claudiaboleyn:

I am so glad for Jenna/Clara at the way Clara Oswald’s story turned out.

Let’s be honest it didn’t start well. Eleven acted like a prat. Clara had the flimsiest characterisation and the sketchiest backstory. Their bonding technique was basically the Doc insulting Clara’s physical appearance. They literally met while Eleven was behaving like a creepy stalker and Clara, assertive, ‘control freak’, no-nonsense Clara was written as accepting of this. The narrative framed this weirdness as romantic. Clara turned out to be ‘born to save the Doctor’ instead of, y’know, born to live her life. Nobody had a clue what her job was. Nobody understood why she stuck around when the Doctor, by her own admission, scared her. Everyone wanted her to escape for her own good.

And then with Twelve, with this last series, it all turned around.

Suddenly we had a young woman with a job, and consistent characterisation. The ‘bossiness’ became assertiveness and was appreciated by the Doctor and the narrative. Her leadership qualities were likened to those of the Doctor and admired, instead of being written off as a hilarious little quirk. We had Clara the brave, Clara the compassionate, Clara the stubborn. We saw her raging against the death of a loved one. (She was allowed grief, ugly, furious, terrifying grief!)

We witnessed her tentative, and yet incredibly beautiful friendship blossoming with Twelve, which became one of absolute mutual respect. Suddenly we had an equal partnership again, the ingredient we’d been missing with Eleven. We saw her having fun! Hooray! We could see why a young woman like Clara might like to travel with Twelve.

Most importantly we saw why a man like Twelve would like to travel with a woman like Clara Oswald. And it wasn’t because she was ‘born to save the Doctor’, or ‘the impossible girl’, or because she had extra special timey-wimey qualities that fascinated him, it was because he fell in love with Clara the human. He travelled with Clara for her compassion, her good advice, her honesty, her courage, her naturally responsible and nurturing nature.

With Clara The Mystery gone (and good riddance to that plot line) we were given Clara the person. Which is what the audience want in a companion. We want someone to be our eyes and ears We want someone relatable. Someone similar to those we know. An ordinary and yet extraordinary person.

We left Clara’s story (it didn’t end, however) with her as unquestionably the equal of the Doctor. With her in control of her own destiny. And the universe is a better place with Clara Oswald still whizzing around it.

Twelve and Clara are right up there with some of the best Doctor and companion duos and it’s not because of any extra special ‘Impossible Girl’ nonsense, it’s because they forged a realistic, tender,  delicate and yet incredibly resistant, relatable relationship of equals which was mutually beneficial and a joy to watch.

Clara’s time with the Doctor was ultimately positive and liberating. It was inspirational.

Just goes to show that to crete a successful and iconic companion, you don’t need bells and whistles. You just need a relatable, flawed, ordinary human being.