Clara Oswald was introduced as "a mystery wrapped in an enigma" back in Series 7 (though let's just pretend that the Eleventh Doctor didn't also refer to her skirt as being 'a little too tight') and, for most of her initial adventures, that's all she really was. Quite literally, too. Don't get us wrong, it was intriguing when she popped up unannounced in Asylum of the Daleks, only to die in the very same episode, and her second appearance - and subsequent demise - in The Snowmen resulted in many timey-wimey induced headaches, the like of which Doctor Who fans secretly enjoy. But why did she have to be defined by the fact that her multiple lives and deaths made no sense? She didn't even have any distinguishable personality when fans finally met her present day counterpart in The Bells of Saint John and the majority of viewers had just stopped caring by the time the mystery of "the impossible girl" was finally revealed in the Series 7 finale. The anticlimactic revelation served as a long overdue turning point for the character who has been growing from strength to strength ever since. The most recent series introduced us to her beau, Danny Pink, and gave us an insight into what her life is like away from the TARDIS. In short, it's just as turbulent when the Doctor isn't around, but at least it established her as a human being instead of a plot device whose soul purpose is to satisfy the Doctor's itching desire to know everything about everything. She was born to save the Doctor, apparently, but she is actually a human being, too. It's just a shame it took the Doctor so long to notice. What did you think of this list? Are there any other Doctor Who characters that viewers changed their minds about? Join the conversation in the comments section below.
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
