Its telling that the ship the soldiers are on does not bear the name of a warrior but that of a scholar. Aristotle is considered the first genuine scientist; he wrote papers on many subjects and tutored Alexander the Great. The importance of education is a main theme in series eight. Clara and Danny Pink are both schoolteachers and the Doctor presents himself as a scholar. It is Clara who teaches the Doctor however. He cannot see beyond his hatred of the daleks and she opens his eyes to other possibilities and points out a different course of action. The role of the companion is clear in Steven Moffats Doctor Who. They are the check that keeps the Doctor in balance. Without them he becomes rigid and set in his ways. They are the clarifying lens through which he sees the universe.