In Asylum of the Daleks we got to meet Oswin Oswald. Oswin passed the time by baking souffles but it did not end well for her.
Now, in the 2012 Christmas Special, The Snowmen we get to meet Clara Oswin. They look the same. They both like souffles; although why Clara Oswin decided to share that information is a bit of a mystery – though it certainly planted a clue for the audience.
Who will the new Companion be? Clara Oswald. The full name seems to be Clara Oswin Oswald.
We’ve had The Impossible Astronaut already and now it looks like we might have the impossible girl.
So – what’s going on? It’ll likely be the mystery that keeps us going until the 50th anniversary. There are already theories in play; we’ve “Can the Doctor Save Oswin and the Who Paradox?” as well as questions like “Is Oswin Oswald really the Doctor’s Next Companion?”. As an outside shot; is there any connection to the Great Intelligence?
Here’s your chance to earn some Whovian cred. Use the comment section below to share your theory. Who is Clara Oswald the Souffle Girl?
Any chance she may be River Song? Of all the theories I’ve heard, River regaining her regeneration abilities and escaping from the library wouldn’t be the most far fetched? Of course if she had regenerated into the Clara character then that would explain how she survives the fall in The Snowman but could mask her death for the doctor. She just has to hang around for a while till he finds her, she’s always been good at leaving clues, then BAM back on adventures etc. This is all fine up until she finds out what happened at the asylum, wipes… Read more »
Not heard that theory before! It would certainly fit and there is missing time from River Song’s timeline. From a story point of view would that risk yet another “Turns out to be River Song all along!” which we’ve done, maybe twice, now?
I would also trust Stephen Moffatt to pull a highly unexpected rabbit out of the hat. I trust his story-telling skills and don’t think that the answer will be easy to guess in advance and in hindsight we’ll all say “yes, the clues were all there”.
I think you’re right. He has to be planning something for the 50th anniversary.
I say we should just let Stephen Moffat do his thing. We know he’ll come up with something clever. :)
I hope they don’t go for that angle too! I’d rather Clara have her own story and identity rather be a reincarnation of someone else. Maybe a Time Lady (keen sense of time she says) who was scattered throughout time like the Jagaroth (Count Scarlioni/Tancredi) in The City of Death? Maybe? The ironic thing is Stephen Moffat was insipired by an unused Douglas Adams idea about the Doctor retired which did not sit well with the bosses back then and he was the one who wrote City of Death. One thing I do not want to happen is that she… Read more »
I believe Clara is the Tardis incarnate
I guess the personality is similar – we’ve seen the Tardis in humanoid form in the Doctor’s Wife. Wouldn’t she recognise the Doctor though?
Maybe she does, but knew he needed the jumpstart to get back into the game and pretended she didn’t. But I think it’s more like the plot in a book about fairies, where the same girl was born over periods of time, and she didn’t remember any of her previous periods, but still acted similar to them.
Human bodies can’t handle the tardis. It would be too obvious if it were
That’s why I think it’s more of a piece of her. I mean the TARDIS is still functioning normally, so maybe a piece of her bonded with a human that she thought would help the doctor the most, and it’s a sort of split person/bad wolf combination.
There’s a new post up that collects some of these theories into a single thread. You can even vote for your favourite.
Clara is Charlotte Abigail Lux. The physical similarities between her and Charlotte as a child are very close. Remember that River was reading her diary to Charlotte and Donna’s computer generated children at the end of Forest of the Dead. Since Charlotte or CAL was once a human little girl it’s possible for her to return to the real world, just like River sent those 4000 people in the library back by sacrificing herself. Time stands still in the hard drive so she could have feasibly aged 20 or so years before River decided to send her back to help… Read more »
That would certainly follow the “they’ve met three times before, not two” teasers.
Clara is a doppelganger – They never properly explained how they could still function across time and space, so that’s my stab at it (plus explains why there are multiple version of her)
An extension of that theory I’ve seen is that Clara is a ganger and the original is still stuck in Dalek form.
Yes she could be using the Darleks pathweb to then control gangers in timelines that the doctor will meet. but then how do the gangers grow from baby to adult.
Clara is a Timelord or Timelady in her final regeneration, but she does not know she is a Timelord. Like the Valeyard is the final incarnation of the Doctor, Clara is the final incarnation of Romana, but due to a paradox of the Time War, Clara in her final regenerative state has been scattered throughout time. The Tardis is able to hone in on her because she is a Timelord, who has also had every memory of being a Timelord wiped out, hence physiologically her changes appear to be that of a human. When she gets her memory back she… Read more »
That’s a pretty good idea – it would certainly explain why the same person pops back up again and again. From a story point of view I wonder if River Song already the did “sort of Timelord” thing and whether they’d want to do that again… Mind you, they’ve already done “the Universe seems to keep on killing Rory” thing, whether they intended to or not, and they seem to be doing that again.
