Relationships: Speed Dating

[Password]

Here, we already have Joe and Barry's father telling the audience how much Barry loves Iris and it's only been 11 episodes. We never got to see Barry fall in love with her which actually bothers me a bit but that comes with them being childhood besties. We never got to see it unfold on-screen, WestAllen have a lot of fans so it's not a big deal for everyone.

This really bothered me, along with Barry's dad also saying he's in love with Iris. I'm generally an otp, love from the start kind of person. But the way they set up Barry and Iris just irritated me with Barry's pining and the "sisterly" scenes. Made it seem like an obstacle that would freak me out. They cut that crap so thank goodness.

I like the idea of Barry and Caitlyn simply because she's aware of Barry's hero status and Barry makes her smile. Until Iris knows about Barry's superhero status and throws a massive hissy fit because he lied to her I can't take them seriously as a romantic couple. I'm not down for lies, and the silly premise of Joe telling Barry not to tell Iris is dumb. You are a grown man Barry, and she's your closest friend. Make your own choices.

[Xander]

This episode has definitely laid the foundation for a Barry/Caitlin coupling. 

[Enero]

This episode has definitely laid the foundation for a Barry/Caitlin coupling. 

 

Yep! Let the triangles begin. Sigh.

[wingster55]

It started it...but I don't see much happening on that front...least not this season. 

If it does happen I don't see it becoming a big thing. 

[Sakura12]

So they are going with the Iris notices Barry while he has two other women that want him too and knew it way before she did. Those are the kind of pairings I do hate. 

[Shanna]

So they are going with the Iris notices Barry while he has two other women that want him too and knew it way before she did. Those are the kind of pairings I do hate.

Seriously. They did a hackneyed job of setting up Caitlin's interest, iris changing her mind for no damn reason but that Barry had a date after showing us nothing of what she thought of his declaration, all while starting up something with Malese.

Crap, this is going to be me shipping Malese and Barry years after they've killed her off, like I did with Anna/Jeremy. Great.

[Sakura12]

Seriously. They did a hackneyed job of setting up Caitlin's interest, iris changing her mind for no damn reason but that Barry had a date after showing us nothing of what she thought of his declaration, all while starting up something with Malese.

Crap, this is going to be me shipping Malese and Barry years after they've killed her off, like I did with Anna/Jeremy. Great.

 

Aww man, don't remind about Anna/Jeremy, that still stings. They had something different with those two. They never show a female vampire with a male human, stupid, wasted potential Vampire Diaries. 

 

I'm just wondering if they are going go with Linda finding out Barry's the Flash before Iris. 

[wingster55]

I LOVED Jeremy/Anna :(

 

I don't think the show is having Iris develop feelings after Barry dates Linda..but rather have her realize she has them now. 

[Tangerine]

So they are going with the Iris notices Barry while he has two other women that want him too and knew it way before she did. Those are the kind of pairings I do hate. 

 

She was all about rah-rah Felicity when she was in town too, which was the confusing part for me. Not even a little trace of doubt or jealousy there. Granted, that was before Barry's confession to her. 

Edited February 4, 2015 by Tangerine

[statsgirl]

Show, I didn't need any more reason to ship Barry/Caitlin, I already preferred them to Barry/Iris and Caitlin/Ronnie because Barry and Caitlin smile more when they are with each other.  I like Iris' relationship with Eddie, it's sweet and adult.

 

Although I did like Barry with Linda Park as a temporary ship. Girl knows what she wants and goes for it.

Edited February 4, 2015 by statsgirl

[Xander]

Barry's line about being there for Iris with the hopes that their relationship progresses romantically gives credence to Oscirus's assertion that Barry is just friends with her to bang her. Maybe he(or she) has been watching this show all right from the beginning. 

[lilithred]

Barry having THREE love interests in a single episode is just too much. This isn't a damn anime. I can't believe they are actually going there with Barry and Caitlin. I can't believe they dropped actual, undeniable romantic hints for the two of them. Why? Why couldn't it have just been Barry and Iris OR Barry and Caitlin? Why do we need both? I can't stand love triangles, and honestly, at this point, it's enough to make me want to bow out. 

