![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
DW S7.11. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.
Please DO NOT post spoilers for anything taking place after this episode, especially not the finale! No vague hints, NOTHING. *looks stern*
Right, my thoughts, scattered though they are... (It's been a long week, and I've not had time to write anything proper. I have lots more thoughts, but this is all for now.)
Fairy Tale Mirrors
Once upon a time there were three brothers.
Just how fairy tale is that?
But the youngest (the cleverest, the one who was destined to inherit), was not what he seemed. He did not even know that he was family as his body was a lie. (He was damaged in an accident, and they repaired him, but he lost his memories.) And his name was 'Tricky'.
As I said to Promethia: The only way they could have made him more of a Clara mirror is if they'd put him in a little red dress.
Something of the Wolf about her...
There is a lovely duality to all our Claras. She is both victim and monster:
- In the Asylum she was both ‘the plucky surviour’ and a Dalek.
- In The Snowmen, she was dragged to her death by a frozen mirror. (Not to mention that she was living an actual double life.)
- And here, Clara was both Little Red Hiding Hood (with the TARDIS as the forest), and the wolf/monster.
So, she is a normal girl, with something hidden. She is not who she thinks she is, and she is dangerous. And it has something to do with the TARDIS...
(Rose + TARDIS = Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf destroyed all the Daleks. Just like Oswin. Just like the Doctor.
From Journey's End (my italics). Supreme Dalek: "The TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed.")
Through the Looking Glass
We are used to looking out of the TARDIS doors. To see it as a gateway to 'all of time and space'. When we look *in* we tend to go 'bigger on the inside'. But Victorian Clara and Rory were right.
She is smaller on the outside: The TARDIS is another dimension.
The door just happens to be shaped like a box, but no one would expect a room to the size of the door, would they?
But back to my point. Anyone who steps through the door is, quite literally, in a different world. Going out brings them back to their own world, just in a different place and time. But inside the TARDIS they're in Wonderland. There are still rules, but they follow their own logic, and a real-world mindset won't get you far (as we saw).
The Doctor, of course, is comfortable in his own (green)world, and lives by its rules (and not by the ones of the 'real world'). But, just like in the real world, the rules are there for a reason. And the interesting thing is, that Clara seems very comfortable with Wonderland, knowing instinctively how it works:
Clara: "Good guys do not have zombie creatures--rule one, basic storytelling!"
The Doctor's world works by story logic. Except there is a different set of rules in operation...
Rule One: The Doctor Lies
Because the Doctor is not a straightforward 'good guy'. His role is that of Trickster, something beautifully evident in the way he turns the tables on the Van Baalen brothers.
And in this episode we see something we've not really seen before (in New Who at least) - the Companion properly, genuinely, terrified of the Doctor himself. And questioning the very foundations he's built his life on:
Clara: "What's the use of secrets anymore?"
Doctor: "Secrets protect us! Secrets make us safe!"
Clara: "We're not safe."
There is a fascinating dynamic between them, as well as the fact that Clara's story seems to go the opposite way to the normal Companion's... He asks them to trust him, and as time goes on, he wins that trust to the extent that people will do extraordinary things for him. But Clara... Unless the show is lying to us, Clara will ask "Doctor Who?" and not be satisfied until she has an answer. (Of course the mirror question is 'Clara Who?'...)
Right, my thoughts, scattered though they are... (It's been a long week, and I've not had time to write anything proper. I have lots more thoughts, but this is all for now.)
Once upon a time there were three brothers.
Just how fairy tale is that?
But the youngest (the cleverest, the one who was destined to inherit), was not what he seemed. He did not even know that he was family as his body was a lie. (He was damaged in an accident, and they repaired him, but he lost his memories.) And his name was 'Tricky'.
As I said to Promethia: The only way they could have made him more of a Clara mirror is if they'd put him in a little red dress.
Something of the Wolf about her...
There is a lovely duality to all our Claras. She is both victim and monster:
- In the Asylum she was both ‘the plucky surviour’ and a Dalek.
- In The Snowmen, she was dragged to her death by a frozen mirror. (Not to mention that she was living an actual double life.)
- And here, Clara was both Little Red Hiding Hood (with the TARDIS as the forest), and the wolf/monster.
So, she is a normal girl, with something hidden. She is not who she thinks she is, and she is dangerous. And it has something to do with the TARDIS...
(Rose + TARDIS = Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf destroyed all the Daleks. Just like Oswin. Just like the Doctor.
From Journey's End (my italics). Supreme Dalek: "The TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed.")
Through the Looking Glass
We are used to looking out of the TARDIS doors. To see it as a gateway to 'all of time and space'. When we look *in* we tend to go 'bigger on the inside'. But Victorian Clara and Rory were right.
She is smaller on the outside: The TARDIS is another dimension.
The door just happens to be shaped like a box, but no one would expect a room to the size of the door, would they?
But back to my point. Anyone who steps through the door is, quite literally, in a different world. Going out brings them back to their own world, just in a different place and time. But inside the TARDIS they're in Wonderland. There are still rules, but they follow their own logic, and a real-world mindset won't get you far (as we saw).
