DW 8.07. Kill the Moon/Clara Who?

[elisi]

[This started out as a long rant at fandom, but I cut it down to the bare bones. Feel free to skip.] Note: If you want a story where all the babiez are brutally KILLED and everything is about the Doctor’s man!pain, go watch The Runaway Bride. Imma gonna watch the episode with all the awesome wimmins in charge. (No disrespect to RTD or Donna. Love them both.)With that out of the way - welcome to the meta cafe! :) This is long and rambly, you have

Comments

[elisi]

And Danny's name is even more important as it's the name he chose (choices being very important in Who as a whole and this series in particular).
Also important is that Clara chose Oswin - she chose to be god's friend...

Oswald comes from the Old English 'os' meaning 'god' and 'weald' meaning 'rule', i.e. Clara is a 'divine ruler' (or 'bossy control freak' as she puts it)
I looked all this up ages ago, and then hit myself over the head, because if I'd bothered to think about it I'd have known it... I grew up in the Faroe Islands/Denmark, where the old gods are called 'asar', 'vald' is Faroese for power/rule and friend is 'vin(ur)'. :)

She doesn't like her surname, she doesn't like being a 'bossy control freak', but Danny says he does. He has no problem with her being a divine ruler, he just wants her to be fair and judge correctly.
That is a delightful insight. Thank you!

I totally understood Clara lashing out at the Doctor the way she did. She was there for him through all his difficult decisions but when she had to make one (a decision he FORCED her to make, not one she voluntarily took), he said it wasn't his problem and left! "You're a big girl now." Yes, but that doesn't mean she's stopped needing your help. You're right, he treated her like River and she's not River.
And - as I have just added - River didn't *always* cope. And because she was River, the whole universe nearly collapsed...

[sea_thoughts]

No, River didn't always cope, but she took great care to hide the damage from the Doctor and didn't let him see how much she hurt a lot of the time. Clara doesn't do that, she's wide open and isn't afraid to let him know she's scared or hurt: unlike River, she grew up with two loving parents and a promise that someone would always find her if she got lost. If anyone has things in common with River, it's Danny: growing up in care, afraid of something under the bed, an ex-soldier who carries the scars of his past, who was pushed too far and said "enough".

Btw, regarding Clara and "eyes", she wears a blouse covered in eyes in Into The Dalek. :)

[elisi]

No, River didn't always cope, but she took great care to hide the damage from the Doctor and didn't let him see how much she hurt a lot of the time. Clara doesn't do that, she's wide open and isn't afraid to let him know she's scared or hurt: unlike River, she grew up with two loving parents and a promise that someone would always find her if she got lost.
::nods a lot:: I've been thinking about this - how the Ponds were damaged (Amy and River both) and thus had great difficulty communicating their emotions.

If anyone has things in common with River, it's Danny: growing up in care, afraid of something under the bed, an ex-soldier who carries the scars of his past, who was pushed too far and said "enough".
Yes, very true. But even he is miles better at explaining himself. He sets boundaries, to protect both Clara and himself.

Btw, regarding Clara and "eyes", she wears a blouse covered in eyes in Into The Dalek. :)
Oh god yes, I remember. We were freaking out over it in this thread. The show was sorta hitting us over the head... And then the Dalek had little floating eyes flying around inside, and basically the thing is a little like being hit with a brick. ;)

[sea_thoughts]

Oh yes, Danny is definitely better at explaining himself but I suspect he's had to work hard to be able to use the right words. And he should get more credit for that because it's so rare to see a male character being emotionally mature, speaking about his emotions and setting the correct boundaries. Do people understand just how rare and amazing Danny Pink is in that regard? Of course he still has bad days, still has trouble with his memories, but he is making progress.

[elisi]

Do people understand just how rare and amazing Danny Pink is in that regard?
Probably not, but as you say, it is so refreshing! Rory was the same (very different obviously, but emotionally mature).

[promethia_tenk]

If anyone has things in common with River, it's Danny: growing up in care, afraid of something under the bed, an ex-soldier who carries the scars of his past, who was pushed too far and said "enough".
Ooo, well put. I'd been pondering over why they had Danny grow up in an orphanage, but didn't really follow the thought out to it's logical conclusion.