S01.E09: The Man In The Yellow Suit

[ribboninthesky1]

So, from the perspective of Barry telling her his secret, I'd think he would naturally wait at this point; after all, if there is love to be found between them, he would want it to be between them, not between her and The Flash.

 

I disagree with this because, beyond being in love with her, Iris is "supposed" to be one of his best friends (if not THE best friend). Regardless of how it happened in the comics, the show has them being very close for well over a decade BEFORE the accident that gave him his powers.  To supposedly have that level of emotional intimacy with someone, romantic love or not, and not tell them something so important severely contradicts the nature of their relationship.  Especially when everyone else close to Barry knows.    

 

And that's not even counting the fact that Iris is in legitimate danger, and needs to know what's going on for her own safety.  Joe certainly can't do a damn thing to protect her from any superpowered being, especially not Yellow Flash.  Barry as The Flash can't do much, either, because he's outmatched in every way at the moment.  Ugh, Joe and Barry annoy me immensely in this, because as written, they appear to have little to no respect for Iris.  I want to take Iris aside and inform her of everything because her family is doing her no favors at all.  And it pains me that Eddie could go the same way.      

[Xander]

This whole Barry/iris thing is a waste of time. You've been living with her for years, Barry. She doesn't like you that way. In fact, by living with her that long, you are even *less* likely to be a romantic interest for her. She views you as a brother. I don't know why the show keeps going with this. If Iris ever had an interest in Barry, it would have been apparent before now. And if he saves her life and she does the "my hero" thing, that will undermine any credibility Iris has as a thinking character.

 

Iris will probably starting showing that she does think of Barry romantically as early as in the next episode. I think we even got a hint of it in this one. They wouldn't focus so much on it if she wasn't going to reciprocate. 

 

 

Ugh, Joe and Barry annoy me immensely in this, because as written, they appear to have little to no respect for Iris.

 

I feel that Joe is the bigger culprit because they've shown that Barry does want to tell her but keeps it from her out of respect for him. I don't understand how keeping it from her - especially after her run-in with Girder - keeps her safe.

[Ottis]

Iris will probably starting showing that she does think of Barry romantically as early as in the next episode. I think we even got a hint of it in this one. They wouldn't focus so much on it if she wasn't going to reciprocate.

 

 

Oh, I have little doubt the show will go there. My point was, it makes no sense given the backstories on the two characters. They could have at least had Barry grow up next door vs. in the same household. That won't stop them from manufacturing an unrealistic romance that people who crave shipping will fall for, I know. Depending on how silly it gets, that may be when I bail.

[ribboninthesky1]

I feel that Joe is the bigger culprit because they've shown that Barry does want to tell her but keeps it from her out of respect for him. I don't understand how keeping it from her - especially after her run-in with Girder - keeps her safe.

 

I'm not a fan of Joe or Barry, but between the two, I can give Joe more of a pass because telling Iris is Barry's responsibility.  Barry is an adult - he could have respectfully told Joe anything from, "I understand you want to protect her, but I'm telling her" to "I'll hold off for now, but I still plan to tell her."  He got all pissy with Joe for not telling him about Yellow Flash's threat, yet didn't bother to tell Iris, either. 

Edited January 7, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[lilithred]

I can't even get annoyed with Barry or Joe for keeping Iris in the dark because it's such poor storytelling, I can't take it seriously. There is literally no reason not to tell Iris about Barry being The Flash. Barry even said in one episode that the only way to get Iris to stop blogging about Flash and to keep her safe from meta humans was to tell her the truth...and then he and Joe started talking about Barry's crush and it was like he never even mentioned it. The writers want so bad to the do the whole "everyone knows the hero's identity except his girl" storyline that they are throwing all logic out of the window. She needs to find out within the next few episodes or it will seriously change how I view the writing on this show.

[Oscirus]

The biggest problem with the writing is that this issue wouldn't have been so noticeable if they didn't keep inadvertently pointing out the flaws in their writing with Barry and Joe's circular reasoning.

[driedfruit]

Skyline - If Flash does develop a Barry/Caitlin relationship further, I don't see this as giving in to Barry/Caitlin shippers: I see this as continuing the writing/setup they've been doing for Barry/Caitlin since the pilot. I have no idea if the show is going to go there or not, especially with Firestorm around, but I can see the show putting Barry/Caitlin together for a couple of seasons only to have Barry end up with Iris in the end, or putting Barry/Iris together for a couple of seasons only to have Barry end up with Caitlin at the end.  I wouldn't see this as giving into shippers, just as giving romantic drama/angst to Barry.

 

I haven't really noticed the romantic set up. They have tender scenes here and there, but so do Caitlin and Cisco. And I haven't seen anything romantic in either interaction. But shipping happens whenever attractive people share scenes I suppose (there are a few Eddie/Barry and Joe/Wells ones floating around). 