 

Maybe he(or she) has been watching this show all right from the beginning.

 

No, but who the fuck wrote this episode because it was SO UNLIKE anything we've ever seen or heard from Barry so far? I actually had to pause and rewind the TV because I was taken aback by that line. If that's the only reason Barry has been there for Iris, he's no better than your typical "nice guy" who whines about the friendzone. It made him seem like a gross creep.

Edited February 4, 2015 by shar

[Trini]

I figured they would have some shipper-bait in this episode. However, I doubt they'll do anything with Barry and Caitlyn this season (if ever) with Ronnie coming back in the next episode.

 

But yeah, 3 love interests? A bit much.

[ElectricCityy]

Barry's line about being there for Iris with the hopes that their relationship progresses romantically gives credence to Oscirus's assertion that Barry is just friends with her to bang her. Maybe he(or she) has been watching this show all right from the beginning. 

I thought of that post as soon he said that. Shaking my head. The writing for these two just isn't shaping up the way I would like. Oh well.

[Xander]

I thought of that post as soon he said that. Shaking my head. The writing for these two just isn't shaping up the way I would like. Oh well.

The only thing that saved it is that he eventually helps her as the Flash meaning that he doesn't expect anything in return as Barry. I'll chuck it to plot-driven bad writing. 

[ElectricCityy]

The only thing that saved it is that he eventually helps her as the Flash meaning that he doesn't expect anything in return as Barry. I'll chuck it to plot-driven bad writing. 

It's not only that throwaway line though. They are setting it up so Iris grows jealous because Barry got himself a girlfriend. So would Iris have had an epiphany if he remained single or is he somehow more desirable now that someone else wants him? She didn't even give Barry a second glance when she and Eddie were off to have dinner with his parents. There hasn't been enough pining from Iris' end to make a sudden interest in him believable. 

[Trini]

Barry having THREE love interests in a single episode is just too much. This isn't a damn anime.

Forgot to mention, this made me laugh out loud!

 

So the promos with Barry and Linda were a big tease ... for next week's(?) episode. C'mon promo monkeys. I expect this type of lying from ABC or Fox, not you, CW.

 

Another episode, and we STILL don't know how Iris feels about Barry's confession. I assume he's still in the friend zone, so his speech changed nothing?? Maybe Iris isn't even in this love triangle at all.

[lilithred]

She didn't even give Barry a second glance when she and Eddie were off to have dinner with his parents. There hasn't been enough pining from Iris' end to make a sudden interest in him believable.

 

It makes her looks horrible and shallow, quite honestly. They're messing this up so badly. 

[Xander]

It's not only that throwaway line though. They are setting it up so Iris grows jealous because Barry got himself a girlfriend. So would Iris have had an epiphany if he remained single or is he somehow more desirable now that someone else wants him? She didn't even give Barry a second glance when she and Eddie were off to have dinner with his parents. There hasn't been enough pining from Iris' end to make a sudden interest in him believable. 

 

They are certainly not writing them in the best way. She seemed to have a reaction in the Christmas episode but it's disappeared since then. And I don't think it would have been so hard to give her a few extra seconds to react in her very short scenes since we've been back from the break. I wonder if they really want us to root for them. 

[Trini]

 

And I don't think it would have been so hard to give her a few extra seconds to react in her very short scenes since we've been back from the break. I wonder if they really want us to root for them.

 

I was just coming back to post this. Iris gets screwed over in editing, too, because they didn't even really show her reaction to Barry and Linda. I can't even say if she's jealous or not.

 

----

So about the non-romantic relationships; it was so sweet how Henry let Barry know he knows he's the Flash. Now if only we could get Iris in on the secret....

 

Loving the Cisco/Caitlyn friendship.

[Oscirus]

Let me start this off by clearing up a misconception posted upthread. I'm not a SnowBarry shipper, truth be told, I just want Barry away from Iris so that she can develop into something more then the love interest.

