Howling:A collection of theories and questions regarding AotD and Oswin

[This is quite, quite long. While I feel reasonably sure I'm not violating any of the established rules by posting what felt like writing a book, I do still apologize if anyone has some kind of issue with it.]

There are threads here already that contain similar topics, but I feel it better to start from scratch with this one. Largely because some of the ideas I'm about to bring up are actually pretty outlandish, and may be disproven or reasonably argued against rather quickly after I do. It also gives me a chance to address these topics collectively rather than across several threads at once. I've been interested lately (since the Ponds removing themselves from the equation) on where the Oswin story arc is going, and after doing a large amount of reading I've found a few theories I feel to be noteworthy, and have been inspired to think of new ones of my own. Keep in mind, I'm not necessarily presenting these as entirely likely or even good plot lines, only that I believe them to be possible. I also have theories and even questions from The Asylum of the Daleks in general. (Normally I wouldn't put questions in this area, but since the answers are being used to further certain theories and speculations I feel that this is the most appropriate place for them.) Some of these may have been previously addressed here, organizing them into one post makes for far less jumping between. I do not, however, mean for this to take the place or precedence over previous similar threads. Again, do feel free to completely rip these apart if you have facts or reasons that absolutely disprove them. I don't pretend to be an expert here, and may be misinformed about certain things, or even have managed to forget or skip over some things I wouldn't have normally. Otherwise, I only ask that you try to keep an open mind for a few of these because even I laughed at a lot of them until I actually tried to rationalize them, and found some measure of possibility to them.

1. Has it been well noted that the Doctor doesn't have his "nanocloud protection bracelet" on for almost the entire episode? I know it's clear that he gives it to Rory for him to give to Amy (and in turn "fixing" their marriage), but he is seen quite clearly without it long before Amy loses hers. In fact, when he very first wakes up in the snow, he is already not wearing it. Even after finding Amy, it doesn't reappear until after they climb down the ladder into the pod full of skeletons. I would normally just chalk it up to production errors- but really? Seems kind of big of point in the episode to have just "forgotten". I also don't for a second believe that it's up his sleeve, since there's no visible bulk underneath his shirt or jacket, coupled with the fact that it has a bright conspicuous blue light that would have either shown through or been otherwise visible in some manner. I present this as a question because I can't find any reasonable plot excuse for him to have somehow gone from not wearing it to wearing it between those scenes (nor an excuse for him landing without it) because there really doesn't seem to have been any time for anything suspicious to have happened. Now, shortly after the skeleton scene, he never has it on for the rest of the episode, but that still falls under the reasoning of him taking it off to give to Rory, since Amy loses hers right before this. Though admittedly I do find it a bit strange that she didn't notice it missing from his arm, and that he took it off so soon. His lack of the bracelet leads me to my next point.

2. It's never actually stated that Time Lords are immune to this nanocloud. The only mention is Amy speculating that he "probably" thinks he doesn't need the bracelet, but even then the Doctor isn't in the room to confirm or deny it. This seems like it does have the possibility to be a plot point. Perhaps he actually does start to make the change. Even if it turns out that he's immune to the physical effects, he's a very emotional creature and it could be affecting his mind. It would be a usable excuse for the Doctor's sudden spike in anger in the following episodes, even admitting to not being sure if he wouldn't shoot someone in Mercy- something his last regeneration said he absolutely would not do, even after seeing his daughter (more of a female clone than actual daughter, since her DNA comes completely from him) shot and killed- not knowing she actually lived. Remember, "subtract love, add anger". If that's the case, it would seem plausible that he is being affected by the nanocloud, only much more slowly. One could argue that it's because there would be a lot of "love" to subtract from the Doctor. He may already have a dark side, but his massive guilt over countless past events is (I believe) a form of love. If he didn't care so much, it wouldn't hurt so much.

