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Clara Oswald – A Bossy Control Freak

“Cos she’s perfect, innit? The control freak and the man who should never be controlled. You’d go to hell if she asked. And she would.”

Series 8 has given us an excellent exploration of Clara’s character and one of the most important elements has been the description of her as a “control freak” – as mentioned or shown in episodes such as Deep Breath, The Caretaker, Dark Water and Death in Heaven. It has been presented as an integral part of her characterisation, so important that it was even the reason the Mistress brought her and the Doctor together.

Yet, it has been questioned whether this aspect was properly established in Clara’s previous appearances on the show. I would argue that there exists plenty of evidence to support this interpretation in series 7, when one takes a look under the surface. And this is an important step, because Clara’s spelled-out characterisation is more complex than just “control freak”. It’s “bubbly personality masking bossy control freak”. She only blurts it out under the influence of the truth field, this isn’t something she is proud of.

A control freak is defined multi-dimensionally – all of which can be applied to Clara Oswald.

[x] control freak, noun:
A person who feels an obsessive need to exercise control over themselves and others and to take command of any situation.

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