 

Barry's line about being there for Iris with the hopes that their relationship progresses romantically gives credence to Oscirus's assertion that Barry is just friends with her to bang her. Maybe he(or she) has been watching this show all right from the beginning.

 

Was there a more pathetic scene then Barry running to Iris to help her finish her article? seriously dud, calm down.  How the hell dos Eddie not tell Barry to back off? Hopefully this is all just really sloppy writing .  This is why you have the character state his reasons for liking Iris in either  thought or conversation, that way when he says something that stupid you can at least have something to show you what the writer's were going for.

 

Apparently what you do when you love a girl is to wait till she's in a committed relationship tell her you love her then date one of her coworkers. Voila, your dream girl will fall for you in no time.

 

I do feel as if the writers are actually finally starting to show more of the Iris-Barry friendship. Which they should've done in the beginning. But  I guess it's  better late then never.

 

As to the Caitlin-Barry stuff, they've set it up for a while so it's not surprising. I still feel as if we're a few episodes from Barry developing legit feeling for Caitlin. I also don't think that she's totally over Ronny like she claims. Caitlin-Cisco is probably the best friendship on the show.

 

Hard to comment on Linda when they haven't really shown her yet.

[Shanna]

That line from Barry irritated me too because it is not true to their long friendship either. I hate the writing for iris and Barry.

[driedfruit]

I thought the worst line of the episode belonged to Caitlin. The one about Barry deserving to get a peak at her goods because he's such a nice person.

 

Whoever wrote that needs to be smacked. 

[Sakura12]

I know people are saying that some of us are predisposed to dislike canon pairings. However it's not that a canon pairing doesn't work for us, it's the writing has to be there for the canon pairing to work. 
 

So far IMO they are not doing a good job with Barry/Iris and they don't have the smoking hot chemistry to ignore it. Barry running around Iris, hoping she'd notice him, then get upset when she doesn't is pathetic and hurts their friendship. Iris noticing Barry once he starts to date makes it look like she can date but he needs to be single and pine for her. Not saying that's what she thinks, just what it looks like. 

 

If they are not careful this could go the way of Arrow, where people are going to be looking for another pairing to ship. If they are meant to be, it's not something to drag out for seasons. Nothing says that Barry and Iris can't get together until season 4. Don't start laying the ground work for other pairings because you run the risk of finding someone that really sparks with Barry. Start setting up Barry/Iris now. 

[driedfruit]

No ship is ever going to be universally liked since chemistry is subjective, and often people don't ship when they don't see it there. I have no idea what quality of writing Iris and Barry will get, but they're never going to be like Laurel/Oliver since they're hitting the right notes for a lot of people. 

 

That said, I didn't care for Iris and Barry's interaction this episode. The writing for Barry was off, like he rushes off to hang out with Iris without texting first? Or whines about catching her when she falls? Since when?

Edited February 4, 2015 by driedfruit

[bluebonnet]

Three love interests?  Barry just met Linda, she's hardly a love interest.  And perhaps I need a rewatch because it seemed like they firmly friended Caitlin and Barry.  I wasn't getting any love interesty stuff there, just two friends who had a night out on the town.  If Caitlin had been Cisco, no one would be claiming that they were now love interests.  

[peachmangosteen]

The writing in this ep for Barry/Iris was so embarrassing. 

 

I still love the show, but I'm so pissed because it seems clear to me now that they're gonna give us a ton of bullshit all to service an unnecessary triangle. Why do I even start CW shows?! 

 

Plus, this ep made me realize I do indeed ship Caitlin/Barry, so that makes the whole thing even worse really.

[Shanna]

Three love interests? Barry just met Linda, she's hardly a love interest.

And perhaps I need a rewatch because it seemed like they firmly friended Caitlin and Barry. I wasn't getting any love interesty stuff there, just two friends who had a night out on the town.

Linda and Barry went on a date this episode and they were making out in the previews. That's more than he's done with his other "love interests".

As for Caitlin and Barry, this episode seemed to be full of shipper stuff, with Barry undressing her and her little smile at the end after she told Barry she was moving on or whatever. It is playing out like I've seen on way too many cw shows.