3. That brings up another interesting point. The Dalek-puppets are connected to the Pathweb. Assuming he is infected by the cloud, what if it's possible that Oswin deleting the Doctor from the database starts causing him to to, in a sense, forget himself? At the very least his own identity. Since the Trenzalore prophecy makes no mention of who asks the question or answers it, and we still don't know very much about the Silence organization (or their true motives) to begin with- what if a situation comes about when rather than being asked who he is, he is told he is the Doctor by one of the few who remembers, and the only response he provides is "Doctor who?". Silence would fall. In fact, silence must fall. If he has forgotten who he is by then, then there would be no living being that knew the answer. (Save for River if he tells her earlier. Either out of purely an act of trust, or even after noticing what's happening to him.) This, like some of the rest of these, is a bit impractical. But I have to admit, it's not impossible. Crazier things have certainly happened on this show.

4. Is the Daleks' concept of beauty just another rewrite of Dalek behavior? If not, then I would find it fair to say that Oswin's connection to the Pathweb may have been slowly bleeding her human emotions into the Daleks' minds, even if it ends up being warped by their already withstanding hatred. (Such as now having a concept of beauty, but in reference to hatred itself.)

5. Does anyone believe there to be significance in Amy's visions of the Daleks as Humans? The only explanation I can see there is that the Daleks have done plenty of full human-to-Dalek conversions, especially since it's visually implied that Hannah is the ballerina. (And that if I'm correct and those were also the same Daleks who had recently gone after Rory, then one of them perfectly mimics Oswin's later stuttering of exterminate.) But these are also the same Daleks that attempt to attack the TARDIS crew, so presumably they are fully Dalek now, making Oswin that much more of a special case. That does make me wonder why they would (seemingly successfully) convert them, only to send them to the Asylum. Or, if the case is that conversions take place within the Asylum, why they sent those humans there to begin with. I suppose they could have been purposely sent there for the purpose of experimenting, but I don't see why they would leave that up the damaged and insane Daleks inhabiting the Asylum rather than on their ship. Though if they were sent as "toys" for the Asylum residents I'd be completely fine with that since it's appropriately wicked- something I feel like the Daleks have been somewhat lacking lately.

Moving on to Oswin... Oh the theories surrounding this woman. Really I wouldn't know where to begin on actually choosing one that I believe the most, because even the less likely ones still tend to entertain me.

1. "Oswin is Jenny": It seems that half the people who discuss Oswin in most places all harp back to this. Before I even begin, I have to say I don't ever think this will happen, not with Oswin anyhow. In fairness however, I don't think it's impossible. It all starts with the chair. Prop repeat or purposeful hint, I don't really care what the case is. However, for the sake of being fair in this assessment, I'm going to be using the assumption that it was done on purpose. First of all, it is not unlike Moffat at all (especially in light how obvious the end of TATM was from the first time they even mentioned Angels being in it) to hide something directly in plain view, even going beyond that and making something so obvious that we dismiss it immediately. He can only use the same tricks for so long to create surprise moments, so every once in a while he has to do something like this to break the expected pattern. (It's so overt, it's covert.) It is also completely fair to this argument to remember that Jenny is only even alive because Moffat requested it. Even if this wasn't his plan to use her, it's fair to think it's likely. Even though the chair is supposed to be a mental image, Oswin had to have gotten that image from somewhere. She even mentions having set out to see the universe, and crashing on her first trip. Seeing as Jenny was alive for less than 24 hours before she started her trip, its presumable that it probably didn't go as expected- meaning it could have even gone badly enough she becomes injured and fully regenerated as a result of this failure. Oswin, like Jenny, also has the same mouthy Doctor-esqe way of speaking and behaving, as well as seeming to be a genius who oddly claims (or just happens to currently believe) to have worked in a field that she would have been wasted on. Assuming in this case that the nanocloud does not work on Time Lords (or even that it was just too slow) it could be that the Daleks had no choice but to fully convert her, and it would also help explain why her emotions seem to remain unaffected, unlike the other supposed fully-converted humans seen by Amy in the Asylum. As far as her message to her mother goes, for any of these arguments its pretty fair to assume that a person who has mentally denied her current existence so much that she lives an entire year in a room that doesn't exist just to hide from reality may also have also invented a mother for herself for similar reasons. Especially since it's a bit strange that she arrived on the Asylum 2 days after her mother's birthday, and stayed for almost exactly a year- ending directly on her mother's birthday. [Side note from the disbeliever in me: If she's Jenny then she flirted with her dad. Ew.]

