A departure method that we havent seen for a while is going down the (disappointingly rushed) route of the Fifth Doctors companion Tegan. After a particularly bloody battle with the Daleks (in a story with a higher body count than Terminator), Tegan tells the Doctor that shes had enough and thats time for her to leave because travelling with him has stopped being fun. And theres no real reason that this couldnt work for Clara. She's not an Ace or a Leela; the kind of steely action girl that can take a lot of the grimmer moments of life with the Doctor in her stride. And despite having had a hard life with the death of her mother at a young age, she isnt really hardened enough to cope with the consequences of life with the Doctor for a long time. It would be an all too human and in-character development for her to leave the Doctor after having enough of the danger and constant death that comes from that lifestyle. Theres only so much that a person can stand before they have to call it quits not only for their own personal safety but for their emotional wellbeing as well. And Steven Moffat has said that Series 8 will be exploring the consequences of living a life like the Doctors. Which certainly gives some weight to the possibility of Clara deciding to leave for this reason.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
