As rumors spread about the possible return of Matt Smith for Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary special, it makes sense for fans to look back on the Eleventh Doctor's run, a key part of his time on the show. From 2010-2014, Matt Smith brought a particular nuance to the character that fans can look forward to seeing again if he returns. Though he was known for being more playful than his predecessors, that lighthearted tone made it all the more painful when the Doctor revealed the pain he kept hidden.
In the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor," the Eleventh Doctor is defined as "The One Who Forgets." But he doesn't really forget his loss and darkness; he hides them. Every so often, the curtain opened and audiences saw the Doctor for what he was: a tired, lonely man. In some of his best quotes, he showed off his true depth and broke fans' hearts.
Embracing His Disappearance
We're All Stories In The End. Just Make It A Good One, Eh?
As the universe threatens to completely fall apart, the Doctor makes a move that will bring everything back, but in a world without him. He gets the chance to talk to young Amelia Pond one last time, and he takes that opportunity to tell his story.
This quote is heartbreaking because the Doctor expects it to be his last. He expects to be written out of existence, which means not only that these will be his last words, but also that they will be forgotten. Though Amy winds up bringing him back, the day when the Doctor is nothing more than a story is still coming, as it's coming for everyone.
Understanding The Pain Of Life
Letting It Get To You. You Know What That's Called? Being Alive. Best Thing There Is. Being Alive Right Now Is All That Counts.
Amy and Rory suffered often on Doctor Who, but having Rory come back as an Auton to betray the Doctor and kill Amy was unnecessarily cruel. As Rory points out, though, it's a small thing in comparison to the potential end of the universe that they face; he needs to be able to cope and move forward.
Even so, the Doctor points out that "Letting it get to you" is what being alive is. Life is pain, and as much as everyone tries to avoid grief, fear, and anger, they are worth feeling, especially when the alternative is feeling nothing at all.
How He Saw Himself
Good Men Don't Need Rules. Today Is Not The Day To Find Out Why I Have So Many.
While the Doctor is generally seen as a hero, New Who has shown several important glimpses into his dark side. Instead of having companions for friendship, the Doctor frequently relies on them to pull him back from his darkest impulses.
The powerful thing about "A Good Man Goes To War" is that he seems to know that. When David Tennant played the role, he seemed largely oblivious to his actions, but the Eleventh Doctor knows his darkness. This quote casts a harsh light on the rules he playfully tosses out throughout the series and shows that the titular hero doesn't have much faith in himself at all.
Loving His Friends
If It’s Time To Go, Remember What You’re Leaving. Remember The Best. My Friends Have Always Been The Best Of Me.
After every time the Doctor has saved people, has saved entire worlds, he sees his companions as the best of himself. The Doctor's death was a fixed point, and in his last moments, all he wanted was to see the people he loved above himself.
Behind the bravado and the jokes, the Doctor is a deeply lonely man, full of self-hatred. This quote, from one Doctor Who's best finales, makes that more apparent than ever, as he looks for people to make him feel like his life was worth it. He may have found a loophole to his death, but the negative self-perception it revealed was tragic.
Bringing His Companions Happiness
Because Every Time You See Them Happy, You Remember How Sad They’re Going To Be.
Although this line was said about a specific set of children, it speaks to the Doctor's entire viewpoint surrounding the people around him. He has outlived everyone he ever loved and has seen them all in their darkest moments.
While the full version of the quote has an optimistic outlook, it still shows off the harsh lessons of time. While the average person lives their lives day by day, the Doctor sees their whole lives and has to try to ignore their future hardships every time he interacts with them.
Knowing How It Ends
It Goes So Fast. I'm Not Running Away From Things. I'm Running To Them Before They Flare And Fade Forever.
Fans knew that season seven would be the Ponds' last, and it seemed that the Doctor did too. He saw Amy and Rory aging, spending more time away from the TARDIS, and he clung to them, desperate to keep them in his life.
Losing the Ponds was especially hard on the Doctor because they had become family to him. As New Who fans often forget, he's lost family before, followed by a long time spent keeping companions at a distance. Nothing lasts forever, and the Doctor has to continue on past his losses every time, saving the world despite his grief.
Mourning Himself
It All Just Disappears, Doesn't It? Everything You Are, Gone In A Moment. Like Breath On A Mirror.
Nobody wants to be forgotten, and that fear was obvious in the Eleventh Doctor's final words. They perfectly captured the illogical normality of death, where a person is there one moment and gone the next.
David Tennant's Doctor was famous for not wanting to go, and while Matt Smith's version was more accepting, The Doctor's farewell speech still managed to break fans' hearts.
Living Up To His Name
And Then I Find A New Name Because I Won't Be The Doctor Anymore.
In "The Beast Below," the Doctor is put in a position with no solution. Whatever choice he makes will turn him into a monster, either killing thousands of humans or one innocent star whale—the last of its species.
Like with John Hurt's War Doctor, his anger comes out in reference to his name. Doctors heal people. But he now has to make a choice that is fundamentally opposed to everything he stands for. Amy sees a solution to their problem through his pain, but it doesn't take away from the pain the Doctor felt in being forced to betray his promise.
Losing Hope
You Gave Me Hope And Then You Took It Away. That's Enough To Make Anyone Dangerous. God Knows What It Will Do To Me.
Ever since Doctor Who returned in 2005, the Doctor has been burdened with the knowledge that he is the last Time Lord (except for the Master). That has been a weight holding him down, and in "The Doctor's Wife," one of the Moffat era's best episodes, he was given reason to believe that others survived, only to find out that the few survivors had already been killed.
The Doctor is crushed by the truth, and instead of being able to grieve this renewed loss, he has to worry about holding himself back, because he fears what he would do if he didn't. There's something especially brutal about having hope destroyed, which makes a person more broken than if they had never hoped at all.
Being Alone
I Watched As Time Ran Out, Moment By Moment, Until Nothing Remained; No Time, No Space. Just Me.
It's hard to pick just one line from the Doctor's speech in "The Rings of Akhaten" that is most heartbreaking, as Matt Smith perfectly captures the pain of the Doctor's long life in this episode. As he and Clara face off against a parasite that feeds off of emotions, the Doctor overloads it with his own.
He has lost everyone he has ever loved, and in this speech, audiences see how exhausting that has been. For all of the beautiful things he's seen, and all the wonderful people he's loved, the Doctor will always end up alone.