Today, I want to talk to about my thoughts on Clara Oswald, the 11th into 12th Doctor’s companion. The main things that I have decided about her are that she idolized the 11th Doctor and the way that he looked, was very much a damsel, and didn’t fully develop into a good companion until we see the last of her, in this class, in the episode “Hell Bent”.
The reason that I claim Clara idolizes Matt Smith’s version of the Doctor is the way that she grieves the loss of him by being rude to Capaldi’s Doctor in “Deep Breath”. This is seen as Clara is in disbelief that Capaldi could actually be her young and dashing Doctor, whom she grew to love. She states, “Where did he get that face? Why’s it got lines on it? It’s brand new. How can his hair be all grey? He only just got it!” This proves, to me, that Clara is struggling to realize that the Doctor changes and that she truly does not understand that he has no control over the changes that he undergoes. This disbelief and grief is seen again when she is speaking with Madame Vastra. Vastra looks at Clara with pity and says, “But he is The Doctor. He has walked the universe for centuries untold. He has seen stars fall to dust. You might as well flirt with a mountain range.” I enjoyed this part of the episode as it was filled with Jenny and Madame Vastra trying to make Clara understand that she needs to move on and let it go. And Clara does move on, eventually, but for a few episodes, at least the ones we watched, she is just angry at the Doctor for his change.
My second opinion about her is her being a damsel. This is seen time and time again as the Doctor has to save her from most of the “bad guys” that they encounter. I thought Rose was bad and I thought Martha was worse, and even Amy, or Rory, but Clara definitely takes the cake for the companion that gets caught. Thankfully, the Doctor is there to save her, or at least comes up with a plan to save her. However, I will give credit as toward the end of season 9 Clara finally became an independent character that saved the Doctor’s life and helped him to get away from the planet Gallifrey. One must also remember that Clara was in charge of helping the Doctor throughout all 12 of his lives, from escaping from Gallifrey the first time, and then again in the final episode of season 9, “Hell Bent”.
Diversity and the Doctor 