthly Child again, he said, “Fear makes companions of all of us, Miss Wright… Fear is with all of us, and always will be.” He’s reassuring her that it’s alright to be afraid, and letting her know that he’s afraid too. Fear is not something to be ashamed of. That’s from the very first story, and I think it’s fair to say it’s become one of the core precepts of Doctor Who, most clearly expressed by the Twelfth Doctor and Clara in Listen, with their “scared/fear is a superpower” speeches.
But while Doctor Who tells us there’s no shame in being afraid, it also tells us there’s deep, deep shame in being a coward. In that light, let’s look at “The Ordeal,” the sixth episode of The Daleks, and a character who has the dubious honor of being Doctor Who’s first ever coward: Antodus, the cowardly Thal.
Antodus is the brother of Ganatus, the Thal that Barbara bangs, and the first thing we learn about him is that he’s afraid of the dark. The next thing we learn is that Ganatus is deeply ashamed of his brother’s fear. In the third episode, the Thals learned they could recharge their hand lights from a magnetic dead animal they found in the jungle (and why not), and Ganatus said he’d tell Antodus. Dyoni made a teasing joke about Antodus being afraid of the dark, and Ganatus snapped at her that his brother wasn’t afraid of anything, in a clear “the Thal doth protest too much, methinks” situation.
Antodus and Ganatus are both part of the expedition to find a way into the Dalek city through the mountains. When they reach the Lake of Mutations, Antodus wants to go back, reminding Ganatus of how they watched a fellow Thal get killed by one of the lake’s monstrosities. Ganatus hushes him, and tells him to keep his fears to himself. It’s Ganatus’ shame where I think the writer’s opinions are breaking through, and it’s a harsher attitude towards being afraid than we find in most other stories. Ganatus’ embarrassment is presented to us as the understandable reaction, not Antodus’ fear. Ganatus is protecting his brother from being viewed as a coward.
Up to this point in the story, it’s a rather unfair assessment. Antodus is afraid, yes. Almost constantly so. But he still volunteered for the mission into the mountains. And he’s proven correct in his apprehension of the lake – by morning, it’ll have claimed another Thal.
Nevertheless, the narrative weight is against Antodus, conflating his understandable fear with unjustifiable cowardice. It’s a muddier view than the story has previously taken. Susan was frightened by Alydon in an earlier episode, and was downright terrified at the thought of running through the jungle alone to fetch the anti-radiation drugs, but was never condemned for it. Of course she conquered her fears and did what was expected of her, but so has Antodus, so far.
When they’re inside the mountain, navigating the tunnels, Antodus pulls Ganatus aside and says he wants to go back. Though obviously afraid, his reasoning isn’t unsound. He says they don’t need him – they don’t – and he could tell the other group about the progress they’ve made. But Ganatus refuses to listen, insisting Antodus remain. It’s here that Antodus’ fear gets the better of him – believing that anyone who continues on is doomed, he says they could return together, and tell everyone that the rest of the expedition had been killed by the Daleks.
That lie, or that offer to lie, is the only truly cowardly thing Antodus does. Ganatus physically restrains him from leaving, and then a rockfall takes the option of retreat away. Shortly thereafter, the group is faced with making a jump across a chasm. Antodus goes last, and while he’s terrified, he takes the leap anyway. Sadly, he doesn’t make it, and is left dangling by a rope tied to Ian, threatening to pull the human down with him. This episode ends there, but let’s spoil the start of the next to wrap up Antodus’ story: he cuts the rope, heroically sacrificing himself to save Ian’s life. A coward can only redeem himself in death.
Poor Antodus. Terry Nation, the writer of this story, saw him as a coward, but I’m not sure I do. In fact, it’s Ganatus’ fear that’s the problem. He’s afraid his brother’s cowardice will be known, and this fear causes him to shame his brother rather than help him. In the mountain, Antodus even asked Ganatus, “Why are you making me do all these things?” Ganatus doesn’t answer.
Antodus knows he’s not suited for risky adventures, but Ganatus forces him into them. If Antodus had instead gotten words of understanding from his brother, like those the Doctor gave a frightened Barbara last story, would things have turned out differently? Maybe a little more confidence in his jump would have saved his life.
I’m changing my earlier assessment. Doctor Who’s first coward is Ganatus. Being afraid to risk death is understandable. Forcing your own brother to risk death because you’re afraid of what others will think? That’s real cowardice.
Sorry, Barbara.