One word,. And my theory, Clara, is actually….
ROMANA
If I had to guess, Clara is Jenny which might explain why he was so immediately “connected” to her and did things like kiss her on the forehead, not the lips.
She certainly kissed him on the lips! Vastra’s wife is Jenny and she appeared in this episode – but I think you’re talking about the Doctor’s daughter? It’s an interesting idea.
Yes, I meant Jenny, the doctor’s daughter!
I’ve added this theory to the new big list.
It could be the Doctor’s daughter but she was part TimeLord that doesn’t explain how she could be a Dalek??
OK, this may be bad form, but I’m replying to me! Having just rewatched the “Silence in the Library” two episodes, it’s clear that River isn’t exactly dead – she’s been saved on the hard drive. *SOOO* this leaves the options open for a “rescue River” story, but the time she’s been in the library might well have changed her/altered her memory and hence we get to Clara.
I’ve been toying with that too. She’s already been The Impossible Astronaut so surely she could be The Impossible Girl too. The biggest question; would Moffat be happy with that? Is that clever story telling or a cop out?
I’d think that the clever part would revolve around how he gets her out of the library, past the NashtraVarden (or whatever they’re called) and out of the computer. If I were trying to create that story line, I’d put pressure on the computer, so that bits of memory had to go offline, and that affects River’s memories!
River song lost her body when she was uploaded so she would either have to make a clone of her body or be put into a new body like a ganger or a robot etc.
No I don’t think Clara is Jenny. Its weird for a daughter to passionately kiss a “dad.”
i think she is the same girl but from different dimentions, maby he goes back in time and rescues her by telling her not to go near the daleks
She’d have to keep on forgetting… but she does, finally say, “I remember”.
Firstly did anyone notice Clara’s date of birth on the gravestone – 23rd November ? The anniversary date of the first episode. That’s not a coincidence but it may just be a tribute. Who is she – how about the Key to Time ? In the classic series the key was broken into six parts and scattered throughout time and space, the sixth and final part was a humanoid so we know the pieces can assume human form. At the end of the story the Doctor scattered the pieces again. There have been various audio and written stories that continue… Read more »
That’s a great spot! I wonder if they’ll want to tie things back to the early episodes – Susan? Seems unlikely; too much kissing!
I really think she is romana, steven moffit has something awesome planned I feel it in my bones
After the Edinburgh screening of Asylum of the Daleks and in the audience Q&A Moffat seemed really against the idea of bringing back characters from classic Who just for a bit of fan service. He made the point he needed the new audience to be able to follow. If you take that at face value then I think it makes Romana less likely (though she’s a popular suggestion for Clara).
… however, and this is a big point, he can’t be all that against bringing back old characters if he’s really re-introducing The Great Intelligence.
Could be a classic case of misdirection. Although he does lie… a lot!
Yes; he certainly dismissed the idea of bringing back old characters – then wheels in the Great Intelligence.
I would love it to be Romana. But… I have a feeling it’s going to be something rather more mundane (if you know what I mean). It probably won’t be Time Lord related.
Hope its not River, that would be a bit….well, disappointing. I love the Romana idea though. I can see her escaping the ‘destruction’ of Gallifrey (where she is supposed to be President after all) by trying to hide like the Master did by using a Chameleon Arch, but maybe it went wrong. Instead of hiding her TimeLady essence in a fobwatch, an accident may have tranfered her consciousness into the Time Vortex…maybe the Matrix was involved…, where it coalesces into Clara at various points? She is reaching out to the Doctor to help her maybe? Wouldnt it be great to… Read more »
I think the Time Vortex is a very interesting idea. It’s something fans should understand even if it’s the first time they’ve heard of it. It could also be used to explain why Romana or anyone seems to be popping up again and again in time.
I was thinking Captain Jack’s daughter (in a moment of being straight) but he went back to 1869 (had to look that up), so that wouldn’t work. She would have been part “normal” human, so it might have taken her a while to “come back”.
My theory, she a companion created by the doctor mind, just like the dreamlord but much much more powerful. He loses companion after companion, no matter what he does. So his subconsciousness creates one which cant die, as his mind will recreate her in another place and a other time. He does know he creating her just like he did not know he created the dreamlord. She is everything good about the doctor through, like the dreamlord only consist of everything bad about the doctor. Sadly she will have one trait that the doctor does, she doesn’t want to die,… Read more »
I’ve added – kinda/sorta pretty much both of these theories to the latest post.
How about the Master’s daughter?
Clara absolutely cannot be anyone’s child or daughter! That’s one thing we can write off right now. Moffat would never repeat himself in such a way by doing something like that. I think it’s extremely unlikely that she’s a family member of any kind.
