One of the mysteries we can look forward to exploring in the upcoming episodes of Doctor Who is exactly who, or what, the Doctor’s new companion is.
We last saw the lovely Jenna-Louise Coleman (the actress playing Clara) as Oswin Oswald in Asylum of the Daleks where she was an ill-fated Junior Entertainment Manager on a cruise liner that crash-landed on a planet full of insane Daleks. They promptly took quite a fancy to her (understandable) and turned her into one of their own.
The episode ends with the planet being blasted from space by a Dalek fleet, almost certainly killing Oswin in the process.
Fade to black, cue credits.
Except….. Jenna returns in the Christmas 2012 episode as Clara, which is set in Victorian Earth. Is she simply a different character – a distant relative perhaps? It’s possible, but what we have seen in teasers and trailers so far hints that she has the same quirky-yet-smart personality Oswin possessed. While other companions have previously appeared other roles in the past (such as Freema Agyeman, who played both Dr. Martha Jones and Adeola Oshodi, her cousin, in an earlier episode) it’s too much of a stretch for a central character in the first show-stopper episode in a new series to then become a companion with a different name without something going on.
This is Doctor Who after all, and it does love to tease.
This leaves two possibilities Clara is from Oswin’s past, or she is (somehow) from her future. It’s unlikely she is from earlier in Oswin’s timestream as that smacks too much of River Song’s story, and messing with crossing timelines yet again would be bad form. That’s been done already.
I think that Oswin somehow survived the eplosion. Or, more accurately – she didn’t, but regenerated.
Here’s my theory.
Oswin is Clara is Jenny. She is the Doctor’s Daughter, a female pseudo-clone grown from the Doctor’s DNA who died (then regenerated) way back in a 2008 episode of the same name. This explains her intelligence and Doctor-like personality, as well as how she could regenerate. Last time she did this she regenerated into the same form (albeit with help from the planet’s Progenation Machine), but it’s possible that some time between the 2008 story and Asylum of the Daleks she regenerated again into her new appearance, or altered it in some other way.
It’s not the most likely of possibilities I admit, but it’s one I find appealing because it opens up the possibility of the Doctor, River and Clara all having at least one adventure together as father, mother and child, and that’s like the Holy Trinity of Doctor Who geekdom. Bring back K9 as the family dog and you’re there. The Doctor finally gets the taste of a normal life. For a while, at least.
The flaw in this theory is that Oswin showed no hint of knowing the Doctor previously in Asylum of the Daleks. That could be due to Daleks wiping her memory of him as a part of her “therapy”. She was in the wing of the Asylum for Daleks who had previously encountered the Doctor, so perhaps there’s a clue there. We’ll see.
Anyhow.
It’s much more likely that the Doctor travels back in time to swoop down at the last minute and save Oswin because he realizes that Clara’s future is too important to let die. Either that or Clara (being the clever bod that she is) “borrows” the TARDIS and rescues herself. That would be quite fun.
What do you think?
You invalidate any possible argument you might make with ‘Freema Agyeman, who played both Donna Noble and Adeola Oshodi’.
Donna Noble???????
W.T.F?
Try Dr. Martha Jones on for size. Does that fit better?
I’ve seen London, I’ve seen France
I’ve seen your ignorance…
Gah! Well spotted, corrected. You’re right, I’m stupid. That’s what I get for writing with insufficient coffee in my bloodstream. The mind thinks one thing but my fingers type another. Blasted fingers, playing tricks on me.
Thanks for the catch!
Quote ‘I think that Oswin somehow survived the explosion. Or, more accurately – she didn’t, but regenerated.’ However oswin was dead all through the episode; yet we did not know this till the end. Oswin was she had become a dalek the whole time, hence her being ‘dead’, yet only her mind was left to be placed in the metal exoseliton. Surely when the dalek’s were distroyed she was destroyed with them due to her being a dalek.
Furthermore, Oswin seemed to know nothing of the doctor when she met him; if she was to be his daugher would she have said something or acted like she knew him. Like Lorna Bucket, the girl from the gamma forests, could be Jenny due to the constant reference to running and how jenny’s last words were ‘run.’
True ad well I forget about the girl u speak pleas refresh me mrmory
In asylum of the daleks there was a girl at the dalek asylum known as oswin Oswald and she loved sofles and she turned out to be a dalek and she made the other daleks forget the doctor
Right
Or if you mean the other girl in the doctors daughter she was cloned from a tissue of the doctor and she died but came back to life like regenerating except she kept her appearance and she went on some adventure
My theory is that they’re going to do a reverse Eve Myles with her. But I’ve also gotten used to my theories being incorrect.
I hope they bring her back, but how awkward would it be since she has now kissed the doctor. She kissed her DAD. Why in all the aliens and scanners and other time lords have popped up has no one sensed her presence as another TIME LORD!!!!!!
I don’t think Clara is the Doctor’s daughter Jenny or even a of River’s daughter at all. We have way too little information on the character just based on 2 episodes. I have a sneaking suspicion Steven Moffat is gonna keep us guessing so all theories are just still theories. Besides its way too awkward for any daughter to passionately kiss her own dad. YUCK! :P
Hmm…interesting! That theory may have a point.
I’m entitled to agree I just thought about it snc if makes since. I mean we don’t whts happend to Jenny it never tells us.
One thing that implies your theory might be correct is in the second episode of this season, “Ankhatan” there is a moment when Clara is first let loose on the city and she bumps into what looks like a Hath from “The Doctor’s Daughter” episode and gives him a real double look. It was that look, that made me do a Google search on Doctor’s Daughter and Clara to find this blog post.
It’s possible but we see her grow up from a child with her (Clara) family in another episode. I thought maybe it was possible that she was his granddaughter (Susan Foreman) regenerated, but again, we run into the fact that we’ve seen her as a child with her family, presumably from birth. Time Lords can regenerate, but I don’t think they can be “re-born” as it would be in this case. I’d like to have Jenny or Susan in the show again, but I don’t think Clara is either one.
Susan! I read a rumor that Susan would be back for the 50th anniversary, maybe Susan/Clara is the answer.
What episode was the granddaughter in
The first one. (An Unearthly Child)