Clara Oswald Was Robbed | Doctor Who Video Essay

Clara Oswald is one of the most controversial characters in all of Doctor Who. We'll dive into her adventures with Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor to answer the questions: What did Clara do for the show? Where did her character writing fall short, and where did it shine? And why do some people hate her so much?

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Music created by my lovely brother :)

00:00 Intro
01:37 Echoes of Clara
03:31 The Impossible Girl
09:19 The Turning Point
11:02 Clara Who
17:54 The Hybrid
21:45 Clara's Legacy

Thanks for watching!

[derekvanlehn]

“Do you think I cared for you so little that you betraying me makes a difference” is one of my favorite quotes of anything all time. Clara and twelves relationship is so very special to me

[Lia-zwlstzo]

3:10 I wish we could’ve kept Victorian Clara not just because of her charm and wit but because it would also the the first time in modern Doctor Who to have a companion from the past! We’d had companions from future eras but not yet from the past.

[pettytyrant]

Something I think you missed - Clara's purpose in exisiting in series 7 and her arc. Moffat was faced with a near impossible task - to write the 50th anniversary. He knew it was coming up at the end of series 7. From the BBC he also knew that their charts said 90% of the modern audience had never seen classic Who beyond youtube clips. And on the otherhand he had classic Who fans ready to slay him if the 50th did not pay suitable respect and include classic Who. How to square the circle?
The solution was Clara.
Clara is the bridge in series 7 between classic era Who and modern, she falls more into the classic Who compaion role than modern, her story directly introduces the viewer as part of her mystery to classic Who and to earlier versions of the Doctor. The success of the 50th anniversary was in no small part down to how prepared for it the audience were by the manner in which Moffat deployed Clara in series 7 to lay that ground work. All the bits of classic people would need to know for the story of the 50th to work the audience were prepped for by Clara's Impossible Girl story. In that respect she worked perfectly in series 7 for what was intended and needed.
Once the 50th and its immediate followup, 11's regeneration was done and over with, Moffat could get down to giving Clara the proper depth she needed (and he knew Jenna Coleman deserved) to become more than a necessary plot device and a true character.

[daubar_the_OT]

I remember when she was at a convention in Miami when I was younger, I had my more brave friend ask during the question portion “Do you think Clara could have been the first companion to turn on the Doctor?” She chewed on it and her response was along the lines of “I was actually given two options- and it is clear which one I chose.” I always wondered what could have been- and a companion that turned evil BECAUSE of the doctor would have made for an incredible arc of growth for both characters.

[ashleynunnally]

Yeah, I totally agree with Victorian Clara being way more interesting than modern Clara in series 7. I remember being so sad when they introduced the Clara that would actually be the main companion. It took me a while to warm back up to her, but ultimately, I ended up liking her when she became more than just a love interest for the doctor.

[_somerandomguyontheinternet_]

The best description for Clara and 12’s relationship is “platonic soulmates.” It’s not quite romantic, but it’s not quite not.

[siddhanthravi]

I saw something online (idk who or where but on Twitter) about Clara's death in "Face the Raven" was that she died with her hands spread out, similar to how the Doctor regenerates. No matter how bad she wanted to be like the Doctor, she wasn't. It's not that she wanted to regenerate, but her codepency with the Doctor is so ingrained in her it was part of her final(-ish) moment. Clara might honestly be my favorite companion because of how "flawed" she is in this regard. She wanted to be more than she actually was and that was her eventual downfall.

[LexTan]

In my opinion, how Victorian Clara saves the Doctor is that after an extended period of time being angry, bitter, sad, and lonely after losing Rory and Amy, she gave him the spark to be the Doctor again, which led him to solve the mystery of the Impossible Girl. What she did was give the Doctor his sense of self and purpose in the universe.

[CatDrew-ub]

People hate Clara? I had no idea. I loved her. Think she's one of the best companions of all time.

[jabberwcky]

I don't think I truly was able to appreciate or like Clara until she was a companion to the 12th doctor. The way they clash, yet gained a new care about each other so much to the point of codependence, is an interesting dynamic and having them paralleled to one another was truly the best route to take Clara's character. Its flawed, it's messy, but it felt so real and genuine and when that deep caring shone through it was convincing and great.

