The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) characterized Torres as "driven", "determined", and "outgoing", while also noting her weaknesses: "defensive" and "impulsive". Ramirez described her character as someone who "appears to be a certain way, but has some very complex issues going on behind the scenes. She seems to be a very strong personality, someone who really believes in herself and has worked very hard to get where she is. She's very competitive but does have a sense of self, so she doesn't need to win all the time." At Torres' initial appearance on the show, she was disliked by fans, due to her getting in the way of O'Malley and Meredith Grey's (Ellen Pompeo) relationship. When asked of this, Ramirez said: "You do run across a lot of people who are extremely invested in that storyline. Obviously, I've heard some negative stuff." The end of the show's fourth season saw Torres grow closer to cardiothoracic surgeon Erica Hahn, in a relationship referred to by the portmanteau "Eri-Cal" and later "Callica" by Michael Ausiello of "Entertainment Weekly". Rhimes stated that: "Callie and Erica have an undeniable chemistry, and watching the story unfold is something the writers are looking forward to. I wanted to illuminate their relationship in the same way we do all relationships on the show — it will be funny, sweet, honest, and a little bit dirty."