In what may be a moment of pure joy for some fans of Doctor Who, it was announced the other day that Clara Oswald would not return to the show. When she is dead, she will be permanently deceased, never to return. This is certainly a departure from the norm of the new incarnation of the show, where death seemingly meant waiting the the antechamber and maybe having a spot of tea.
However, this victory for the anti-Clara faction may not be what it seems. True, Clara will be gone, but it was not stated that Jenna Coleman would not return in the future. Perhaps this is just a matter of semantics, but it does leave that door open in the future, even if it is not in the character she has come to be known for.
While it would be easy just to state that Coleman could just reappear as a splinter Clara, that would not seem to be in the cards either. The statement that Clara would ‘never return’ would seemingly indicate that, not only would this version of Clara remain dead, but the splinter versions would be removed as well. Clara is gone, but will not be forgotten.
This may not mean the end of Coleman however. After all, the Zygon Clara has taken the name of Bonnie, allowing for Coleman to theoretically return in that role and allow Steven Moffat to keep his word that Clara would not come back. Again, semantics.
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If that is the direction that Doctor Who decides to take, it may actually be for the best. While Coleman and Peter Capaldi have definitely improved their chemistry this season and bcome a truly dynamic duo, it is time for Clara to depart. Her time has come to an end, even if her character is finally beginning to truly reach her potential.
Making Bonnie a recurrng character, even as a foil to the Doctor, would allow that chemistry to continue. Instead of having to worry about the potential of Ashildr becoming an enemy, or the typical threats of Missy, the Daleks or the Cybermen, the Doctor might have to face an enemy who knows him almost as well as he does. Bonnie, having the memories of Clara and the knowledge that she possessed, would be quite the formidable recurring villain on Doctor Who.
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Clara may well be leaving Doctor Who, and her departure and death may have already begun last week. However, that does not mean that we will not see more of Jenna Coleman going forward.