I want to start out my first column with Clara Oswald. I have found with recent excessive watching of the Eleventh Doctor's seasons that since Rose Tyler, Clara is the first companion he's been able to open up with. She, other than Amy and Rory, is my favorite. Everything about this character, from the way she was written to the way she is portrayed by Jenna Louise Coleman, is mysterious. I could go into so much more depth than what I am about to give you but I fear that would make this blog far too long.
From the moment we meet this character in Asylum of the Daleks we never knew how far she would come, where the Doctor would take her and how much of a bond would be formed between these two. But, as Doctor did say many times before; she is impossible. Not just impossibly cute, but impossibly well pronounced. From saving the Doctor from the Daleks to dying more than once right before the Doctor's eyes - Clara Oswin Oswald was a mystery to us all. A mystery worth solving.
I think my favorite exchange between these two was when Eleven asked her, 'how did you know?' and she simply responded, 'your eyes.' Clara is the kind of person to know when you're sad just by the simple look in your eye and I think that's why the Doctor loves her so much; because she can see through this impossibly intricate man who's seen the end of all things and the beginning of the universe, who's lived ten different lives and seen more people than he would to have liked to die right before his eyes. She sees his pain, she sees his hurt and all because of a look in his eyes.
Clara and the Doctor aren't in love like Rose and Ten/Nine, they don't have a complicated relationship like Amy and Eleven; they're just friends, confidants. Remember in the 50th special how Eleven grabbed her hand and held it tight as he remembered his past and the War Doctor? For me, that's a powerful moment. Hand holding is a normal thing on Doctor Who because he wants to make sure his companions are always with him, always safe. So what makes that moment so special? Because he's afraid.
"I've had many lives, many faces. And there's one I don't admit to; one I try very hard to forget."
How many times have we seen the Doctor be afraid? Not many. This one sticks out to me because instead of covering up that fear with a fancy speech that makes cry, or his sad, heavy smile he instead becomes vulnerable. He reaches for the one person who he knows can comfort him. Clara. As he remembered what he had done, he looked to the floor with tears in his eyes and took the hand of the one person in the universe who could see through his pain and he held her hand tight, biting back any tears that may come. It is so nice to see the Doctor becoming vulnerable because it just reassures us that he really is human.
Clara brings out that side of him. She doesn't make him vulnerable to make him look weak, she just has the special touch with him that makes him realize how human he's become over the many years and I think he likes that feeling. Not anyone, even the Doctor, can stay strong forever. Sometimes you have to break, sometimes you have to become vulnerable to really see how you can be strong again.
I'm looking forward (in a strange happy/sad way) to see how Clara reacts to her Doctor leaving and Twelve showing up out of the blue. Will this beautiful bond between them weaver like it did with Rose when Ten came along? Will she see him as the same man? And most importantly will she still be able to see that pain in his eyes? It's going to new for all of us but I see Clara as kind to accept it and move on. Because just like she gives the Doctor strength, he give her strength.
Clara Oswald will be a favorite of mine through it all. Whether you ship Whouffle´or not, like her or not, you can't deny the bond they have which makes their relationship even better than the others.
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