2. "Oswin's travels are backwards, ending at the Asylum": This is another unusually popular one. Unusual because it's quite dull, and even more for the fact that River is still in the middle of that exact same plot device. The Doctor saw her die, met her in the future, and she still ends up always heading for the death he's already seen. Aside from being a boring rehash, that would be an incredibly lazy thing for Moffat to do. I include it only for its technical plausibility, but for me this would just be too mundane, and rather insulting to the viewers.

3. "Oswin escapes the Asylum before it explodes": Several different versions. The Doctor saves her; she finds a way to teleport to the Dalek ship; she "becomes" nanogenes and escapes some how; I even saw a few people try to claim he used the same exact River-save-to-screwdriver trick. (Sorry, no.) Another one mostly included for its plausibility, since this would be a bit too obvious. Everyone's first question is always, "Why can't the Doctor just take the TARDIS back and save *insert name here*??" Though since I'm trying to be (mostly) fair to these theories, I will note that there was plenty of time after when the Doctor left the room to run for something to happen. His mention of being pinpoint accurate with teleports could have been a double line referring to something we don't know yet. We don't see the Doctor or the Ponds as they materialize inside of the TARDIS, so who knows what really happened once they got there. Or more importantly to this theory, how many showed up.

4: "Oswin was never a Dalek": Getting back to the more interesting ones, this one has quite a few versions as well-- Oswin was mentally hooked to the Dalek (by force) rather than physically being there, similar to Gangers (The conversion flashback did look suspiciously like her being hooked into a crude Ganger-style harness. Lack of food and water being a possible issue with this one.); The Dalek itself was not Oswin but may have been so insane that it believed it was a human (A highly unlikely one, though I can see one or two slight cases of it being possible, just not most of the ones I've read.); Oswin, possibly in a future adventure with the Doctor, hacked the Dalek at some point and implanted her memory into it (Similar to the last one, but this one being an actual overwrite of the Dalek rather than being insane, and also being slightly more believable. Not to mention she/the Dalek happened to be held in the most secure room in the wing of the Asylum that "survivors of the Doctor" were housed.); Oswin was not human, but was the entertainment software from the wrecked Alaska (Also in other versions of this she is thought to be the actual security system for the Asylum. I liked both of these theories back when I first saw the episode. It would explain her not being easily controlled by the Daleks, or that if she was their program she was malfuncioning much like the "insane Dalek" theory, except the program chose to inhabit the Dalek that happened to be in the safest room. Also adheres with her being a "genius" despite having simply been the Junior Entertainment Manager on a starliner. JEM would have even been an appropriate abbreviation for said program. In contrast, had she been a Dalek program it would explain things much the same, such as her mastery over their technology, and being a genius. However, I doubt either of these being the story.)

5. "Oswin was (unknown) Time Lord": Okay, being Jenny is one thing, but this one is more generalized. There were plenty of names thrown around, but for the sake of this argument I will consider her just a general Time Lord, as for the most part the only difference between the established previous Time Lords would make would be motives. I think the important thing for all of those arguments was the idea of her being a Time Lord, and less about which one. Except in the above case of Jenny. Now, I can't provide much specific argument as to why should would have been in the Asylum, but I'm sure there are plausible ways. I'm sure the Daleks would be happy (pardon my use of any word that isn't "hate") to get a hold of really any Time Lord, especially since their bodies are "miracles". It would also (like the Jenny argument) explain the need for the full conversion rather than the nanocloud. (Though I will say, it might already be established somewhere that even full conversion doesn't work on Time Lords- honestly I don't know.) Another theorized reason for her having become a Dalek (and I'd really like to hear opinions or actual confirmation/denial from someone on this one, as it has me wondering) was that the "conversion scene" played out much differently than it appeared to. It was argued that the scene was not the Daleks converting her, but a modified attempt at using her own Chameleon Arch (be it from her own TARDIS or one she somehow made after arriving) in an attempt to hide in the Asylum. Presumably having not been fully converted mentally- either by design or by flaw in the machine itself. This would explain her not remembering exactly what she was yet- having had to allow some of her mind to convert, or it even being an effect over time. There were also somewhat clever (since I'm just plain not sure it would work quite this way) insinuations that the Dalek was never a Dalek at all, but Oswin's TARDIS using its Chameleon Circuit to blend in. And what could it possibly have chosen better than the image of a Dalek? It also, if you're going by this theory's rules, would explained that it wasn't a dream, it was just bigger on the inside. Now this is still completely just not the case, given that the Dalek moves around the room in the correct Dalek-like manner. However, I think it's noteworthy if simply for the fact that I would have never made those connections, so at the very least I'm impressed by the thought pattern used in coming up with it. While I don't personally put much stock into this theory, the part it has me wondering about is: Is it theoretically possible to use a Chameleon Arch to turn a Time Lord into a Dalek? All I can really remember about the thing is that it specifically "rewrites your biology", that it definitely caused Ten to only have one heart therefore being 100% human indeed, and that it hurts like hell. If it CAN be used this way, then I would easily believe that regardless of the theory above the Daleks were, in fact, using some form of Chameleon Arch in their conversions, since it really did look like a brutally inelegant form of one, and Daleks have stolen Time Lord devices and technology in the past already as well. It would certainly apply to humans if it could apply to Time Lords, but again both cases are completely unknown as far as I know. [Second half to that question: Could the Chameleon Arch then in theory be used to turn a Dalek (or at least a Dalek with human qualities like Oswin) into a human? Or is its initial use specific to Time Lords- or even just humanoids in general? ]