HELLO I believe Carla is River song before just after her regeneration from being a little girl . We never saw what she looked like until she regenerate to the river song we know now.So just like doctor who Carla can be just one step after a regeneration then to her next carnation to a teenager melody pond then to River song .River kept changing her name so who not to say she is actually Carla to melody to river Song .Now the doctor is experiencing melody pond as one of her past regeneration Just a thought . Remember the… Read more »
The one before being Mel, amy and rory’s best friend, she was that little girl in NY, the one that hobbo approached
exactly
If I recall correctly, we saw Mel as a little girl, then a teenager, then a young woman in the montage of her getting in trouble and being scolded by Amy…..then saw young woman Mel become River Song…..doesn’t quite fit
I think Clara was created by the Master, her DNA scattered throughout time in the hope that the Doctor would find at least one version of her. She was designed to be the perfect companion for the Doctor, (pretty, flirty, intelligent) so she would become his companion. I think shes a trap to lure the Doctor to the Master, leading into the 50th anniversary specials. (Could be the “Great Intelligence” instead of the Master, who knows)
Still trying to figure out how the Doctors “real name” fits into all of this. River must still have a big part to play.
I think she is the daughter of Captain Jack Harkness
Now, that could be cool. And it kinda makes sense.
Jack was an impossible thing…Clara is an impossible thing. Jack is the Face of Boe. In one episode you can hear over the intercom that the Face of Boe has just announced he is pregnant. But Jenna Coleman said the 50th would show that the Doctor hadn’t only met Clara three times. How did he meet Captain Jack’s daughter before?
The Daleks posess the abilty to time travel. Clara has the intelligence of a genius, after all she figured out the entire workings of the asylum and hacked into it. If she could use the asylum to her own needs (ie: lowering the defenses allowing the Doctor to escape) then couldn’t she have also figured out how to escape herself? At first she wanted the Doctor to bring her with him. When she realized she was a Dalek she suddenly wanted him to leave her behind. Isn’t it plausable that somehow she transported herself off of the asylum just as… Read more »
It will be something along the lines that her own personal part of the space-time universe keeps getting re-created for some special reason each time she dies. Therefore The Doctor can always meet a new version of her – even the one that was created after the Dalek version.
No wait, she’s the next Doctor, and she’ll end up going out with The Master.
Now where did I see that before…?
No wait, she’s the next Doctor, and she will end up going out with The Master.
Now where did I think of that…? I’ll explain later.
The master is able to multiple himself in a few episode, Susan foreman is a possibility, the doctor, the doctor daughter jenny he other daughter and wife briefly mentioned, I had a family once, nyssa daughter. In the asylum she mentioned she was frm a space station nyssa left the doctor to look after it. Romana is possibility. I heard maybe rose daughter from the parallel uni as she has the doctor mind and the parallel uni opened maybe she escape or fall through the cracks in time.
Clara could be a time lord, and might even be Romana… and there’s a couple things to support this which people are missing. It’s mentioned in the Christmas episode that she has told the story of being “born behind the clock face of Big Ben,” which she says “accounts for her impeccable sense of time.” It seems likely that this has significance, and may suggest the following scenario (although it could also be another Moffat red herring): Perhaps the clock face of Big Ben is Clara’s version of the “watch fob,” the chameleon arch device that time lords can use… Read more »
I think complications around the chameleon arch is a strong theory. I also think you’re dead right to pick up on the stories Clara was telling as clues. Good post!
that’s pretty much a cut and paste of one of the romana blogs I’ve seen so no points for you but I do agree, I think clara is Romana in a chameleon arch. There are many reasons for this more than what you have mentioned. Firstly romana regenerated at the end of the ‘key to time’ into a character who was one of the pieces of the key, all other bits randomly went out and were dispersed except Princess astra who reverted to her original form, when romana did this, which apparently indicated that if a time lord is not… Read more »
She could be Timelord but that would mean she would have to regenerate at some time gaining a different form which she has not done (she could just be super clever) but how does that explain her being a Dalek? So what is she? Well we might actually have to wait until the 50th anniversary. Oh well Allon’sy
clara is river stuck in the computer when she died
What if soufflé girl is actually the doctor’s next generation? Like the watcher for Tom Baker/Peter Davison?
but they kissed and if two regenerations of the doctor touched then it would cause a paradox
I think that Clara could be a reminent of amy’s crack, like a human form of the crack between all space and time,. her name is actually an anagram Clara oswin oswald = window across all. I also think her last line ” I don’t believe in ghosts” could be incredibly important. Maybe she’s all of his companions in one. thats why she keeps coming back because there are so many different versions of her the universe cant work out how to erase her.
