Doctor Who Listen Review: 10 Things We Learned

2. Dan The Soldier Man Is An Important Figurehead In The Doctor And Danny Pink's Lives

A simple toy soldier had a big impact in the lives of two characters on the show. We first saw the toy when Clara laid out the toy soldiers in Rupert's room to protect him from the creature he had just witnessed. Clara proclaimed Dan the hero, the leader that would protect him and that moment had a huge impact on his live moving forward. Particularly as Rupert took on that name sometime between Gloucester and Coal Hill School. We later discovered that it became a family memento, which his great grandson carried with him when he took that fateful trip into the future in the 22nd Century. Orson then passed Dan the soldier man on to Clara who passed it on to another another frightened boy; a younger Doctor. While she may have become the very thing he had nightmares of, Clara was also able to help the Doctor face those fears and gave him the soldier to keep him brave and strong. That one little memento may have shaped the Doctor we have come to know over the last 50 years, proving yet again that Clara has made one hell of an impact in his life.