[bluebonnet]

Linda and Barry went on a date this episode and they were making out in the previews. That's more than he's done with his other "love interests".

As for Caitlin and Barry, this episode seemed to be full of shipper stuff, with Barry undressing her and her little smile at the end after she told Barry she was moving on or whatever. It is playing out like I've seen on way too many cw shows.

But going on a date doesn't make someone an automatic love interest.  Like, it isn't typical to go from first date to love.  

 

As far as shipper stuff, I admit that I'm probably too old to understand this CW phenomenon.  The CW audience seems to be very unique in this regard because I've never encountered another collective fandom so obsessed with this 'shipping' thing.  On another channel, a man and a woman going out would be able to be just that.  CW audiences...it's "love".  lol.  

[Shanna]

Love interest does not mean they are in " love". It means a romantic relationship or potential for one. So yes, Linda is a love interest. Now how long that will last who knows but since they cast a decent actress and plopped her into Iris's new office I would say she's more than a one off.

[Sakura12]

On TV going on a date, does make them love interests. Any character that shows romantic interest in the main character is considered a love interest. With the set up and subtle looks they also set up Caitlin as a potential love interest.

 

Love interest, doesn't mean they are in love with each other. It just means they are being set up as potential romances for Barry. This is the same for any show, even those without a huge shipping fanbase.

[peachmangosteen]

On another channel, a man and a woman going out would be able to be just that.  CW audiences...it's "love".  lol.  

 

Oh, there's shipping and writers writing love interests for shows on every single channel, including all the cable shows. It's not a bad thing at all IMO. The problem with the CW is they always go for an annoying triangle situation that just causes too many problems in fandom and they have a tendency to care too much about what the fans are saying and let it dictate how the shows go.

 

Barry having 3 love interests in this ep was way overkill. But I don't really think going forward, at least in the near future, that Caitlin will be an overt love interest. I think it'll be more about Linda/Barry/Iris for awhile, especially with Ronnie being back.

Edited February 4, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[SimoneS]

This show only has one triangle at the moment and that is Barry/Iris/Eddie. I think that it is a well done triangle. At most, Linda is Barry's potential love interest. I only see Caitlin and Barry as friends. If the writers are suggesting more, I don't see it. Last night was about Barry and Caitlin figuring out how to get past their current loves. Clearly, this is being done to set up Caitlin's torment when Ronnie returns and Iris getting jealous over Barry dating another women. 

Edited February 4, 2015 by SimoneS

[peachmangosteen]

I think the Eddie/Iris/Barry triangle is a terribly done love triangle. We literally never get Iris' point of view on anything. We never got to see either relationship form and grow. And it's painfully obvious Iris/Eddie will not last and isn't a real knot for Iris/Barry, so it's pretty much a pointless relationship which we never see anyway. 

 

. . . Iris getting jealous over Barry dating another women. 

 

Which can I say is so enraging. We get absolutely no screentime for Iris' thoughts and feelings since Barry professed his love for her and, in fact, I'd say it's been written like she has decided to just forget it even happened and then Barry has a date and what she's gonna decide she's jealous? I hate that. The writing for Iris is so bad. It's such a disappointment.

Edited February 4, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Carrie Ann]

Now that we're halfway through the season, and I'm still not super crazy about the show, I think some things have crystallized for me about why that is. It's little nuances in the characters/relationships that I wish were different, because it would make a huge difference for me in terms of investment.

 

--With Barry and Iris, I wish their BFF status was more pronounced. Here's what I mean: my BFF and I default to hanging out with each other, inviting each other to things, introducing each other to anyone else important in our lives. We're sort of a package deal. (And we're both married, so it's not a matter of just not having SOs to take up that position in our lives.) And I love that Barry's not trying to hide the Star Labs side of his life. He doesn't have to hide his friendships with Caitlin and Cisco. So we had that one brief scene of all of them at Jitters where Iris was working and Cisco and Caitlin were hanging with Barry. And then they were all at Christmas at Joe's. But I would love to see all of them hanging out in a real way, with C & C becoming friends with Iris themselves. There's no barrier to it, and it's a nice way for her to be integrated in the whole show, instead of siloed with Barry, Joe, and Eddie (the way Laurel was with Oliver, Quentin, and Tommy in Arrow S1 for example).