The Doctor, of course, is comfortable in his own (green)world, and lives by its rules (and not by the ones of the 'real world'). But, just like in the real world, the rules are there for a reason. And the interesting thing is, that Clara seems very comfortable with Wonderland, knowing instinctively how it works:
Clara: "Good guys do not have zombie creatures--rule one, basic storytelling!"
The Doctor's world works by story logic. Except there is a different set of rules in operation...
Rule One: The Doctor Lies
Because the Doctor is not a straightforward 'good guy'. His role is that of Trickster, something beautifully evident in the way he turns the tables on the Van Baalen brothers.
And in this episode we see something we've not really seen before (in New Who at least) - the Companion properly, genuinely, terrified of the Doctor himself. And questioning the very foundations he's built his life on:
Clara: "What's the use of secrets anymore?"
Doctor: "Secrets protect us! Secrets make us safe!"
Clara: "We're not safe."
There is a fascinating dynamic between them, as well as the fact that Clara's story seems to go the opposite way to the normal Companion's... He asks them to trust him, and as time goes on, he wins that trust to the extent that people will do extraordinary things for him. But Clara... Unless the show is lying to us, Clara will ask "Doctor Who?" and not be satisfied until she has an answer. (Of course the mirror question is 'Clara Who?'...)
no subject
Aw, thank you. There so much more there, but I just haven't had the time to write it all up...
That's interesting. It's about identity again.
It's about not knowing who you are and even his body is a lie... If Clara isn't related to the Doctor I'll have to eat my hat!
There's also this idea, with all those big reveals that we are promised, that the Doctor isn't actually the Doctor, but he doesn't know it yet.
Sorry, you've lost me. ETA: The Doctor knows perfectly well who he is (including his name and all it entails), it's Clara who is the mystery & unaware of her true nature.
no subject
Sorry, I meant there's a theory, that the Doctor is not the Doctor, though he probably believes that he is. He's been somebody else for a while, an impostor of sorts. And the real Doctor is dead or imprisoned. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but it is still interesting, imho.
I hope it's less confusing now :)
Of course, Clara is the mystery, though I think it's more about her future, than about her past. Your speculation about her is absolutely consistent; I just have a feeling that what makes her special hasn't happened yet.
no subject
I wasn't aware of this theory, but I can see where it comes from. And it does tie in with various things - especially Omega, who stole the Fifth Doctor's body, so the body snatching isn't something out of the blue. Although I don't think the Doctor isn't himself. (No hints at all of this in 'the text' of the show, sorry - or the subtext or the imagery or... anything - this is why I was confused.) My alternative theory (if we disregard the Omega theory) is that it's a future!Doctor (maybe Valeyard) who is manipulating the current Doctor & Clara.
Of course, Clara is the mystery, though I think it's more about her future, than about her past. Your speculation about her is absolutely consistent; I just have a feeling that what makes her special hasn't happened yet.
*nods* And Tricky was the youngest brother - this Clara definitely feels younger and less confident than her counterparts.
no subject
no subject
A Duck by any other name...
no subject
no subject
Incidentally, this is by far the most original idea about Clara's origins that I've come across. :)
no subject
no subject
More than that though, this post has forever made me transfer the Duck name onto Ten/Rose shippers. It is a thing of BEAUTY! :)
no subject
Also funny that the girl who wrote it had no idea that the term Duck came from Ducks, the person.
no subject
:) (I love the fact that my flist is so sane. And heck, I've written B/A myself, so I can see the appeal!)
Also funny that the girl who wrote it had no idea that the term Duck came from Ducks, the person.
Funny how these things happen. Mind you, she's long since got over her Ten/Rose duckiness, and is one of the editors of the Chicks Dig Time Lords books. :)
ETA: Sorry, wrong icon. Meant to use this one.
no subject
I CAN NOT do Spuffy post-Seeing Red, but I can do some B/A/S, and really, the ultimate ship of my heart is Angel/Spike in any case. Also, distance and time make for increased sanity all across the board, I think. It's not like I haven't had batshit crazy moments. We wanked like nobody's business back in the Joss day. I... do not miss that part. AT ALL.
Cool on her for being an editor! I don't have the kinds of deep feelings for Who that I have for Joss characters. It's my happy, shiny fun place. (See: not missing the wank.)
no subject
I... do not miss that part. AT ALL.
I hear ya. *hides in friendly little corner*
It's my happy, shiny fun place. (See: not missing the wank.)
See above, re. hiding. Who fandom is CRAZY. The arguments go back 50 years. /o\ I just write my fic & meta and ignore the wank.
no subject
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
And the best thing about writing that fic was
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
(I don't believe this for a minute, but I'm curious as to how someone would arrive at this conclusion.)
no subject
It all started with teasers and hints about the Doctor's greatest secret and changing the show forever.
I don't believe it either, but imho it's quite fresh and has good dramatic potential.
no subject
All wrong. Alllllll wrong. Clever, but wrong. :) ETA: Like the people who think Clara is the Master. I admire their imagination, but...