Clyde! I just love Clyde to bits, which is pretty
impressive, since on paper, he’s really not the sort of character to interest
me. In execution, though, he’s just
terrific, and in a way, I think he embodies what The Sarah Jane Adventures is all about.
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first: when we meet Clyde, he’s a
cocksure boy who’s full of himself, has a glib answer for everything, and is
overly concerned with being cool. He
side-eyes Luke pretty hard, generally for being a nerd and specifically for
being a massive oddball (which of course isn’t Luke’s fault, since at this
point, he’s only been properly alive for, what – a few weeks?) His cheekiness and light jeering doesn’t get
him into Sarah Jane’s good graces in a hurry.
However,
he does make his way into Sarah
Jane’s sphere. Although he thinks Luke
and Maria are utterly bizarre when he catches them investigating alien
goings-on at their school, his natural curiosity and dexterous mind can’t help
but join in, and once he’s seen what’s out there, he’s not about to walk
away. In the early days of the show,
he’s the third-string in the young ensemble and the third-string for Sarah
Jane’s regard, after Luke and Maria. His
impulsiveness and overall disinclination for following the rules doesn’t win
him any favors, and Sarah Jane doesn’t seem to take him all that seriously.
That’s
in the beginning. As the series goes on,
Clyde proves himself time and time again, and Sarah Jane’s estimation of him is
constantly growing. He’s inexhaustibly
brave, quite a bit smarter than he lets on, and tremendously loyal. What’s more, he has almost impeccable
instincts when it comes to sniffing out friend from foe. It didn’t take me long to realize that, if
Clyde’s spidey senses are tingling about someone, they’re probably not to be
trusted. Really, the only times he gets
it wrong are when his emotional investment gets in the way, like when his
deadbeat dad shows up and swipes a dangerous piece of alien tech. I also love Clyde’s exuberance – his 100%
commitment to the goofiest of jokes and his unceasing excitement at discovering
new alien races or technology.
And
even aside from all the alien-fighting, he’s pretty well-rounded. He’s a whiz in the kitchen, a talented
artist, and an incurable mama’s boy, none of which are details he wants getting
out. While Clyde softens a lot in his
judgments of other people’s “coolness” or lack thereof – instead of groaning at
Luke’s social faux pas, Clyde takes it upon himself to lightheartedly teach
Luke the ropes of teen socializing, jokingly calling Luke his “Padawan” – he
still worries a lot about his own reputation.
He hides his talents and attachments, not realizing that they’re some of
his most interesting qualities. I like
this aspect of him; it’s not a plot you see too often with teen boys, and I think the show does some
nice work with it.
Finally,
I like that, despite his usually jocular nature, he’s also capable of bringing
some serious gravity when the situation calls for it. One of my favorite moments in the entire
series comes in “Lost in Time,” where, in his first time-travel experience,
Clyde winds up in WWII-era Norfolk and stands up to frickin’ Nazis.
When the commander sneers at him and calls him a Negro, he replies, “Oh,
reduced to name-calling, are you? You’re
just a gang of bullies picking on others for what they look like, and that is why you’ll lost this war: underestimating the enemy through blind,
stupid prejudice.” Stone-cold BAMF, all the way.
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