The Impossible Girl: Who IS Clara Oswin Oswald?!?

[Christopher]

who.me wrote:

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Has anyone looked up the meaning Clara???

Yes, I did, as I've already mentioned twice in this very thread.

[Alidar Jarok]

who.me wrote:

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Just an idea.......But what if Clara has some connection with the Master???????

What if Clara is actually Q and it's a crossover with Star Trek The Next Generation? Is there any reason you think Clara has a connection with the Master? She certainly could have some connection with the Master in which case the answer is that she's probably part of some evil plan she is unaware of. But I can't think of any reason to believe she has some connection with him.

[Christopher]

More of the same old unimaginative thinking, that she must have some connection to some Time Lord or other even though her particular kind of death and resurrection is clearly very different from what Time Lords do. She's River! She's Romana! She's an inexplicably incestuous Susan! She's the Master's niece! She's the Rani! She's the Meddling Monk! She's Chancellor Goth back for sexy revenge!

Can't anyone come up with a theory that isn't Gallifrey-related? Something actually creative for a change?

[RoJoHen]

If she is connected to anybody, I'd guess she's another chapter in the "Silence" saga, something to do with the forshadowed Fall of the Eleventh on the fields of Trenzilor (sp?).

There is a weird part of me that wants her to be related to the Cracks, some accident that fell through into different times when they rebooted the universe. I doubt that's what will happen, but it was a thought I had. So far the Eleventh Doctor's story has all been somewhat related.

[propita]

From what we've seen of her, did it seem that any of the versions was aware of the others? Or of the Doctor? I realize that there really was no reason for the subject to arise--well, maybe at the grave. Duh. But no other sign of recognition except for Clara's repeating Oswin's words. Or maybe that would be that Oswin's repeats Clara's, since Clara was "first" chronologically. Apparently.

Either she IS aware of her repeating appearance all along, she is UNaware until the moment of death, or she is totally unaware and there's something else going on that allows her to repeat final words without knowledge of that fact.

[Christopher]

^I got the sense that maybe as she was dying, she unconsciously (or consciously?) tapped into something that made her say those words to the Doctor.

But clearly they don't have full knowledge of one another, since Oswin didn't remember Clara meeting the Doctor in Victorian England. The resonances like the fondness for souffles are probably more unconscious.

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ I don't know, a "fondness for souffles" seems like a pretty specific trait.

When 7b comes along, we'll see if Clara remembers the Doctor this time, but I'm sure it will still be a mystery either way.

[Christopher]

Ar-Pharazon wrote:

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^ I don't know, a "fondness for souffles" seems like a pretty specific trait.

I didn't say otherwise. I wasn't denying that there are very exact duplications -- same name, same tastes, same personality, etc. (One could even say that a barmaid/governess and entertainment director are broadly similar lines of work.) I was merely saying that I don't think her selves are aware of one another, that these parallels are not conscious but are some kind of cosmic/temporal resonance causing the Oswalds to lead parallel existences.

I'm sure there's already been a mention in the thread of Scaroth from "City of Death." There is already a precedent in the Who-verse for the same individual having multiple incarnations with the same appearance and personality spread across time. Although Scaroth's various selves were aware of each other and working together to achieve reunification. So far, as I said before, it doesn't seem the Oswalds have a similar joint awareness. But the means of her creation could be similar. I liked the suggestion above about her being some byproduct of the cracks in time, or of Amy rebooting the universe.

Although on second thought, the latter possibility is one I'm not so sure I like. I have this idea that maybe Amy subconsciously created a new perfect companion for the Doctor to take her place in the event she left him. Which would make Clara just an extension of Amy in a way. And I'd rather have her story be her own story, not just the continuation of Amy's story. I liked Amy, but the nature of Doctor Who is that companions move on and new ones take their place. It's the novelty and renewal that keeps the series fresh.

[Alidar Jarok]

propita wrote:

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From what we've seen of her, did it seem that any of the versions was aware of the others? Or of the Doctor? I realize that there really was no reason for the subject to arise--well, maybe at the grave. Duh. But no other sign of recognition except for Clara's repeating Oswin's words. Or maybe that would be that Oswin's repeats Clara's, since Clara was "first" chronologically. Apparently.

Either she IS aware of her repeating appearance all along, she is UNaware until the moment of death, or she is totally unaware and there's something else going on that allows her to repeat final words without knowledge of that fact.

It was left deliberately ambiguous. I got an impression it was a subconscious thing, but it was still an intentional connection.

I don't think we've witnessed her death, though, since that would be too much like River Song.

[Psion]

Has anyone else looked into the significance of her names? Clara means--

Oh, that's right, we've been down that path a few times already.

I suspect Ms. Oswald is deliberately placed. She's there specifically to attract the Doctor's attention for some reason. Either to flush him out or to help him along in solving some greater mystery.

Of course, if the Great Intelligence is part of that mystery, maybe she's actually just a snowman. A mirror of the Doctor's great intellect and personality and doomed to simply "melt" at the end of her character arc.

There simply isn't enough information to go on so far. Clara is cute as a button (whatever that means -- I push buttons all day and I think of few of them as cute), but another hyperactive, super genius could get annoying fast. I'm looking forward to an exploration of the Oswald Mystery, but hope the Doctor's latest companion doesn't where out her welcome before we get to the end.

[who.me]

Well if i'm honest, i think she is just a clever girl that has the ability to die just before her actual death and that the Doc has known her in his past present and future and it was himself that placed clara in certain parts of time to help him. I believe he has done something that he must forget and allowed the memory worm to bite him and at some point clara will reveal all to help the doc at crucial point in the special.

You may find that Clara knows some of the past doc's and if they do get several to appear in the same episode its then that the true identity of clara will be known

[The Mirrorball Man]

Oh, I've just realized that the planet in "Asylum of the Daleks" was covered in snow.

That's all.

[Nick Ryder]

I think she's an actress who was hired to play the same character but different versions of her...

[Sindatur]

Nick Ryder wrote:

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I think she's an actress who was hired to play the same character but different versions of her...

Different versions of Jenna Louise-Coleman were hired to play Clara?

[Wereghost]

^ No, silly. Clara was hired to play different versions of Jenna-Louise Coleman.