Clara and Twelve: The Perfect Pairing
Guest contributor Anna Rinaldi on why the pairing of the impossible girl and the eyebrows works so well.
With every forthcoming series, Whovians are destined to have their hearts wrenched and their emotions left in a blubbering state of disarray. A Doctor regenerates, or a companion is swept along the turbulent passage of time. Then, in the blink of an eye (don’t blink if you can help it), a frighteningly unfamiliar pair of fresh personalities takes the helm.
Although the Doctor and his intrepid companion are confronted with cosmic clusters of pandemonium, intergalactic squabbles, and hostile species indigenous to faraway planets, their toils are nothing compared to those of an emotionally-vulnerable Whovian. Keeping an open mind must be an inherent trait if we are to survive the psychological trauma of our cherished characters being snatched away without the slightest hint of an apology.
And yet, I’m guilty of having my favorites, of refuting the possibility that any other actors exist, capable of filling that pocket universe-sized void in my heart. And perhaps no one ever will.
Clara Oswald and the Twelfth Doctor are one such case. A swashbuckling, feisty duo of reproachful glares, autonomous eyebrows, and endless banter, their healthily dysfunctional relationship is an endearing staple of Doctor Who that I will sincerely miss when they are gone.
In their daring flight among the stars, Clara and Twelve have certainly experienced an equally flighty state of rapport. They’re not a perfect match, but a relationship without a few kinks to unravel or disagreements to resolve is not really a solid, developed relationship at all. Like an ornery, old married couple, the two acclaimed time travelers clash in fiery disputes, bickering over the most hilariously petty of subjects. Whether it is Clara’s egomania, the Doctor’s gray-streaked hair, or the hugging, they manage to both entertain and infuriate.
Secretly, I indulge myself by thinking that they must have great fun jabbing at each other and keeping score of their smug victories. However, without Danny Pink to pose as the ever-humble referee in these aggressive matches, it looks like Series 9 will be thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire (or, more appropriately, out of the T-Rex and into the Dalek).
Yet for every five arguments, there’s at least one reluctant hug, and these rare demonstrations of sentimentality become all the more charming because of it. The Doctor can thank Clara for coaxing that concealed bit of humanity (yes, it exists) from beneath his furrowed, bushy eyebrows. Even after Miss Oswald’s dashing, young gentlemen friend is replaced with a Scotsman who gabbers on about the deplorable color of his kidneys, leaves her to fend for herself against a squadron of malicious clockwork droids, and forces her to make a grave decision between the Earth and an infant incubated in the moon, Clara forgives her deranged, doddering space-dad, wrestling him into an affectionate embrace. The Doctor may studiously try to evade her clinging arms, but one can’t help but notice his mouth involuntarily quirk up a tad.
As an added bonus, romance no longer has to interfere with this sturdy, good-natured friendship. Ideally, the Doctor and his companion should be a chummy twosome, gallivanting across galaxies without the melodramatic baggage of unrequited love. And that’s exactly what Clara and Twelve intend to do — tour the universe as a couple of (clever) idiots in a box.
By eliminating the mawkish complications of a Doctor/companion love affair, the two don’t glorify and idolize each other as much. Series 8 has proven that Clara is an excellent Doctor, and she would be entirely capable on her own. Dawdling like a lost puppy, the Doctor depends on her during multiple adventures, to either slap his mind into focus (quite literally) or rescue him from tight places (such as a miniaturized TARDIS). Granted, he never effusively thanks her, but a good tip of the eyebrow is sufficient enough.
What really flooded my emotional receptors with a fondness for these partners in crime is one simple scene from Last Christmas, and you may have guessed it already. After a 62-year absence, the Doctor is greeted by a crinkly, dimpled, graying, alacritous Clara. Although the merciless ravaging of time may have altered her appearance, Clara Oswin Oswald will never look any different in the Doctor’s eyes. She’ll always be his impossibly stubborn and plucky impossible girl. She’ll always be his best friend.
The impossible girl and the impossible eyebrows have definitely left an impression on the Whovian populous, but don’t think that you’ve quite seen the last of these two just yet… What are your hopes for Series 9? Have Clara and Twelve won your heart(s)?
