But that’s because our sense of “all of them” (like “all” the Doctors, but that’s a whole other discussion…) is mostly constructed not from the on-screen evidence, but from discursive fan and scholar shorthand about what these characters were broadly like. Thus, the usual retrospective construction of female companions, post-2005 at least (seen here in the Orthia reference), places all of them in the same box, and labels it “traditional.”

The problem with this is that there really aren’t that many original series companions this limited definition could apply to. Barbara was consistently intelligent, resourceful, and skeptical of the Doctor’s ostensible wisdom. Polly (vastly underrated) was unflinchingly curious and brave. Zoe, intellectually the Doctor’s equal, proactively offered solutions. Liz chafed at being an “assistant,” and worked as much as she could as the Doctor’s equal. Jo regularly disobeyed the Doctor, luckily for him, as she rescued him on numerous occasions (and saved the planet and/or universe herself a few times as well!). Sarah, despite seemingly softening over the years, never took the Doctor’s authority too seriously. Leela never screamed, and regularly joined various rebels. Romana (at least with Mary Tamm) archly undercut the Doctor’s chauvinism. Nyssa, like Zoe, didn’t wait for the Doctor to tell her what to do. And Ace, while manipulated into a sort of extended therapy session by the Doctor, always led with her own sense of justice and action. Granted, that still leaves Susan, Vicki, Dodo, Tegan, and Peri, as closer to the ostensibly “traditional” markers, but even they had their moments.

Clara had the misfortune to come along in the anniversary year, where just being the latest companion was apparently not an option, and where the past (including parts of the past we didn’t even know were important) portentously weighs on the present. Thus, Moffat has cast Clara not so much into the Doctor’s timeline, but into the ostensible fan-authored Doctor Who timeline, where she fulfills ultimate “companion-ness,” but sadly without being able to function as an actual companion.