Doctor Who: 10 Times The Doctor Faced Consequences For Their Actions

You knew this one was coming…

The Waters of Mars is perhaps the most widely cited example of The Doctor screwing up and then facing the music. Seriously, he really drops the ball in this one.

This top-notch special is treated as a standard base-under-siege story for most of its runtime, but that’s not to say it’s boring - the setting and supporting cast are particularly strong and The Flood are amongst the creepiest villains of the revival. Where this episode diverges considerably is in its final act, which sees Bowie Base One fall victim to The Flood.

You see, the destruction of humanity’s first Mars colony is a fixed point in time, meaning that The Doctor cannot interfere. The mystery of what happened on this base goes on to inspire humanity to travel to the stars, surviving the fall of Earth and beyond, and enduring until the end of the universe.

The problem is, Ten is not in his best of minds, having recently lost his best friend in Donna and said goodbye to Rose, the woman he loves, for the second and final time. He is travelling alone and has begun to develop a pretty significant god complex. Put someone who has lost so much, and who is becoming increasingly dismissive of the consequences of his actions into a situation like this and what are they going to do? Snap. And snap hard.

Despite initially leaving and heading towards the TARDIS, listening to the crew dying one by one weighs hard on Ten, and he breaks. Returning to the base, which has been set to self destruct by Captain Adelaide Brook after she learns that her and her team must die to ensure time proceeds as it should. Disregarding this, Ten triumphs over both Adelaide and The Flood, whisking away the remainder of the crew in his TARDIS and altering a fixed point in time. Horrified by what she has witnessed, Adelaide challenges The Doctor, saying he has no right to dictate who lives and dies. The Doctor refutes this, crowning himself the Time Lord Victorious and setting himself on a much darker path. Unable to stop him, Adelaide does the only thing she can do to set time right and bring Ten to his senses... and shoots herself in the head.

Whilst this does correct the future, and the timeline proceeds as normal, this is not to say that The Doctor’s actions are without consequence. His arrogance leads to the suicide of someone he had a great deal of respect and admiration for, and has a deep-rooted effect on him personally - casting a dark cloud over the remainder of this incarnation. This is a moment that haunts The Doctor for a very, very long time.

MORAL OF THE STORY: No matter how powerful you are, don’t try to dictate the flow of time (also, consider taking an intergalactic spa day once in a while, you’re not yourself when you’re cranky).