Doctor Who: 10 Times The Doctor Acted Completely Out Of Character For No Reason
4. Leaving Helpless Victims To Die Without A Second Thought
The end of Series 7's The Power of Three is widely regarded as being a rushed mess, even by people who otherwise like the episode. This botched denouement is a pity since the start of the episode has lots of good stuff in it.
But let's recap the ending. The Doctor, Rory and Amy find themselves on the Shakri spaceship. Rory is searching for his kidnapped dad and they discover many other comatose bodies laying on similar plinths. Having ascertained the Shakri are behind the despicable plot, the Doctor distracts the bad guy and Rory and Amy get Brian Williams to safety. In a very short space of time, the Doctor thwarts the Shakri and sets the ship to detonate.
But, as the Doctor leaves the about-to-explode ship, viewers can plainly see the remaining victims all still firmly in place on their plinths. Yes, he leaves people to die.
Now, perhaps the victims were already dead. Perhaps Rory carefully checked each one for signs of life before stepping back through the gateway to Earth. Perhaps there wasn't time to save them. Perhaps, perhaps. But the Doctor never says any more about it, and the audience is left with the unpleasant impression that he doesn't care that several innocent people just got blown to bits.
It's not so much that the Doctor's actions are out of character, it's that he doesn't feel bad about what happened. He errs frequently, but he usually feels guilty about it.