 

Also, I wish that their BFF dynamic was a little different. They've shown instances of Iris being protective of Barry (and of course he of her, but mostly in Flashmode), but I wish they would show this more often, and in a fierce way, in order to avoid that sibling/mothering vibe. Recently, their dynamic has just been a little...ugh. I think the show introduced conflict between them too early, first with the "you should stop writing this blog" thing and then the declaration of love thing. We didn't have enough time to establish their deep connection first, so now it just feels sort of unearned, to me. All tell and not enough show.

 

I wish it felt like they are basically the most important person to each other (in addition to their dads), and that they come first for each other, etc. Right now, we see that more from Barry, and it's sort of tainted by the fact that he's apparently been in love with her the whole time he's known her.

 

--Caitlin and Barry/Ronnie: Okay, this is mostly my problems with Caitlin, but it's connected to why I don't ship her with Barry or even really care much about their friendship. Caitlin, for me, is all over the board in terms of her personality traits, her reactions to things, her characterization in general. I'm putting half of that down to performance. DP is just not clicking for me yet, at all. I don't think she has a good handle on her face, for one thing--just a technical acting issue. I think there are times her mouth or eyes are doing things that make no sense for the scene. Same with line delivery. She could use some work (and she's been in the biz forever and I'm sure has taken tons of acting classes, so I don't know how much improvement we'll see from her).

 

But the other 50% is in the writing. Inconsistent characterization all over the place. They tell me about this "frost" thing, that she's cold and only Ronnie brought out her warm side. But then they write her like she's Felicity most of the time. She's very warm, open with her emotions, mother-henning all over the lab. I would prefer the former. I wish they would just write her as logical, stoic, impassive. She could have those moments of warmth that show her affection for Cisco and Barry, but they should be subtle. I need them to get rid of the Mother Hen aspect immediately, because I hate it and it makes me have no interest in a romantic relationship with Barry and her. The little wimmins worrying about their Superhero Men is my least favorite dynamic in comic book love stories, and this would be no exception.

 

So anyway, I wish she were basically written and acted like...you know, actually, maybe like early Oliver Queen, only in doctor form. Stoic, haunted, still warm under all of that but only in flashes, but still friendly and caring. That would make her big emotions with and about Ronnie even more believable and impactful. Speaking of which, the ease she's shown in letting go of finding Ronnie is a terrible writing choice. I'm sorry, but if you spent nine months believing your fiance was killed, and then you see him in this crazy condition, no matter what he said to you, wouldn't you be desperate to find and help him? This makes no sense and undercuts their relationship, to me.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Carrie Ann

[Shanna]

I get what you're saying Carrie Ann but I actually like that Caitlin is warm. But that may also explain why I don't really see the frost thing - fire and ice makes basically zero sense to me. I think she would be very hard to relate to ask a character if she were always cold.

But I do agree the writing on her relationship with Ronnie was been confusing this episode. We started with her believing he was dead and I bought that from her acting, and now that he isn't dead but he asked her to stay away I don't really know what they are trying to say about it.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Shanna

[wingster55]

It's funny how Barry and Iris seem to be written off after one episode. So far imo they've done a pretty good job with the pairing. They've had the little things down pact (Iris being upset Barry's favorite mug was broken). 

The build is there, Iris' feelings are now gonna be explored...it just takes time and patience. 

[FurryFury]

Barry having THREE love interests in a single episode is just too much. This isn't a damn anime. I can't believe they are actually going there with Barry and Caitlin. I can't believe they dropped actual, undeniable romantic hints for the two of them. Why? Why couldn't it have just been Barry and Iris OR Barry and Caitlin? Why do we need both? I can't stand love triangles, and honestly, at this point, it's enough to make me want to bow out.