6. "Oswin Oswald is Clara Oswin's descendant": Personally, this another boring one to me. Too boring for the hype surrounding this character. The previous uses of actors for multiple parts is already too common for this one, and she was already signed on as the companion before this episode, so it doesn't make much sense. Unless, like the Jenny theory, it ends up being another "so overt it's covert" moment. So this one could very well be true (hence my inclusion of it), it just wouldn't give any reason to revisit what happened in the Asylum- essentially stopping a lot of potential importance of that episode, and largely wasting our time regarding Oswin's appearance in it. [I do have a better argument for this situation being worthy of using, but it goes further than this one's simplicity, and therefore will be separate.]

7. "Oswin is 'splintered' throughout time": This is the theory I really want to talk about. This one borrows from the previous idea, but this one intrigues me far more. The idea being that it's not only Clara and Oswin we can expect to see, but that she will be a different version of the same character in each appearance. While I have less argument for this one on how it could be happening to Oswin, I feel like that would be something we may simply not be able to guess without future story/plot information. (Though this mechanic has been somewhat used in a Classic era story, it was an enemy rather than a companion and he was connected to all of the versions of himself. So this wouldn't feel too recycled at all to me.) All I can try to do is provide somewhat of an arguement that it is happening to her. We see this Oswin's story in the Asylum and, unless it's corrected or explained later, it's perfectly safe to assume she did in fact die. Meaning that the next version of her will have nothing to do with this one, other than essentially being the same character in a different time period. This is not to be confused with an ancestral link, as this theory assumes that somehow this exact person is somehow existing at multiple periods throughout time, but living otherwise separate lives of their own. (Imagine you met someone in 1950 and got to know them intimately, then later met someone in 2000 who looked, acted, responded, and spoke exactly the same, but has never met you. As though that very same person had lived two complete lives in different times.) Meaning that (very much hypothetically) if you were to take any two of the "versions" of Oswin and put them through the same places and time-periods they would react and think in the exact same ways as the other, and end up with perfectly identical stories. This theory picked up a bit of merit after reports from several different witnesses at the filming of the Christmas special implied that Clara will die- especially noting a point during filming when the Doctor, Vastra, and Jenny (the other Jenny- Vastra's girlfriend in season 6) were standing in a graveyard in front of a her grave, and the Doctor mentioning that he is going to go find her. Since he never saw that Oswin looked the same, it could be that he learns about her splintered timeline in the Christmas special. I would be completely satisfied with this, and would be even more interested if she dies every single time they meet. Moffat, when talking about Oswin, said “And this never goes away, this thrill – you want to see the reaction when you see it’s bigger on the inside, you want to see the count the hearts moment, you want the story to begin again. And that’s what it gives you. It gives you Doctor Who at its most iconic, because a new person is having to learn the rules – and you've seen that story how many times now? I don’t think you ever get tired of it." While that may just be a reference to her first time in the TARDIS, you could just about put a few of those lines into context with this theory. If he keeps meeting her and she keeps dying, it would definitely create a brand new dynamic between the Doctor and his companion. (Like we were assured of since she joined the show.) It would also force the Doctor to abandon his more recent "childish" behavior while he deals with not only having lost the Ponds, but repeatedly losing the same new companion. That or it would send him further down the rabbit-hole of anger, which would be just as interesting. [Side Note: I based this version of the theory on the fact that, until we are given more information or dialogue from the Christmas special, there does appear to be no connection between Oswin and Clara as far as memory or or experiences go. The only link between them for this theory is the fact that they are the same person, only they have separate lives in separate times. This theory would work just as well, however, if they did have a connection between them. I just can't in good faith make that assumption quite yet.]

