clara oswald’s tendency to seize control and flourish when given control is such a significant motif in her stories; almost all the occasions she achieves something, or saves someone or a group of people, she’s either a) in charge of someone – eg. commanding a platoon of soldiers – or b) grasping at whatever agency she can reach in a difficult and limited scenario – eg. erasing the dalek’s path-web, rescuing the doctor from another universe – or c) changing the situation by convincing or manipulating someone into doing something for her – eg. asking the time lords to save the doctor, convincing the doctor to rescue gallifrey, and convincing skaldak to spare earth
and likewise, the occasions when she’s most afraid, and almost breaking down, are when she’s either a) losing someone or a group of people she’s in control of, or supposed to be in control of – eg. losing the children in her care, losing the doctor – or b) unable to grasp any agency in the scenario she’s in – eg. becoming a dalek, getting uploaded to the wi-fi, being trapped in the doctor’s time-stream – and her repetition of the words: “i don’t know where i am” all occur during these moments and this is important considering the moment she remembers being afraid most, was when she was young and got lost on the beach
she considers herself a “bossy, control freak”, and enjoys being called “the boss”, and chooses professions that involve a significant amount of control; yet she’s also kind, and selfless, and the careers she chose, while enabling significant control, are ones where she’s forced to place the needs of others above her own, and likewise; most of the control she possesses is used to protect and care for other people – eg. angie and artie from the death of their mother, the doctor from his enemies – yet we also learn she’s “more scared than she lets on”, and she only admits this fear when things begin to feel “very real” – eg. when it’s not a fantasy anymore, or a situation she can shape and control; it becomes the life that took her mother away, and could potentially harm her, and the doctor, in much the same way.