Doctor Who fans have many opinions about the show, including Peter Capaldi's turn as the Twelfth Doctor. The best place to look for these opinions is Reddit, where debates are never in short supply, and fans aren't afraid to put their most unpopular opinions out there for others to disagree with.
These unpopular opinions range from Twelve's personality to his episodes, and everything in between - some thoughts on his wardrobe even pop up! And as always, comparisons to past Doctors play into how fans judge the Twelfth Doctor.
The Twelfth Doctor Had No Tolerance For His Companions
In the Subreddit "Doctor Who," user Silverstream21 says of the Twelfth Doctor, "He seemed to lack the tolerance shown to previous companions." In response, VengM9 mentions that previous Doctors weren't always so tolerant of their companions either. VengM9 also says, "12 goes through the events of Heaven Sent and Hell Bent FOR Clara. No nuWho Doctor has ever tried harder to save a companion. He broke all his own rules and went through his own torture chamber for 4.5 Billion years just for her. If anything he's the most tolerant of any of the modern Doctors."
Twelve certainly does a lot to try to save Clara. Many Doctors show great care for their companions, but they can also be abrupt and sometimes rude when needed. But Twelve putting so much on the line for Clara proves that he is quite tolerant of her. Fans saw this in "Heaven Sent," the highest-rated Twelfth Doctor episode on IMDb.
The Twelfth Doctor's Character Development Was Boring
Some fans don't want to see a Doctor grow. In "Doctor Who," Ninjomat says, "I liked gruff angry series 8 12th Doctor, got bored by strutting and then self-questioning 12th Doctor of series 9 and 10."
Those changes were arguably an example of important character development. The user may have liked Twelve more when he was gruff and angry, but there's more to the character than that. And the gruffness doesn't disappear altogether after season 8. But without this development, a constantly gruff and angry Doctor would be, well, boring.
The Twelfth Doctor Had No Character Development
On the topic of Twelve's character development, Stopthelemurs says, "My main issue with 12 is lack of character development. Now, I know some people are reading that thinking 'what? He had loads of character development!' But he didn't, he really didn't." As mentioned above, the Doctor changing in seasons 9 and 10 is the very definition of character development. The user argues that none of the changes happen on screen and therefore don't count as development.
These things are still character development regardless, and they do happen on screen. One of the best Doctor and Clara episodes, "Hell Bent," is a perfect example. From the beginning, Twelve questions his look being familiar (Capaldi played another character in a David Tennant episode), and wonders if there's a reason for it. The reason is that this Doctor needs to learn from his mistakes, and this unfolds throughout the season.
The Show Wasn't Good Until The Twelfth Doctor
This is a positive take on Twelve's era, but it's at the expense of the rest of the show. In "Gallifrey," MrDrProfTimeLord says, "I felt like the show only got truly good in the Capaldi era. The emotional depth put into the episodes really made it far more engaging, and the show mostly broke away from the campiness of the earlier series. I love the show and will defend it to the death, but when people [accuse] the show of being campy and bad and they point to the earlier series... yeah, it gets pretty tough to defend."
This take is a bit confusing, as the user adds they don't like the Twelfth Doctor's companions. They also say they love the show as a whole right after saying it wasn't truly good until the Twelfth Doctor. The show's massive popularity proves this to be an unpopular opinion, as does the fact that people were watching up to (at that point) the 8th season and Twelfth Doctor. Previous seasons also got rave reviews.
The Twelfth Doctor Wasn't Well-Written
In "Doctor Who," SwissArmySonic says of Twelve, "In my opinion, he was a poorly written character, like most of Moffat's characters." The user does say they love season 5 from Moffat, but they don't specify if they find any of that season's characters to be well-written.
Twelve's popularity shows that he must've had some good writing. This is most obvious in the way Twelve's mistakes are examined throughout the seasons, and in the way he stands up to the Master's best incarnation, Missy, in season 10.
One Episode Ruined The Twelfth Doctor
In "Doctor Who," KthulhuX says, "The sheer amount of elitism... he displayed in 'The Caretaker' put me off of Capaldi's Doctor for the remainder of his run." That was just the 6th episode starring Capaldi. The user is referring to how the Doctor treated Danny, Clara's boyfriend.
In response, Somekindofspideryman says, "You're not really meant to be totally on his side about it, Series 8 spends a lot of time confronting uncomfortable aspects of the Doctor's personality." This response hits the nail on the head. Previous seasons showed the Doctor being a jerk to some people with no rebuke, like Nine making fun of Mickey. But season 8 made sure to put the Doctor's mistakes on display and addressed them, and Clara often put the Doctor in his place.
The Sunglasses And Guitar Were Bad
Twelve starts using Sonic Sunglasses instead of a Sonic Screwdriver. He also takes up playing the electric guitar. In "Doctor Who," Chrisvskris says, "Sunglasses. Playing electric guitar. On a moving tank. Surrounded by a hundred cheering Vikings." While Chris doesn't specify these things as good or bad, Merganman4 adds, "Oooh, you've just summed up everything I don't like about 12. Everything else I adore."
These were iconic things about the Twelfth Doctor, and a Funko Pop was even made featuring him with his sunglasses and guitar. The Sonic Sunglasses were a very interesting spin on an old concept, the Sonic Screwdriver. And Twelve wasn't as silly as Ten or Eleven, but the guitar was one of the ways he demonstrated who he was. Both added to his personality.
The Twelfth Doctor Rips Off The First And Sixth Doctors
In "Doctor Who," MasterHandSSBU says, "12 is just a rip-off of 1 and 6." Presumably, the user refers to the anger and grumpiness of William Hartnell's First Doctor and Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor.
The Doctor is an ever-regenerating timelord, so his personality changes along with his appearance. But he's also still the same character as he was before. This, combined with the fact that there are only so many personality types, results in some Doctors sharing similarities. But no two Doctors are exactly the same. Besides this, Twelve's grumpiness was in stark contrast to Ten and Eleven.
The Twelfth Doctor Is Apathetic And Arrogant
In "Doctor Who," an anonymous user says, "I think Peter Capaldi is a great actor, but his Doctor is just bad, because he's mainly defined by two traits, lack of empathy and kindness, and arrogance. In short, he's a narcissist. He's incredibly apathetic about other people's suffering and death other than Clara's."
Twelve is less silly than previous incarnations of the doctor, but this doesn't make him apathetic and arrogant. He saves lives in many episodes. He also speaks of mercy in one of Twelve's most memorable quotes. But his biggest display of kindness comes in "The Doctor Falls," where he says, "I do what I do because it's right. Because it's decent. And above all, it's kind. It's just that. Just kind. If I run away today, good people will die. If I stand and fight, some of them might live."
The Twelfth Doctor's Final Speech Was Awful
In "Gallifrey," Swordbender says, "12's final speech is self-aggrandizing and ultimately hollow." This refers to Twelve saying a message for Thirteen before regenerating.
Twelve's final speech is a powerful, well-liked moment. Highlights include, "Never be cruel, never be cowardly. And never ever eat pears! Remember, hate is always foolish, and love is always wise. Always try to be nice and never fail to be kind." It's as good as any speech from the Doctor, with moving moments and profound sentiment. It also shows that the Doctor cares about who he becomes. Such inspiring words are anything but hollow.