Whilst the Doctor Who season 13 finale might have divided fans, it seems they were all devastated by the death of one character in particular...
*spoilers ahead for the season finale of Doctor Who: Flux!*
With the Doctor split across multiple points in space and time, they'd worked with their companions (and other versions of themself) to form a plan to stop the Sontaran threat and lessen the impact of the final Flux event. The companions and multiple versions of the Thirteenth Doctor were dispatched to different places to carry out the plan.
Professor Eustacius Jericho and Claire Brown (after the Doctor rescued her from 1967) were sent as undercover operatives to Sontaran psychic command. There, the Doctor asked them to be plugged into the Sontaran device that was decoding the coordinates of the final Flux event. As Claire is a 'percipient' (a sort of seer), she was far more capable than the other humans the Sontarans had enslaved, and she found the coordinates and sent them to the TARDIS.
The Sontarans planned to use these coordinates to become the dominant species across the galaxy. They lured the surviving Dalek and Cyberman forces out to Earth by promising an uneasy alliance with the two alien races, before hiding behind the Lupari shield around Earth when the Flux arrived and tore through the alien ships. However, the Doctor interfered with the plan and sabotaged the shield so that the Sontarans were caught up in the Flux and destroyed too.
Here's where things got sad.
Claire and Professor Jericho had been given teleportation rings that would enable them to escape the Sontaran ship before the Flux arrived. Although Claire managed to flee in time, Jericho picked up a gun to fire back at some Sontaran soldiers who stormed the room they were in. During the crossfire, Jericho's ring had been damaged by Sontarans. He'd also sealed the room to prevent more Sontaran soldiers getting in, meaning he couldn't get to the escape pods and was stranded on the ship.
Without options, Jericho made peace with his death and got to make a final stand against the Sontaran commander before the Flux arrived, destroying the ship. Clearly, Jericho's enthusiasm had touched so many fans, as they simply couldn't deal with the fact that he was already gone!
Nooooo, not Jericho!!! #DoctorWho, #DoctorWhoFlux, #TheFlux pic.twitter.com/nlMY0PpATGDecember 6, 2021
"What an awfully big adventure."Damn you show. He was one of my favorites. RIP Prof. Jericho.#DoctorWho #DoctorWhoFlux #TheVanquishers @DoctorWho_BBCADecember 6, 2021
Nooooooo Jericho was the best thing about this series of #DoctorWhoFlux #doctorwhoDecember 5, 2021
RIP the Scourage off Scoundrels, Professor Eustace Jericho #DoctorWhoFlux #DoctorWhoDecember 6, 2021
I will NEVER EVER forgive Chris Chibnall for what he just did to Professor Jericho. Though @exkevinmcnally was absolutely amazing in the role. I haven’t cried that much at a Dr Who character exit since Bill Potts left. I’m going to miss Jericho so much😭 #DoctorWhoFlux #DoctorWhoDecember 5, 2021
We might have learned a lot about The Division, where the Flux came and watched on as the Doctor defeated plenty of their enemies last night, but we were still left with plenty of questions... Who really was the Grand Serpent? will the Doctor ever decide to restore their stolen memories? And, how did the Daleks survive the final Flux event? Hopefully, we'll get plenty of answers in the upcoming specials set to air during 2022...
Doctor Who returns on BBC1 on New Year's Day for the Doctor Who Christmas special 2021.