No, but who the fuck wrote this episode because it was SO UNLIKE anything we've ever seen or heard from Barry so far? I actually had to pause and rewind the TV because I was taken aback by that line. If that's the only reason Barry has been there for Iris, he's no better than your typical "nice guy" who whines about the friendzone. It made him seem like a gross creep.

Well... Not to tell "I told you so", but I kinda did. It's the CW. They were bound to go there. And the basis for Barry/Caitlyn was laid all way back in the pilot, so it's not like it happened out of the blue.

Personally, I still don't care about Barry's romantic life. I'd probably take Caitlyn over Iris if Caitlyn were played by Candice Patton or, really, any actress better than DP, as Barry/Iris feels too boring and "nice guy-ish" for me, but as it stands, I still have no preference.

I did like Cisco/Evil Harry Potter (sorry, forgot the name). They have an interesting adversarial dynamic that enrichens Cisco's character somewhat.

Oh, and I really, really don't like the Ronnie/Caitlyn development. They should have shown some mire flashbacks of them meeting and interacting, and, hell, of Ronnie's life in general. Otherwise, I just don't care about him, and don't see why I should - I mean, his freaking fiancee definitely doesn't.

Edited February 5, 2015 by FurryFury

[phoenics]

It's funny how Barry and Iris seem to be written off after one episode. So far imo they've done a pretty good job with the pairing. They've had the little things down pact (Iris being upset Barry's favorite mug was broken). 

The build is there, Iris' feelings are now gonna be explored...it just takes time and patience.

If anyone has written them off - it's the writers. And this is coming from a diehard Westallen fan and Iris fan. The last episode felt like a seismic shift to me. It would be one thing if Iris was getting developed more but she just isn't being developed enough. As an Iris fan and Westallen fan - the shift felt deliberate to me. Caitlin and Barry scenes got the emotional beats while the Westallen scenes were shortchanged. The scene at the end with Iris/Barry/Linda? Massively short - while Caitlin/Barry got an extended scene with a "look back".

We've waited 12 episodes for Iris to be developed. We haven't even gotten her pov since Barry's confession!

Either the writers have changed their minds about developing that (that's my fear) or they are trying to drag it out to "surprise" us when Iris catches feelings... but in the process of "dragging it out" they aren't developing Iris as her own person - we never get to see her PoV about anything except her new job - everything else that would make sense for us to see from her emotionally we never see. We don't see scenes with her dad, we don't see scenes with Eddie - the ONLY reason we know about her mom and any feelings about that is because the character shared scenes with Barry when he gave her the ring.

I don't think the writers understand their audience - they are taking too long to give us the emotional beats (including Iris') that will move the story from a Westallen perspective.

[driedfruit]

The reason people are overreacting is because this was the first real instance of shipper bait regarding Caitlin/Barry. Does it mean she’s his new love interest? No. Maybe for like half a season in the future, but the lack of buzz this shipper bait is getting could very well be working against them getting that shot. 

 

Like I said before, the ship I see them most like is Chloe/Clark. Where they got plenty of shipper bait, even going as far as Chloe falling in love with Clark and confessing it. But ultimately, nothing came out of that ship.

If anyone has written them off - it's the writers. And this is coming from a diehard Westallen fan and Iris fan. The last episode felt like a seismic shift to me. It would be one thing if Iris was getting developed more but she just isn't being developed enough. As an Iris fan and Westallen fan - the shift felt deliberate to me. Caitlin and Barry scenes got the emotional beats while the Westallen scenes were shortchanged. The scene at the end with Iris/Barry/Linda? Massively short - while Caitlin/Barry got an extended scene with a "look back".

 

I understand your concerns, but this episode is getting terrible reviews all around, including the Caitlin/Barry parts. And there isn't any buzz either. In fact the Iris/Barry/Linda scene, as short as it was, has created more talk on social media than anything Caitlin related.

 

So yeah, the writers are testing the waters, maybe even to bring Caitlin more forefront, but I think ultimately it's a test that's flopped. It's pretty unanimous that Danielle isn't really a leading lady.