 

As to their potential, I see Caitlin/Barry getting compared to Oliver/Felicity, but the pairing reminds me of Chloe/Clark (Smallville). They'll probably get a few teases, but nothing substantial, until Caitlin inevitably turns villainous. I find the suggestion of them ending up together as silly as when Smallville fans seemed to think Clark would end up with anyone other than Lois. 

[quarks]

I find the suggestion of them ending up together as silly as when Smallville fans seemed to think Clark would end up with anyone other than Lois.

 

 

I don't. 

 

For one thing, the Barry/Caitlin scenes haven't just been tender, they've echoing language given to other obvious long term couples on TV, and dialogue given to Oliver/Felicity, especially in "Things You Can't Outrun," and "Power Outage."  It's not just attractive people sharing scenes: it's a setup for a potential romance. Whether or not the show decides to go there or not is, of course, anyone's guess at this point - my own guess is that the show just wanted to make sure it had a backup plan from the very beginning just in case Barry/Iris turned out to be a second Oliver/Laurel. Having said that, though, Sakura12 is right - this is a network that loves its love triangles, and Iris/Barry/Caitlin plays right into that, as does Eddie/Iris/Barry and Barry/Caitlin/Ronnie. So it's unlikely to be completely dropped.

 

 

 until Caitlin inevitably turns villainous.

 

 

 

That's more or less exactly what viewers were saying about Tommy in Arrow's first season, since he had the name of a Green Arrow villain. Didn't happen.  It certainly could with Caitlin, but I don't think it's inevitable.  

[driedfruit]

this is a network that loves its love triangles, and Iris/Barry/Caitlin plays right into that, as does Eddie/Iris/Barry and Barry/Caitlin/Ronnie. So it's unlikely to be completely dropped.

 

CW plays with triangles, but when they have a largely popular main pair (like Barry/Iris) they tend to play revolving door with the third person. If Caitlin ever becomes a romantic option for Barry, it's not likely to last very long. It doesn't even on the shows where teen soap is the main objective.

 

The only time one specific triangle spans over many seasons is when the alternative couple is vastly more popular from the get go (Brooke/Lucas, Damon/Elena, Felicity/Oliver...). And those are mostly freak accidents of superb casting luck, and usually end with the person in the middle left loathed by the majority of the fandom. 

 

That's more or less exactly what viewers were saying about Tommy in Arrow's first season

 

Plenty of people still think Tommy is going to make a surprise rise from death...and given that show's premise, it wouldn't be too surprising. Regardless, unless Caitlin meets a premature death, it's fair to say that her fate is more than likely headed towards turning villainous. They've certainly teased it with "fire and ice", more than they've teased anything romantic with Barry imo.

 

But really, Caitlin is too good to waste. She has the potential to evolve into a layered and fascinating villain (she's a kindly Slytherin as is). I can't see this being wasted. 

Edited January 9, 2015 by driedfruit

[Trini]

Since talk has gone off the episode a bit, I started a relationships thread.

[Xander]

 

 

That's more or less exactly what viewers were saying about Tommy in Arrow's first season, since he had the name of a Green Arrow villain. Didn't happen.  It certainly could with Caitlin, but I don't think it's inevitable.  

 

Hasn't this already been confirmed? I watched an interview with Danielle where she said we'll get a hint of it this season. 

[quarks]

Plenty of people still think Tommy is going to make a surprise rise from death...and given that show's premise, it wouldn't be too surprising. 

 

 

Answering over on the new Relationships thread.

 

 

Hasn't this already been confirmed? I watched an interview with Danielle where she said we'll get a hint of it this season.

 

 

 

The producers have also said that there's no immediate plans to make either Caitlin or Cisco into their comic counterparts, so there's that. Well, Arrow gave us a hint of Tommy going evil, which never happened, and several hints of Laurel going evil, which hasn't happened (yet).  Flash can easily do the same - hint, but not doing anything about it. Or, have her go evil for a couple of episodes/seasons and then reform/redeem herself.  

 

We're only nine episodes in. I think it's a bit early to make firm predictions about what will happen to anyone.

[KirkB]

If they were to give Caitlin powers what would probably happen is she would be 'evil' or confused or power mad or whatever for a couple of episodes then be brought back by the power of love and friendship from Barry and Cisco (or else Ronnie) and rejoin the team.

[lilithred]

Hasn't this already been confirmed? I watched an interview with Danielle where she said we'll get a hint of it this season.

 

I know that she called herself "Killer Frost" in her ice bucket challenge video. It would be a total waste not to use that storyline. Otherwise, why is she Caitlin Snow?