Ranking Doctor Who’s modern day companions
By Lacy Baugher
Clara Oswald
Clara Oswald is a difficult Doctor Who character to quantify, largely because actress Jenna Coleman had to play three different versions of this character during her time on the show (Oswin Oswald, Clara Oswin, and Clara Oswald, the version that mostly stuck.) Sure, they’re all technically different women – but they also kind of aren’t. Dubbed The Impossible Girl, various versions of Clara appeared throughout the Doctor’s timeline due to a convoluted reason that’s really too much to explain here.
The upshot of it all was that despite the fact that Clara was often appealing, it remained difficult to get a real handle on her as a person, since she largely existed as a puzzle for the Doctor to solve. In addition to the whole multiple versions of herself thing, the series’ writing often did her no favors, occasionally changing basic tenants of her personality from season to season. It was… not great.
As her time in the TARDIS went on, Clara grew more confident and more reckless, making herself into a sort of proto-human version of the Doctor himself. While that is interesting as a narrative throughline – and ultimately leads to her exit from the series – Doctor Who doesn’t dedicate much time to exploring the nuances of Clara’s POV. Thus, her position solidly in the middle of this ranking – even though many of her adventures were disappointing, it’s hard to let go of the potential we all knew was there.
Best Episode: “Face the Raven.” Clara’s time in the TARDIS had plenty of ups and downs, not to mention several instances where we thought she’d die and/or exit and then… didn’t. And though her death in season 9’s “Face the Raven” was ultimately undone afterward, this episode remains a punch to the gut as Clara bravely faces the consequences of her quest to become more like the Doctor. Let us all be this brave.
(Honorary mention: Season 7’s “Asylum of the Daleks” is the only Doctor Who episode to feature Oswin Oswald, a version of Clara who was ultimately turned into a Dalek. While she only appears in one installment, her story is so good – and her character so memorable – that it’s a real shame we didn’t get to spend more time with her.)