Edited February 6, 2015 by driedfruit

[phoenics]

We will have to wait and see - I hope you are right - but I have been burned way too many times to trust that even if things are as you say - often that STILL doesn't stop characters like Iris from being shoved onto the sidelines and off the canvas.

[Trini]

If anyone has written them off - it's the writers. And this is coming from a diehard Westallen fan and Iris fan. The last episode felt like a seismic shift to me. It would be one thing if Iris was getting developed more but she just isn't being developed enough. ...

We've waited 12 episodes for Iris to be developed. We haven't even gotten her pov since Barry's confession! ...

 

I wouldn't be so fast to give up hope. Although I agree with you that they need to develop Iris more. They've started to do that with her new job.

 

 

... Either the writers have changed their minds about developing that (that's my fear) or they are trying to drag it out to "surprise" us when Iris catches feelings... but in the process of "dragging it out" they aren't developing Iris as her own person - we never get to see her PoV about anything except her new job - everything else that would make sense for us to see from her emotionally we never see. ...

 

They may be going for the "surprise" route. Which I don't think they need to do, or do so soon. The next episode has me a little nervous.

 

I'm fine with the with the pace of how they're developing Barry and Iris. (except for 'no comment' from Iris about Barry's confession -- that's still ridiculous) I prefer it if they take things slow and careful.

 

For me, I've done this dance before; I'm not worried. In other shows where the writers have an endgame in mind, I've seen almost the exact same developments. (And I do believe the writers here have a specific endgame couple.)

 

OT: Reminds me of Smallville in which the producers said they always wanted to do a Clark/Lana/Lex triangle, but had to wait 4 years for Lana to be legal!  /OT

[LindaBelcher]

I'm not sure what the deal is regarding Iris and her lack of P.O.V. regarding Barry's confession. It's baffling to me that the show is pretty much acting like it didn't happen. I'm looking forward to ep 14 or 15 where theres

a double date between Linda/Iris/Barry/Eddie. I'm expecting a huge contrast to the double date earlier in the season

I do think the show is teasing Caitlin/Barry. Caitlin is developing a crush on Barry. I agree with the assessment of seeing them as Chloe/Clark. The only difference being I think they may end up dating at some point but I don't think it will last.

I don't care about Barry/Linda. I want a Linda/Iris friendship.

Edited February 6, 2015 by LindaBelcher

[Oscirus]

It all comes down to acts esp with these cliché written romances.

 

Act 1 Boy falls in love with girl.

Act 2 Girl starts going out with someone else.

Act 3 Boy gets over girl and either starts dating someone else or  goes away for a while.

act 4 Girl realizes that she loves boy and breaks up with current beau.

act 5 Girl tries to break up boy and his current girlfriend.

act 6  Boy breaks up with that girlfriend.

act 7 Boy finally starts dating dream girl

act 8 they break up again after one party cheats on the other.

Act 9 All is forgiven and they get back together forever.

[FurryFury]

act 8 they break up again after one party cheats on the other.

 

Doesn't happen very often, though. It's usually some sort of misunderstanding, or someone keeping a secret, and most of the time it involves one of them or both firmly holding the idiot ball.

[wayne67]

It all comes down to acts esp with these cliché written romances.

 

Act 1 Boy falls in love with girl.

Act 2 Girl starts going out with someone else.

Act 3 Boy gets over girl and either starts dating someone else or  goes away for a while.

act 4 Girl realizes that she loves boy and breaks up with current beau.

act 5 Girl tries to break up boy and his current girlfriend.

act 6  Boy breaks up with that girlfriend.

act 7 Boy finally starts dating dream girl

act 8 they break up again after one party cheats on the other.

Act 9 All is forgiven and they get back together forever.

 

I hate this formula so much. Mostly because the characters often end up undermined by the process.

 

Act 1 Boy is too shy, insecure or pathetic to admit he has feelings for a female. Girl is somehow oblivious even when painted as the best friend who knows everything about boy.

Act 2 Boy continues to be lame on the sidelines refusing to man up and say something or move on.

