Doctor Who: Flux got off to a wild start and, while fans learned some things about the titular Flux, there were so many questions left unanswered, thanks to terrifying new enemies and characters that only added to the mystery. The Doctor got some meaningful facetime with the villain Swarm, as well as the dog-like Lupari character Karvanista. However, there was one interesting character we didn’t see her talk with much at all. I'm referring to Claire, who has some fans speculating that she’s a character with meaningful ties to a past companion and maybe even a former Doctor.
Claire only had a small amount of screen time in the season premiere but, given what little we learned, one has to think we’ll see her more. This is especially true when you consider she has given off so many vibes that indicate she knows Clara Oswald and possibly even Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi’s incarnation of The Doctor. So let’s run down all the clues below and consider the exciting potential twists and turns that could happen down the road:
Claire Used A Version Of A Line Both Clara And The Doctor Used
When Claire channeled River Song with a time-traveler “you don’t know me yet, but I know you” speech, fans immediately assumed that something was odd about her. But it was her use of a key Doctor Who line that really set off the alarm bells. When The Doctor asked her what she was doing in “The Halloween Apocalypse,” she responded with “taking the long way home." She spoke this line with a confused tone, which seemed to indicate that even she was unsure why she said it.
The situation was awfully similar to the time that Clara told Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor she was “taking the long way around” when she used the TARDIS in Season 9. This phrase was also used by both Capaldi's incarnation and Matt Smith's. Could Claire have picked up this phrase from one of the three?
If Claire did get her spin on that line from Clara Oswald or The Doctor, then one would have to wonder what the nature of her relationship is with them. Did she cross paths with any of them at some point and, if so, why isn't Jodie Whittaker's Doctor aware? Is this tied to the Flux? Is Claire working with Capaldi or Smith's past iterations? We could talk out hypotheticals all day, but let’s press on and talk out all the different scenarios.
Claire Knows A Decent Amount About The Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are some of the franchise's greatest adversaries. While it’s not at all uncommon for people to aide the titular hero in battles against the horrific statues, it isn’t too common for someone who hasn’t met The Doctor to know of their existence and how to handle them. Claire showed in a short amount of time that she knew all the do’s and dont’s of a Weeping Angels encounter and, while she came close to almost certain doom, she escaped with her life intact.
Now, Claire did imply she’s met The Doctor before, so it’s totally possible that the series will show her get a crash course on the ins and out of surviving all baddies. Clara Oswald also had a solid history with the Weeping Angels, though. So if she happened to meet Claire (or there’s an even stranger scenario we’ll get into soon) she could’ve told her all about the dangerous villains.
If Claire was some time agent for Oswald, this could be a way to bring Jenna Coleman’s character back into the series. Of course, there is another potential scenario that, if possible, could completely explain everything about the franchise newcomer and serve as a massive callback to a big Clara storyline.
Claire Looks Like Clara Oswald
The weirdest thing about Claire is that the new Doctor Who actress who plays her bears a striking resemblance to Jenna Coleman. Then there’s the whole fact that their names sound similar, which adds another bit of weirdness to all these odd connections. It’s led to ideas that this new face is actually is Clara Oswald, and it’s rooted in the past storyline in which Clara “splintered” when entering The Doctor’s timeline. According to River Song, this created “millions” of splinters of Oswald in The Doctor’s personal timeline, and she was able to save her ally several times over.
There are a couple of key things that are important to note when entertaining the theory that the Flux's character is, in fact, a splinter of Clara. The first is that Clara noted that The Doctor rarely recognized her or noticed her help in these situations, which would explain The Doctor having no clue who Claire is. The second is that a comic Doctor Who comic “Blood and Ice” revealed many of these splinters went on to live their own lives. If that’s true, then these lives would be lived within the lead character's personal timeline.
The gist here is that Claire could actually be a splinter of Clara Oswald who is helping The Doctor fight the Flux. If this is true, then it opens up the possibility of potentially involving Jenna Coleman in a future episode or even former leads like Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. It honestly sounds quite crazy. But to be fair, a lot about this new season is pretty off the wall, so it wouldn't exactly be a stretch.
Why Doctor Who Bringing Clara Back Via Claire Could Make Sense
Usually, when it comes to theories on any show, one has to deeply consider the show’s existing canon and lore. In the case of Doctor Who, though, this rule is a bit shakier. While the franchise does try its best to keep plot threads and characters consistent, it's not beholden to canon. This means that if it makes enough sense to showrunner Chris Chibnall that Claire is a version of Clara Oswald, that’s something that can totally happen.
At the same time, this makes anything with Doctor Who that much more difficult to predict. Sure, it makes sense that Claire is connected to Clara, but that’s only because fans picked a few similarities. At the end of the day, she’s only just been introduced in Season 13 and has only received a little bit of screen time so far. So it’s best to be delicate in assuming too much about her character just yet.
There are a lot of questions surrounding Doctor Who: Flux's Claire so far, but the mystery could very well unravel as new episodes air over on BBC America Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Personally, I’m rooting for a Clara Oswald reveal of some kind and, while I’m not counting on an appearance from a past Doctor, I would certainly welcome such a development.
