Doctor Who: 10 Qualities That Made Peter Capaldi's Doctor Great
9. The Vulnerable Hero
There is an air of authority about the Twelfth Doctor that makes even the powerful stand to attention in his company. He might occasionally use the psychic paper as a time saver (e.g. Under the Lake), but he doesn’t really need the gimmick to command influence over others. He is even temporarily installed as the President of Earth (Death in Heaven) and finds himself frequently the object of admiration.
Such a persona was probably to be expected when Capaldi was first announced, but behind his bravado and dismissiveness of mere mortals like us, the Twelfth Doctor exhibited a surprising degree of vulnerability. Even in his first adventure, Deep Breath, he needs reassurance from Clara. In one of the series’ most touching scenes, the Eleventh Doctor calls Clara from Trenzalore, and tells her that his successor is scared and that he needs her as much if not more than she needs him.
The Twelfth Doctor, unsure of who he really is, begs Clara to look at him and see him. At this point the hug is a step too far, but by the end of the series the Doctor makes himself vulnerable again by accepting that hug.
The Doctor’s fears are a recurrent theme in the Twelfth Doctor’s first series, especially in the stand out episode, Listen. And that vulnerability resurfaces in different ways in series 9, culminating in the heart-breaking scene in Hell Bent where the Doctor cannot remember Clara. He expresses his loss and channels her presence by playing Murray Gold’s Clara’s Theme on the electric guitar.