Coming on the heels of the Doctor moralizing to Amy about how she doesn't get to make decision for him, he then proceeds to begin making a massive, torturous decision for the rest of the society. It's blatant hypocrisy that weakens the character.
I'm not sure if it weakens his character, but I AM pretty sure it makes me like him less.
The The USA Today solicited some questions for Matt the other day; I didn't get around to putting one in but I wanted to throw something in along the lines of "So, your Doctor seems to lie a lot, and is very charming and cavalier about it. Without giving anything away, is he just not thinking, or is there something more sinister going on there?"
But that's only part of the problem. While he's doing this, the Doctor shoots off a quick line about how after he's done, he'll have to pick a new name because, "I sure as hell won't be the Doctor anymore." This implies that he knows full well the horrors of what he's about to do, and is willing to go through with it. In effect, the Doctor openly admits that what he is doing violates his own moral code, but still considers himself to be the only one who can make that decision.
So we've got lies, hypocrisy, AND arrogance.
Then after that, nothing.
That remains to be seen. As I've said, I'm pretty well convinced this is significant in the season arc. The Doctor's own lies, secrecy, and (near) abuse of power mirror those of Britain itself in the episode. That's not trivial. That's going to come back.
I dislike the episodes that imply that deep down, the Doctor is a controlling murderer who is only kept in check because other people have the foresight and determination to stop him. This takes the character from being a thoughtful, morally ambiguous yet ultimately benevolent being to just being an irrational psychopath who follows his base urges.
But it's gone both ways. In The Waters of Mars, a companion prevents him from doing something GOOD because she feels it's an abuse of his power. It's not that he's a psychopath so much as the most powerful being in the universe -- with a corresponding loss in perspective. Yes, in this case Amy has to physically stop him -- but her larger role, like Donna's, is to keep him grounded, to keep his own judgement from getting too skewed.
As for "controlling" -- that's been an aspect of the Doctor's character from the beginning, but it's been played to different effects at different times.
As for "murderer" -- a little strong, but he HAS certainly killed in cold blood on some occasions. On others -- like this one -- he's agonized over it.
I think all of these contradictions and flaws make him a richer character, not a poorer one. But I DO find them unsettling, especially in contrast to his sunny disposition.
I expect to see all this play out over the course of the next 11 episodes -- and then hopefully he'll have his shit together by next season.
MEANWHILE:
Nrama covers the US premiere. Highlights:
A very important aspect of the Doctor’s own past will finally be dealt with this season as Newsarama learned exclusively – The Doctor’s regeneration limit. “It’s been addressed in a very, very cheeky way by an old friend of mine and I’m not going to tell you any more about that,” said Moffat, telling us to “wait and see.”
Something you don’t have to wait for is discovering who the Eleventh Doctor’s Big Bad will be. Smith told the crowd it’s seen in the very first episode. “Albeit, not in the most conventional form. You’re going to have to think about it and find out what it is, but it’s in there,” he said. “And that’s the one, that’s what takes us through the whole series and my god, it’s bad.”
I'm going to reiterate that I think the shot where the Doctor lies and the equipment behind him spikes to look just like one of those space-time cracks is KEY.
Is the Doctor his own big bad?
