Dr. Alexander McDonald is a character in AMC's The Terror. He is the assistant surgeon on the HMS Terror.
In the series[]
Dr. McDonald is first seen having dinner with other officers onboard Terror. He later informs Sir John Franklin, Captain Crozier and Commander Fitzjames about the symptoms that cabin boy David Young is experiencing (Go For Broke). He is present when Lady Silence's father is operated on, but does not himself participate. Later, as one of the few officers conversant in Netsilik, he helps to interview Lady Silence herself (Gore).
He treats Cornelius Hickey after his flogging (Punished, as a Boy) and Thomas Blanky after he is mauled by the Tuunbaq, and has a discussion with Doctor Henry Goodsir on the subject of lead poisoning (First Shot a Winner, Lads). He appears in the beginning of episode 6 when Lieutenant John Irving is giving a report on the remaining stores and when Stephan Goldner and the poor quality of his canned foods are mentioned by Irving, McDonald replies that he'd like to "run that man through". During the later carnival fire, he is accidentally stabbed to death by Hickey, who was trying to cut a hole in the side of the tent (A Mercy).
In the novel[]
In the novel McDonald is Harry Goodsir's counterpart on Terror and the Assistant Surgeon subordinate to Dr. Peddie. Like the show he is killed at Carnival, along with Peddie and Stanley. Unlike the Show he is not killed by Hickey disemboweling him but instead shot by a volley from Royal Marines who were aiming for Tuunbaq.
Trivia[]
Painting of McDonald from 1840.
- Three spoons, two forks and a medal belonging to McDonald were recovered between 1854-1859.
- Inuit accounts of meeting with surviving members of the Franklin Expedition describe meeting two men who spoke Inuit; the two men where named "Aglooka" (possibly Crozier), and the other "Doktook," the latter possibly an Inuit attempt at "Doctor." McDonald spoke Inuit, which suggests McDonald was alive long after the ships were abandoned.
- The only known image of the real Alexander McDonald is a painting made in 1840.
- Despite being the Assistant Surgeon, McDonald seems to have considerable more authority than the assigned surgeon of Terror, Dr. John Smart Peddie as McDonald is seen attending the officer's meetings and gives Peddie instructions in episode 4. This could be due to his previous Arctic experience or a mix-up on the part of the show's producers.
- Showrunner David Kajganich said at a conference that the writers of the series promoted McDonald from assistant surgeon to head surgeon of Terror due to his prior Arctic experience and his ability to speak an unspecified Inuit language.