All fans of Doctor Who (or Whovians) have their favorite Doctor. Despite being the same person, the Doctor’s multiple regenerations bring with them a distinct personality that greatly sets them apart from the previous versions. The Twelfth Doctor was one such iteration we’ll never be forgetting. He was an outwardly tough kind of guy, but with a soul that could melt a thousand hearts.
More than any other versions of the Doctor, the Twelfth iteration had an incredible way with words. Known for his grand speeches, the Twelfth Doctor brought us many legendary quotes that prove just how wonderful he was. In case you want to remember why the Twelfth Doctor was the best, here are 10 quotes that will be the perfect reminder.
"Shut Up!"
The Ninth Doctor had “Fantastic!” The Tenth Doctor had “Allons-y,” the Eleventh Doctor had “Geronimo!” The Twelfth had… "Shut up!” That’s right, this version of the Doctor suffered no fools, and more or less wanted people to shut their traps the whole time they were around him.
Being Mr. Grumpy, the Twelfth Doctor was famous for telling whoever was in front of him to shut it while he talked. Still, he said it in such a way that we loved hearing it whenever it came up. The more people he told to shut up, the more we enjoyed it.
"Nothing's Sad Until It's Over, And Then Everything Is."
This version of the Doctor was easily the most philosophical, and he was known to drop pearls of wisdom contained within short sentences. Here, despite having lost all of his memories of Clara, the Doctor still had wisdom to impart.
Tragically, he didn’t realize that he was basically telling Clara that their relationship was over, seeing as he had no clue who she was at that time. Even when he was unaware of the situation, the Twelfth Doctor managed to be poetic. What a line.
"Clara..."
Forget “Shut up,” because “Clara” was actually the Twelfth Doctor’s real catchphrase. He said this hundreds of times when Clara was his companion, and each time it had true emotion behind it. The final one, though, hit us the hardest.
This was when he spoke to a glass avatar of Clara’s memories just before he headed off to regenerate, and the Doctor finally remembered who Clara was after centuries. His ecstasy, that genuine smile at a time where he was about to die, conveyed just how much she had truly mattered to him all this time.
"Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?"
Before he was openly affectionate of Clara, the Doctor showed his love for her in indirect ways. One of the biggest examples of this was when he overlooked Clara’s utter betrayal. In this episode, Clara hijacked the TARDIS and wanted to force the Doctor to break the laws of time to bring Danny Pink from the dead.
The Doctor predictably outplayed her, but instead of dismissing Clara forever like he should have, he instead instantly forgave her. The Doctor would then touchingly tell Clara that she meant so much to him that any sort of betrayal paled in comparison.
"Now, the real question is, Where did I get the cup of tea? Answer: I'm the Doctor. Just accept it."
If you want to learn how to make a remarkable entrance, then you need to follow the Twelfth Doctor closely. He had a knack for appearing out of nowhere in style. The finest example was when he showed up in between several Daleks, having no signs of fear.
In fact, the Doctor was so in control, he somehow had time to go and make tea for himself. Since the Daleks don’t have hands, it’s a mystery how the heck the Doctor ever found a cup there in the first place. The answer is simple, though: we just have to accept that he’s the Doctor and he can do anything.
"I can do whatever the hell I like. You read the stories, you know who I am - And in all that time, did you ever hear anything about anyone who stopped me?"
Our jaws hit the floor when the Doctor flipped his lid and exploded in anger at Ashildr, for placing Clara in mortal peril. Here, the darkest side of the Doctor was evident, as he openly threatened to end Ashildr and everyone she loved.
The Doctor was prepared to bring all kind of hell upon Ashildr in his rage, and while Clara talked him out of it as part of her last wish, we think it was an utterly cool display of just what the Doctor is capable of when he’s not playing around.
"How many seconds in eternity?"
How many indeed? It didn’t matter in the end, for the Doctor was prepared to endure billions of years and more to have a way of saving Clara from her fate - 4.5 billion years to be exact. Here, we saw in an emotionally charged montage that the Doctor spent what felt like eternity in torment, as he was killed each day only to be resurrected the next.
The kicker here is that he could have left any time, had he confessed to the Time Lords who he believed the Hybrid was. Since that would have meant he couldn’t have tricked them into bringing Clara back, though, the Doctor willingly chose to suffer countless days. Eternity was just a small price to pay for him.
"Doctor...I Let You Go."
It’s become a tradition for each Doctor to sign off with a moving speech to assure the fans that the next incarnation will capture their hearts too, and the Twelfth Doctor furthered this legacy.
What made his final words better than most versions, though, was the fact that he willingly gave himself up for regeneration. Unlike someone like the Tenth Doctor, who was wracked with fear and grief at the idea of regenerating, the Twelfth Doctor prepared himself, advised his next incarnation not to eat pears, and finally let himself go.
"Who I am is where I stand. Where I stand is where I fall."
Just a reminder: the Twelfth Doctor only died because he gave himself up. In the previous episode, the Doctor had realized there wasn’t enough time to evacuate the people away from the Cybermen, and decided to give himself up as bait to buy time.
Hoping to gain support, he urged the two versions of the Master to stand with him, during which he revealed his intentions to fall right where he stood; an admission that he would go down swinging. The fact that the speech managed to get through to Missy, a person who was truly evil at one time, goes to show that the sentiment behind the Doctor’s words was more powerful than any conceivable weapon could be.
"No One Will Else Will Ever Have To Live Like This. No One Else Will Ever Have To Feel This Pain. Not On My Watch!"
The Doctor’s pain at losing Gallifrey is only touched upon for the most part, mainly because he himself is unwilling to discuss it. Here, however, during a time when war was imminent between the humans and the Zygons, the Twelfth Doctor tapped into his memories of being the War Doctor.
During this speech, we saw very clearly how traumatized the Doctor still was, centuries after the war was over. His vow to protect life at any cost was never more firm, especially when he boldly claimed no-one would ever be dying on his watch. He was right in the end.