And for the sake of having one completely off-the-wall theory (but one I'll try to argue for) we come to this...

8. "Oswin is a future regenerated Doctor": In the most literal meaning of a common abbreviation, I actually laughed out loud when I first saw this. But being the way I am, I thought it would be worth a shot to imagine how that would be possible, and actually came up with a few okay explanations for it. (Especially since I believe if you try hard enough you can find a way to argue in favor of just about anything.) Alright. I suppose first of all its worth bringing up the intentional inclusion of the fact that Time Lords can regenerate into either gender (and variations thereupon... sorry, I just really really loved 'Midnight') in 'The Doctor's Wife'. Also, this would give Oswin a possible escape at the end without requiring Eleven to intervene or come back for her- which we don't know if he did/will at this point. I imagine if Oswin were the Doctor and had shown up at the Asylum, rather than being brought there, then hidden somewhere would be another TARDIS, meaning it's plausible but not likely that she got back to it in time. (Seeming to have started to remember who she was in those last scenes.) I also suppose that some of the "general Time Lord" arguement can be used here as well. This theory also can include how similar the Doctor and Oswin seem to act and speak, though with much more clear of a connection than her being Jenny. You could even argue the use some of the dialogue from the episode as being hints. For instance when we hear Oswin's music in the Parliament, the Doctor says "It's me!", or when she asks the Doctor if he's "real", both of which might be more specific to him in this case than it would be to having just heard a voice in general. Assuming she has forgotten who she was at this point (by either the Chameleon Arch theories above, and/or the other above theory of the Dalek nanocloud slowly taking effect on Eleven in very same episode- or really any other reasonable means) she may have just been subconsciously recognizing her own past voice. I suppose the line that actually fits for this argument the most is her asking Eleven "Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?" and his answer of "Doctor. You call me Doctor." Though interestingly she didn't ask the question everyone else does. Accidentally flirting accidentally with himself seems far more like him than having him flirt with his daughter, too. And while this theory may be fun to mess around with, considering how impossible this theory actually is, I think I'll just call it good enough right here.

Once again, I think you for your patience. Saghan ☎  15:06, October 2, 2012 (UTC)

Here's my thoughts on your Oswin theories:

1. Probably not. Just because she's female doesn't make her Jenny. Or the Rani, before someone suggests so. The chair thing is probably nothing.

2. Probably not. If this was the case, the only difference between her and River would be that the Doctor wouldn't know she would die at the Asylum, and that's not different enough to be interesting enough. Just like Elementary and Sherlock, the former having not enough difference from the latter.

3. Hope not. It's just not a clever enough theory. This kind of idea where someone somehow escapes from certain death is usually reserved for the Master or Davros.

4. This is my favourite theory that I have seen. I hope it turns out she was a Ganger or a very sophisticated robot, possibly one that Clara accidentally creates on her travels with the Doctor. In fact, that would be a good twist for the finale, one kind of similar to ending scene of "The Wedding of River Song".

5. Hope not. That twist would be as rubbish as the one in "A Good Man Goes to War".

6. Wouldn't really mind if this was the case, but we've already had two companions in the Whoniverse who have suspiciously identical relatives. I know we never actually saw the real Oswin, but even if it turns out that she looked completely different it would still be pretty boring.

7. An interesting theory. They would have to find a good way to explain it though.

8. NO!

One question I want to ask you: How long did this take?

