The Doctor has had more companions than you can count on Doctor Who, and it’s natural that he would be guilty of being unfair to some of them over the years. Likewise, as his companions have been far less experienced than him, they’ve been known to make big mistakes themselves.
We’re not considering the Thirteenth Doctor in this list, as her tenure is currently ongoing which doesn’t leave room for finality. We’ve also considered actions that were inadvertently made to count as “worse” things as these still had a negative impact on either the Doctor or his companions at large.
Doctor: The Ninth Doctor Abandoning Jack
While the Ninth Doctor generally had a friendly demeanor and was responsible for some funny moments, he had it in him to be very uncaring. After all, Captain Jack was seemingly in love with him at the time, only for the Doctor to leave Jack in the future.
He argued that he’d done so because the now-immortal Jack was something the Doctor couldn’t process because he was a Time Lord, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Doctor straight up left a man who had loved and trusted him to fend for himself for over a century.
Companion: Clara Cutting The Twelfth Doctor Out Of Her Life
Sure, Clara was one of the wiser companions the Doctor has had, but that didn’t stop her from being unreasonable to the point where she cut the Doctor out of her life. It happened due to the Twelfth Doctor leaving the fate of the Earth solely on her.
While the Doctor had faith that she wouldn’t mess things up, Clara had no qualms slapping him in the face and admonishing him for what he did. The Eleventh Doctor had asked her to promise him that she would take care of him in his twelfth incarnation, Clara still broke this promise and left the Doctor.
Doctor: The Tenth Doctor’s Treatment Of Mickey
Officially, Mickey was a companion of the Doctor, but the Doctor himself treated him more like a pet. And that’s not even us exaggerating the situation, as the Doctor actually called Mickey out to be Rose’s pet that he let her keep around the TARDIS.
It wasn’t like Mickey was useless either, as he proved himself to be a valuable companion during every crisis the Doctor had. However, the Doctor’s feelings for Rose meant he viewed Mickey as something of a rival, which led to him treating the latter like garbage, including mocking him and even bullying Mickey at times.
Companion: Rose Choosing The Tenth Doctor’s Clone
Yes, the Doctor was the one who pushed Rose into choosing his human clone, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach how Rose outright kissed the clone right in front of the Doctor and ignored the latter.
It was obvious that this sight emotionally killed the Doctor, as proven when he was seen depressed and lonesome in the TARDIS in the next scene. As for Rose, she seemed to completely forget about the Doctor once she learned the clone had his memories and personality.
Doctor: The Tenth Doctor Wiping Out Donna’s Memories
The Doctor did this to save Donna’s life, and it was in her best interests, yet Donna still protested against it when he moved in to remove her memories. This confirmed that Donna would’ve been fine with perishing if it meant that she would remember her contribution to the universe.
She had considered herself unimportant, but had saved everyone’s lives to become the most important person there ever was. For this reason, the Doctor wiping away what she’d done meant there couldn’t have been anything worse to happen to Donna.
Companion: Adam Betraying The Ninth Doctor’s Trust
The Doctor’s unspoken rule with his companions is for them to respect the concept of time and space and only travel with him for the purpose of fun. However, Adam was one such companion who betrayed this rule by going for personal gain.
He attempted to use futuristic technology to make himself rich in his timeline, an act that nearly sabotaged the TARDIS. This was seen as a complete betrayal by the Doctor, who promptly returned Adam back in his own time. Of course, the comics did end up redeeming Adam, but that’s another story.
Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor Letting Rory Die
We can’t bring up just the one instance that this happened, seeing as Rory dying became a running gag as he would be killed off on regular intervals and only brought back through either coincidence or upon Amy’s urging.
Still, it doesn’t hide the fact that the Doctor didn’t treat Rory’s life with respect, and only saw him as an extension of his friendship with Amy. The fact that the Doctor also treated Rory’s 2,000 year wait as something of a joke proved how he didn’t consider the mental toll it took on the latter.
Companion: Amy Almost Making The Doctor Kill The Star Whale
Here, Amy did do the right thing and prevented the Doctor from going through with killing the Star Whale, but that was after she had led circumstances toward this event from taking place. After she had learned the truth of the Star Whale being tortured to carry the Starship UK vessel in space, she chose to forget this information.
When the Doctor learned that he could’ve helped the whale from its fate, but at that moment had no option but to make it brain-dead to save it from suffering, he was incensed that Amy had decided to make the choice for him, and cause him to have to kill the whale instead.
Doctor: The Twelfth Doctor Causing Bill’s Conversion Into A Cyberman
Bill had been against the idea of taking Missy out for a mission from the start, but had been convinced by the Doctor to come along. Unfortunately, their arrival at the colony ship instantly led to Bill being shot straight through the chest, which necessitated her being taken to lower depths of the ship where she was stuck for ten years.
Worse, the Master then had her turned into a Cyberman - that too in order to antagonize the Doctor. Despite coming across Bill in this state, the Doctor confessed he could do nothing to turn her back into a human.
Companion: River Song “Killing” The Eleventh Doctor
This act was so significant, it spanned a whole series on the show, as the Doctor’s supposed death became a fixed point in time. Since River had been sent across time to kill the Doctor on numerous occasions, she was forced to go through with this one as well.
While it wasn’t her fault that she had to shoot him, it still came by her hand, and the Doctor had to come up with an elaborate plan to avoid being killed off for real. Not only this, but River’s earlier refusal to kill him meant the Doctor, and the whole universe, had been thrown in chaos as time fell apart due to River’s indecision.
