Except don’t you see? Clara’s entire arch was about how she wasn’t a special snowflake. The Doctor’s fascination with her as a mystery was shown to be unfounded. In the end she was just an ordinary girl. Clara Oswald was just an ordinary human girl who made the extraordinary decision to save her best friend.
And what’s so bad about being special? Need I remind you that Clara’s not the only one with a title. Rose was “Bad wolf” and “Defender of the Earth.” Martha was “The Girl that walked the Earth” Donna was “The most important woman in creation” and Amy was “the girl who waited.”
And what do you mean no personality? Clara’s sassy and brave, yet hesitant and a little afraid of the new things the Doctor shows her. She’s a control freak and is quick to give the Doctor a piece of her mind. She is nurturing and great with kids. She has absolute faith in the Doctor, and seems to have abandoment issues. She looks up to her mom a great deal and is very accepting and responsible. She’s very talkative clumsy and seems confident in her body and content with her life for the most part.
As for her backstory, were we watching the same show? She was born in Lancashire, England in 1989 to Ellie and Dave. When she was little, she was constantly losing things and once she got lost at the beach, but her mother found her and told her that she would “always find her, wherever she was.” Her mother died when she was 16 and she was left devastated. Clara planned to travel the world in her mother’s memory, but then tragedy stuck when a family friend died and she selflessly gave up her dream to be a nanny for the kids. She doesn’t believe in destiny and her biggest fear as a child was getting lost. She went to University and studied literature. I could write a book just about her backstory.
You also have to remember that Clara is not her echoes.
Clara: But the echoes could save the Doctor, right?
River: But they won’t be you. The real you will die. They’ll just be copies.
The echoes are obsessed with the Doctor because that’s what they were designed to be. They were designed to save the Doctor, so what use would they be if they just let him walk by and into danger?
I applaud Moffat when it comes to Clara. This is one of the first (if you include Donna) full time companions to take time to debate whether travelling with the Doctor is a good idea; she is hesitant to abandon her responsibilities and run off with a strange man. And even after, she only travels with him on Wednesdays. SHE IS INDEPENDENT OF HIM. He didn’t change her because she is confident that she doesn’t need to change for anybody. (read this x, especially #4)
Clara is just an ordinary girl and I lover her character arch. She’s got a life outside of the Doctor (she’s an English teacher!) but she’s loyal to him because he’s her best friend. I can’t wait to see how she interacts with Twelve. I could go on and on about how Clara has not had her potential “ruined.” She’s a strong, capable woman. She’s an incredibly detailed and three-dimensional companion and I just don’t understand why Clara and Moffat get so much hate.
And don’t even get me started on River Song, because it would be even longer than this.
TL;DR: Clara is an incredibly detailed and three-dimensional companion and I just don’t understand why Clara and Moffat get so much hate.