87.102.118.41talk to me 16:03, October 2, 2012 (UTC)


 * Most of these aren't my personal theories, I just thought it would be interesting to attempt to take a few that I agreed with and a few that I didn't, and attempt to argue in favor of all of them. Consider it partially a mental exercise to practice looking for clues in places I might not have considered. I even agree that a large portion of them are either bad story ideas or don't have quite enough to support them. Another thing about this that was important to me is that after reading a lot of other people's theories, for the most part these were the popular ones. It's interesting to see how everyone else views the Doctor Who Universe, and to see how vastly different they all interpret it into theories. And I always try to find a way to look for things that don't seem to be popular points of interest. You'd be surprised how often that's where you find the actually important clues. Just look where everyone else isn't.


 * Also, surprisingly it didn't take that long. But as for the quality of it, there quite honestly were points I either failed to make, or forgot entirely. It may not have taken that long, but it was still in the middle of the night.


 * As your your assessments, again, I agree on a lot of them being unworthy, but even in this case I've already learned more from reading your thoughts on it. It seems that quite a few people would like to see a similar scene as your mention of number 4, and even for the same reasons. Yet personally, it's because of the similarities to last season that I wouldn't care for it. After the completely impossible-to-guess Tesselecta being used instead of the already established Ganger Doctor possibility, I really hope they don't bother to bring either of those back to the show. The Tesselecta because it was a bit silly, and the Gangers because it would remind me of all the more appropriate times they could have used it but didn't. I keep coming back to the thought of Moffat being so insistent on the fact that Oswin would be a unique kind of story. If he then uses a dated plot device as that "uniqueness", the entire thing would feel very cheap. The main reason I like the idea of the splintered-in-time Oswin approach is because it feels fresh. I have no doubt they could do the story for it incredibly well, but your guess is as good as mine as far as if they would do it well. And nobody technically says Oswin has to keep dying either, the more important aspect of it that I like is the idea of one person living several complete lives without it being as simple as a family link. I don't know, the concept just intrigues me to no end. Saghan ☎  17:15, October 2, 2012 (UTC)

Saghan, I'll not comment on all your points, only the ones where I've actually got something to say, hence the "broken" numbering.


 * 5. Another, previously unsuspected Time Lord:


 * A. Not (very, very definitely not) unless Moffat has come up with a really good & new way of explaining both her escape from the Time War & the Doctor's failure to be aware of her existence.


 * B. Human Nature implied that the chameleon arch could change a Time Lord into a non-human -- "I've set it to human." We've only seen 2 instances of its use, though. In both cases, the change was to human. In both cases, too, external appearance didn't change.


 * 6. Oswin Oswald descended from Clara Oswin:


 * A. Caution: We don't know the new companion's name really will be Clara Oswin. That comes from a tabloid newspaper report. They've been known to get things wrong or even make them up.


 * B. Oswin Oswald could have an ancestral surname as a given name. It's not an uncommon practice. (My mother had an ancestral surname as her middle name.)


 * C. The idea does seem a bit mundane. Moffat might have given it an unusual twist, though, so it can't be ruled out.


 * 7. An entity splintered in time:


 * A. The idea has been used before but it was a long time ago. A new variation on that theme could work, especially if it's his previous experience of it that lets the Doctor figure out what's going on. (In other words, take advantage of the fact that it's been used once before.)


 * B. It might work better if the Doctor doesn't figure it out in the Christmas Special but only becomes suspicious that there is something to figure out, then gradually puts it together over a few episodes.


 * C. If (repeat, if) the name Clara Oswin is correct for the Christmas Special, the various "fragments" could have the name Oswin as a "linking theme", sometimes first name, sometimes surname & sometimes middle name (when it might take a while to find out because people often don't use their middle names much, even as initials).


 * D. In City of Death, the various "fragments" appeared to be human but the original entity (Scaroth) wasn't. It's been a very, very long time since the Doctor had a non-human regular companion. (Nyssa was the last, I think, & she left nearly 30 years ago.)


 * 8. A future incarnation of the Doctor: 87 is understating when he says NO! This one's a truly dreadful idea.

Please note: I needed to print your initial piece out to be able to read it properly. It covered seven pages! --2.101.55.171talk to me 17:39, October 2, 2012 (UTC)