Sally, Clara Oswald, and Doctor Who

***Doctor Who Spoiler Ahead***

“I am going to die and come alive again,” Sally informed me recently.

“Um, okay,” I replied. “Do you know of someone who did that?” I asked, curious where her comment was coming from.

“Yes,” she answered confidently.

“Who?” I persisted. I frequently read her Bible story books, alongside fairy tales, Greek mythology, and Curious George, so I expected that the answer would be “Jesus.”

“Clara in Doctor Who!” she replied with excitement.

In other words, when Sally spoke of someone dying and coming alive again, she was talking about Clara Oswald, a character in the science fiction show Doctor Who.

This isn’t the first time Sally has made interesting connections with Doctor Who. I am fascinated by watching Sally learn about the world and seek to make sense of it, and I love watching the role literature other media play in shaping her understanding of the world and the questions she asks. In our family, Doctor Who opens the door for interesting questions and discussions—because while Clara Oswald may die and come alive again, Sally will not.

In this vein, I especially enjoyed watching Sally listen with rapt attention this week as the Doctor delivered this inspirational monologue to a young girl in danger and on the verge of giving up:

It remains to be seen if Sally took this particular (and extremely beautiful) monologue as much to heart as she did Clara Oswald’s ability to die in one life and (it seems) come back in another!