Doctor Who: Clara Oswald’s Five Most Pivotal Moments

credit: BBC, nerdbastards.com

Clara Oswald may have been the most polarizing companion, at least in the new incarnation of Doctor Who. However, there is no denying her impact upon the Doctor during her time aboard the TARDIS.

Love her or hate her, Clara Oswald was quite the influential character on Doctor Who. Not only was she retrofitted into the key moments of the Doctor’s past life, but she also helped protect him during the present and the future. She became his trusted friend, and far more than a mere companion.

Unfortunately, it seems as though her legacy gets skewed depending on how one views her character. Those who love Clara will overlook her flaws and point out the positive aspects of her time on the show. Meanwhile, those who disliked her will dwell upon the negatives. It is human nature, I suppose.

However, despite what one thinks about Clara, she made a dramatic impact upon the Doctor and the show. She helped guide the Doctor through his darkest and most trying times, as they emerged on the other side with a stronger bond than one would have expected. Maybe this was not the Tenth Doctor and Rose,  but it was just as strong, albeit in a different way.

It may be difficult to say that Clara Oswald was the most important companion on Doctor Who, but she may have been the most pivotal in NuWho. Here are her most pivotal moments during her time as the Doctor’s companion.

Next: Millions of Claras, Claras for thee

credit: youtube.com

When Clara threw herself into the Doctor’s timeline

Perhaps this is where it all began. We had seen different Claras before in the travels of the Eleventh Doctor, leading to her being known as the Impossible Girl. Yet, the question of how there were so many different Claras, scattered across time, appeared as likely to be answered as my personal quest to discover who drank my last beer.

In that moment, when she threw herself into the Doctor’s timeline, we discovered exactly how much she meant to him throughout his life. We watched her guide the First Doctor to his TARDIS, explaining that the borken navigation system would let him have more fun. We saw her trying to catch the Fourth Doctor on Gallifrey, and encountering Amy and Rory in New York. She was a ruler, a traveller, a governess and everything in between.

Even if the Doctor did not notice her, she was there during those important moments in his past. She saved him time and time again, allowing him to continue his adventures without a second thought the to peril she helped him avoid without his knowledge. It may even be that, in those times when the Doctor did not realize she was around, she was more important to his life than when he knew she was there.

Let’s face it, even if she was retroactively added to the Doctor’s past, she still had a great deal of influence in his life. We just did not realize it at the time.

Next: From the beginning to the end

‘Hell Bent’ – Clara and Me on their TARDIS, credit: xfinitytv.comcast.net

Stealing the second TARDIS (and Me along with it)

Let’s go from the beginning to the end. Stolen away from the past in the moment before her death (more on this later), the Doctor attempted to rescue Clara and bring her back to life. Unfortunately, no matter what he attempted, he just could not get her heart to start beating once more, as she lived between heartbeats, not even needing to breathe.

So, in one desperate, last ditch attempt to save her life, the Doctor planned on giving her the same fate that Donna Noble had – he would wipe her memory of any recollection of their time together. They would never be able to travel together again, but she would not know how close she was to death.

Instead, Clara flipped the script, tricking the Doctor into erasing his memory of her. She then stole the second TARDIS, taking Me along with her as companion on her travels. Instead of fading off into the sunset and being someone else for the Doctor to brood over, she spared him of the pain of not only watching her die, but seeing her not being able to recall those times they had.

Clara proved her strength in her final appearance on Doctor Who, and very well may have saved the Doctor one final time. This time, she would have saved him from himself.

Next: The friend the Doctor needed

credit: bbcamerica.com

Staying after the Doctor’s regeneration

The change from the approachable, and much younger looking, Eleventh Doctor to the Twelfth Doctor was quite a shock to fans. It was even more so to Clara, who had no idea what to make of the regenerated Doctor and his new persona. Add in his general confusion about who he was, and it was a truly trying time for both the Doctor and Clara.

Understandably, Clara had second thoughts about travelling with the Doctor at that point. She was there, in the middle of Victorian England, with someone who was truly alien to her. At best, the Doctor had become unapproachable and sarcastic. At worst, she would not have been wrong to question his stability at that time.

Ultimately, it took a phone call from the Eleventh Doctor to remind Clara that not only was the Doctor not her boyfriend, but that he needed her. Lost in an unfamiliar area and unsure of who or what he was, the Doctor needed someone he could trust to help through the change. Clara was the only person that could be there for him.

Yes, there were other times that Clara considered leaving the Doctor behind, but this was the first true test of her resolve to see their adventures through. Even if the Doctor did not acknowledge it at the time, Clara was truly valuable in bringing him back and reminding him who he was.

Next: A mutually beneficial relationship

credit: pixshark.com

When the Doctor and Clara realized how much they needed one another

Last Christmas almost resulted in the Doctor and Clara parting ways. At the time, Jenna Coleman was not certain of coming back for the following season of Doctor Who, leading Steven Moffat to write two different endings for the episode based on her decision. Fortunately, she decided to remain through Series Nine.

In doing so, we saw a change in their relationship. Clara became more than a companion; she became the Doctor’s closest friend and a true ally. She was someone that he could trust with his life, helping them create a strong bond that transcended almost every other relation he had with a companion in the new incarnation of the program.

This change was needed. Not only did Clara need some way to get over losing Danny Pink, but the Twelfth Doctor needed someone to get him back in touch with humanity. She helped him figure out how to interact with people again, while the Doctor helped Clara let go and become herself once again.

In time, the Doctor and Clara became a team in every sense of the word. They worked together perfectly, seemingly becoming one and the same. Here, the Doctor had that friend and trusted sidekick that he needed. Along the way, Clara helped him rediscover his faith in humanity, something that seemed to have been lost with everyone but the children he encountered in Series Eight.

Clara and the Doctor needed one another more than they realized. It took until the moment when she nearly left after Danny was killed for them to realize what type of bond they could have.

Next: Every action has a reaction

credit: youtube.com

When Clara and the Doctor faced the consequences of their actions

It may be easy for the Doctor to forget about how his actions have consequences. After all, if he dies, then he can just regenerate into a new body and continue along, almost as though nothing happened. Clara, after spending all that time with the Doctor, began to take on those same characteristics, facing dangerous situations without a second thought for her safety.

As she slowly become like the Doctor, she began to act as he would. Clara began taking more chances, up to the point where she took Rigsy’s countdown tattoo, sentencing herself to death as she had to face the raven herself.

Even though she ended up erasing herself from the Doctor’s memory, leaving to continue her own adventures when the Doctor brought her back, one has to imagine that the events will be in the Doctor’s subconscious. Seeing Clara die because she took on Rigsy’s tattoo, even if he does not recall the events, could force a change in the Doctor we have come to know.

Next: The new sonic screwdriver is unveiled

There is certainly going to be a change in the Doctor now that Clara is no longer there. However, he may well be more cautious in the next season of Doctor Who, even if he cannot explain why that is the case.