[EmpireEmployeeRick]

Honestly idc what people say about Clara, she’s my absolute favourite. But I will never tolerate Jenna Coleman hate, she’s an amazing talent and she gave something really special to the show that we’ll never see again. Legend

[Kolya-chu]

I know Oswin was just a flirty bisexual to some. But Coleman brought so much pathos to the latter parts of Asylum and 7b. From beginning to end, Clara is Literally Me fr. When she gets misty eyed, so do I, and when she smiles I smile. Clara and Twelve is my favorite love story.

[jamesbourgeois]

My biggest issue with Clara was how inconsistent she was. After being the impossible girl she should have known the Doctor better than anyone else. And yet she was confused when he changed, and then felt the need to blackmail him into helping her saving Danny. She should know him BEST and felt the need to force him into helping her when in reality she would have only needed to ask.

[kenthomas]

I will readily admit that I am a fan of Clara as a Companion. I even like her character in Series 7B, and all the other iterations of her. She just worked for me personally.

I can see why other fans dislike her, though the vitriol that some spew at her is a bit much, and I think unwarranted. They think she became too important and started to overshadow the Doctor. Those that liked other Companions more instead thought that she became the most important Companion of all time and they couldn't stand that. I think certainly she was one of the most influential. But her importance goes far beyond that. The love and interconnected relationship that she shares with the Doctor ultimately leads to her hubris, and to her own downfall. She pays the price in Face the Raven, and without her loss we would never have had the masterpiece that was Heaven Sent.

Some fans also think Clara stayed on for too long and should have left the show earlier, and that her ultimate departure unraveled everything that entailed her death. I don't see it that way. She may get more adventures on her own off screen, but in the end she still has to return to Trap Street and die.

I admire the platonic love that the Doctor and Clara have for one another. There will be never be another Doctor/Companion duo like them again in my opinion. She is certainly the Impossible Girl: impossible for some to like, impossible for others to hate. I'm firmly of the later category. Long live the Impossible Girl!

[dadman]

I can't get enough Clara, it was sad when she left but I think Hell Bent is my favourite companion sendoff. Even in this video when you played a few notes of her theme on the guitar, I thought of "you said memories become stories when we forget them, maybe some of them become songs" and my eyes got a little teary.

[ishathakor]

honestly, several of the nuwho companions have grown to be doctor-like or doctor-adjacent before. rose's hubris got to her too. martha's year of travelling the earth put her in a doctor-esque role. donna LITERALLY absorbed his brain. amy was literally central to the plot for seasons 5 and 6, plus she's river's mother. by the time clara came around "companion tries to be like the doctor" was practically a staple of the show. she was just the one for whom it was the central conceit of her arc, and not just a side effect of travelling with the doctor.

[MINKIN]

The thing I didn't like was how they kept writing her out of each of her seasons but she coming back. And then they couldn't even kill her off.

[nicholasmiller]

I had no idea that people didn’t like her. I really liked the way they handled the 11 to 12 regeneration, with Clara staying on but having to come to terms with quite a different relationship with the new doctor.

Not only was she my favorite companion, but my 14 year old self was fully in love with her. Like depending on one’s theory of romantic development, it’s possible my preferences in women was forever altered by Clara. Trippy to think about looking back on it.

[dr.seesaw]

13:57 small nitpick to the point being made here but I think it'll enhance what's being said. Clara becoming the doctor is a theme that's been going on for much longer than beginning in flatline. In the very first episode of the season the doctor basically abandons Clara to thrust her into the doctor role in a trial by (literal) fire where she has to negotiate with the cyborg dude and basically turn the tables in a negotiation like the doctor. Then there's the orient express where the doctor gets Clara to lie to someone to make his plan work and again in Kill the Moon where the doctor again abandons Clara to have her make a huge decision about wether to spare earth or the big space dragon. Flatline is of course the first time it's explicitly acknowledged Clara is taking on the role of the doctor but it's by no means the first time she's thrust into a role like that

[leeci]

I’ve heard folks explain Clara’s arc before. But you broke it down in such a way that I may actually come around to liking her. Great video.