Rose Tyler appeared on screen as the first companion of the Doctor Who revival, a continuation of the original series. She is ingrained in the hearts and minds of Doctor Who fans all over the world.
Rose stayed for two seasons, running through time and space with both The Ninth and Tenth Doctor. Her final episode remains a tear-jerker to this day, and her future with Ten Two is one of the luckier companion endings. But, loved though she is, there are still some things that just don't make sense about Rose Tyler.
She Lets The Doctor Play With Her Affections
The Doctor tells Rose that she's different, that she won't be left behind like the other companions. He then proceeds to fall for Madame De Pompadour the very next episode. It's bad enough that The Doctor flirts with her, but trapping himself with her, smashing all of the time windows to the spaceship—the same spaceship that holds his TARDIS and companions—and suffering an uncertain fate? The Doctor really did a number on Rose, and Rose didn't mention it.
She Strung Mickey Along
Rose left a frozen Mickey, desperately clinging to her legs, and ran into a spaceship with an alien. She then came back "12 hours later" only to find it had been a year and Mickey was under suspicion for her disappearance. Rose would often show her strong connection with The Doctor in front of Mickey whenever the two were around each other.
She also made him wait for her and have him be there when she came back from traveling. She didn't want him to join her in the TARDIS but was upset that he was leaving to defeat Cybermen once he did join. The writers let them fall apart to the fault of both characters and even included Mickey cheating on Rose.
She Said Yes To Time Travel
Why did Rose reject The Doctor's first offer of traveling with him but decide to go the second time around? Did she simply regret her decision the moment she saw the TARDIS fade away, or did The Doctor's offer of time travel change her mind? In the season one episode "Father's Day," Rose goes to the past to see her father, but she saves his life, instead.
The Doctor grows suspicious of her intentions of traveling with him and the two argue. The events of the past are restored, but was the hope of seeing her father the reason Rose said yes originally?
She Didn't Remember Why The Ninth Doctor Regenerated
Rose remembers that there was singing, home, the TARDIS, and a light. The Ninth Doctor says that he sang a song, and The Daleks ran away. Rose doesn't question any further, and The Ninth Doctor begins his pre-regeneration monologue. He mentions that he absorbed all the energy in the Time Vortex and how no one is meant to do that. But, did Rose ever remember the events prior to the regeneration? Did Jackie or Mickey mention her efforts to get back to him?
She Is Pitted Against Other Companions
Everyone has a favorite companion, but Rose is one of the disputed ones. Some think she is a clingy love interest, while others think she was is one of the greatest influences to The Doctor. Rose was often portrayed as jealous of other people and aliens The Doctor showed affection to, including past companion Sarah Jane Smith. But, realizing how ridiculous it was, the two became friends.
Rose grew from the immature nineteen-year-old who began her adventures with The Doctor into a fighter for humanity who even helped Donna go back to The Doctor. The fact that she is still being pitted against other female companions for their worth in The Doctor's life makes no sense.
She Didn't Recognise The Tenth Doctor's Voice
The Tenth Doctor's final farewell reward round found Rose in her pre-Doctor adventures. Rose has no memory of him and sees him as a drunken stranger in the shadows of the alleyway. The writers sure knew how to torture Whovians. But, The Doctor and Rose had a small interaction, and she heard his voice. She didn't appear to be drunk at the time. Did she ever realize it was The Doctor? She was in love with him, after all.
She Didn't Say A Final Goodbye To The Tenth Doctor
After the events of "Journey's End," The Doctor returned Rose to Bad Wolf Bay on the Parallel Earth. After Ten Two whispers the words The Doctor never finished the day they parted in "Doomsday," Rose embraces him in front of Donna and The Doctor.
The two disappear in the TARDIS, leaving Rose and Ten II behind. Rose turns back to find they've gone, never getting to say a final goodbye.
She Didn't Notice That Mickey Was Plastic
The aliens featured in the first episode of season one, "Rose," are Autons, animated plastic life forms brought to life by The Nestene Consciousness. After Rose met The Doctor, she decided to investigate him and his appearances throughout time. While Mickey is waiting in the car, he notices a bin moving on its own. Mickey approaches and gets pulled inside the bin. When Rose comes back to the car, Mickey is very obviously not himself. Why is it that Rose doesn't realize that her boyfriend is made of plastic or that his speech doesn't make sense?
She Thought She Was Indestructible
The Doctor changes everyone he comes into contact with. He turned Mickey into a warrior who went off to fight The Cybermen, and Jackie was reunited with the love of her life—and Rose grew for the better, mostly. But, she did become careless and insensitive as her time spent with The Doctor increased.
She absorbed the heart of the TARDIS, taunted Daleks to their metal faces, tried to be like The Doctor, and thought she was indestructible to other forces. But, wouldn't Rose become more aware of mortality through her time with The Doctor? Rose enjoyed the danger and could have easily gone down the Time Lord Victorious path The Tenth Doctor briefly ventured.
There Was No Way For Rose & The Doctor To Communicate
Rose becomes trapped in the Parallel Universe, and The Doctor tries to contact her telepathically. After burning up a sun just to say goodbye, their communication is cut off until Rose's attempts to reach him are scattered throughout season four. But a trick of The Doctor's is that he can fix a companion's phone so that they can call anywhere in the universe. Rose often used hers to call her mother while on adventures. Does this mean that even a superphone with universal roaming doesn't work across parallel worlds?