How about the TARDIS? Think about it. She randomly kisses the doctor, which is something that the TARDIS (sexy) would have done. Also, her name is an anagram for window across all. The TARDIS is a window across all of time and space. We already know that the TARDIS can become in human form. The fact that she is a TARDIS could explain why she is in multiple points in time. Clara has the characteristics of a perfect companion, and it has been said in the episode with the house hat the tardis was the only one perfect for the… Read more »
How about the TARDIS? Think about it. She randomly kisses the doctor, which is something that the TARDIS (sexy) would have done. Also, her name is an anagram for window across all. The TARDIS is a window across all of time and space. We already know that the TARDIS can become in human form. The fact that she is a TARDIS could explain why she is in multiple points in time. Clara has the characteristics of a perfect companion, and it has been said in the episode with the house hat the tardis was the only one perfect for the… Read more »
but if Clara was the TARDIS then it wouldnt be working and it might also cause a paradox to have her travel in the TARDIS
What if Clara is not “Sexy”, our beloved Drs type 40 tardis but indeed another Tardis of some kind?
Ok i see all these brilliant theories below of Romana and River i don’t have a full Theory per-say however i believe that the clue to her reveal and who she is lies the phrase: Run you Clever Boy…”AND REMEMBER” even on Clara’s gravestone it read “Remember me for we shall meet again” how is it possible for her to have chosen this inscription if she is dead. maybe Moffat is telling us to Remember. we need to think is there a past companion who needed to remember ??? you know who i mean
I think that she is Romana. I mean, think about it… Romana was left on E-Space, so perhaps she was still there during the Time War, meaning she survived? I mean, Romana [Perhaps by the Master] was scattered across the universe during her regeneration process, meaning that she keeps popping up in a bunch of different times!
All I have to say is that souffle for a desert can be served sweeten
And its french for “to blow up” could she be the end to the doctor? A sweet end for matt smith?
I’m no expert, merely expressing opinion having read all your theories! 1) I hope she’s not River. That’s just boring. 2) If she kissed the Doctor, I doubt she’s his daughter – bit risqué for the BBC. 3) I hope its not this Romans character. That would totally alienate us new viewers! 4) I quite like the daughter of Beau theory. I read one theory suggesting she’s one of those things sent to punish war criminals. I like that theory. Personally I think she is some sort of trap. She’d be good at that, acting wise! The Doctor is trusting… Read more »
Remember the wedding of river song? time freeze because River choice to don’t let the moment of doctor death happens. Rive when on top of the pyramid says “that the whole universe want to help him” could be that all those billion of billion who take care of the Doctor (because he saved so many life) could be that this all them thinking all together they could create the caretaker of the Doctor. That could be very important connect one of the most important moment of Doctor and River in relation with the Universe itself.
Could definitely be Romana, Check the youtube link, it would completely make sense with the whole her being a Darlek in the 1st episode.
http://youtu.be/u4odAs01OF0
personally i’d want her to be rose and ten’s child. david and billie are confirmed to make a come back, we know both are human (as is oswin/clara as far as we know) and both trapped in a alternate universe (could explain why she appears in different times). the human doctor still retained his intelligence so its possible that he could have discovered away to do this. however 10 did say it would rip the universe apart, COULD THIS INVOLVE IN THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL???????!!!!!!!??????????
I highly doubt that clara would be romana because so many viewers have not seen the old series
I believe that the great intelligence is using her to spin a web throughout time and space so that he can gain enough power to gain a body that can contain him and his powers throughout the universe.
for what i have seen Clara could be Human/TimeLord or TimeLord/Romana or Romana/Human or it is possible that She might actually be The Tardis or atleast part of the tardis it’s a Fact that The First 2 Clara’s that died and the Latest Clara are the same person because they look the same and they have the same name and all 3 Clara’s Said “Run you clever boy and for we meet again” or something like that now comes the spoilers we might learn bit more about Clara in 50th aniversary because she is doctors companion in series 8 that… Read more »
for what i have seen Clara could be Human/TimeLord or TimeLord/Romana or Romana/Human or it is possible that She might actually be The Tardis or atleast part of the tardis it’s a Fact that The First 2 Clara’s that died and the Latest Clara are the same person because they look the same and they have the same name and all 3 Clara’s Said “Run you clever boy and for we meet again” or something like that now comes the spoilers we might learn bit more about Clara in 50th aniversary because she is doctors companion in series 8 that… Read more »
Actually, i get the anagram
Alias snow cold war.
Which given the snow emblem of the great intelligence, and the fact one episode was called cold war, i think might be a more apt one.
Tigger.
i honestly don’t think any of these theories fit, other than perhaps the idea she is the representative of the universe. there is obviously a romantic relationship developing and with a post-library river song rumored to return for the season 7 finale, i doubt she and clara are one and the same. that being said, i think that it was river who gave clara the doctor’s number – who else would be cheeky enough? as for her being romana, another poster stated that she would not be a character that people who have started watching the show in 2005 or… Read more »
Yeah, the post is showing it’s age now.