Act 3 Depending on how quick the new relationship develops, the previous relationship ends up feeling shallow and relatively unimportant in comparison

Act 4 Girl ends up looking like she was dating a guy she didn't love because he would do for the moment (which is how Eddie is coming across minus that one fun moment when he was doped up)

Act 5 Girl ends up seeming like a maladjusted person sabotaging the Boy's relationship because of impatience with a new emotion they just realised they had.

Act 6 Boy ends up looking like he treated the interim girl as a consolation prize until Girl 1 was free and interested.

Act 7 Usually boring anyway

Act 8 Usually endlessly frustrating as you're left screaming at the Tv "Why don't you have a conversation with the man/woman you love to sort things out"

Act 9 By the end of the Rollercoaster ride of stupidity and maladjusted dating tactics you tend to have given up on the couple as being a dead duck that you stopped caring about a while ago.

 

Usually the guy ends up either as the Nice Guy waiting for the girl to notice him in perpetual ineffectual limbo until he finally moves on only for the Girl to realise that she had no idea what her true feelings were until he moved on making her seem like a shallow cliche.

 

It's tiresome. I watched and hated it on OC with Marissa and Ryan, I'm hating the current direction of all the Glee couples and assorted love quadrangles. I've never understood the appeal of the love triangles. Can't they just have people missing windows of opportunities while they live their lifes.

 

I liked the Freaks and Geeks version better. The guy lusts after the hot cheerleader, she dumps her thuggish jock bf and hooks up with the nerd only for the nerd to realise she's dull and they have nothing really in common and he dumps her. Hilarity.

 

I'm still waiting to find out WHY Barry has loved Iris for a decade. What qualities attracts him to her or is it just hormones ?

Edited February 9, 2015 by wayne67

[bettername2come]

I'm still waiting to find out WHY Barry has loved Iris for a decade. What qualities attracts him to her or is it just hormones ?

 

Iris clearly cares a lot about Barry. She's been there for him, and it's been implied that Barry hasn't had a lot of friends. She's done post-graduate studies, so clearly she's intelligent. She's strong; she's able to rescue herself sometimes.She cares about people, since she claimed that was her reason for writing about the Flash - to give people hope. She stands ups for herself. She's playful. She's beautiful. She's affectionate. They have history. While I agree that the character needs more story, she is much more understandable as the main character's love interest than a lot of CW females have been. And I don't feel like Barry has to justify why he loves her. Sometimes that can be done for the story in a natural way and sometimes it can't, but in real life it's usually more complicated than a list of reasons someone's awesome.

[wayne67]

Iris clearly cares a lot about Barry. She's been there for him, and it's been implied that Barry hasn't had a lot of friends. She's done post-graduate studies, so clearly she's intelligent. She's strong; she's able to rescue herself sometimes.She cares about people, since she claimed that was her reason for writing about the Flash - to give people hope. She stands ups for herself. She's playful. She's beautiful. She's affectionate. They have history. While I agree that the character needs more story, she is much more understandable as the main character's love interest than a lot of CW females have been. And I don't feel like Barry has to justify why he loves her. Sometimes that can be done for the story in a natural way and sometimes it can't, but in real life it's usually more complicated than a list of reasons someone's awesome.

 

I'm not saying he has to justify his love but it's apparent to both of his 'dads' that he loved Iris since he was super young. It'd be nice to know what moment in their shared history that he fell in love with her. Was it while he had a family? Was it when she first knocked him out ? Was it while they were sleeping in the same house and he saw her as an attractive member of the opposite sex as opposed to a friend. I don't need a laundry list but it would be nice if during one of the Star Labs bonding sessions he could mention something about why he has loved her for a decade. It doesn't have to be a huge declaration of intent something as simple as Caitlin's "he brought warmth into my life" would suffice. 

 

At this point I'm like, he loves her, she's oblivious, why should I care ?

 

Iris apparently has wiped his love confession from her mind or is in heavy denial about the confession so I don't know where she stands on the issue. Is she thinking of him as a man instead of just a platonic friend/ foster brother? 

 

Barry has been doing things for her hoping she'll love him back. I want to know how creepy this love is. Did he transfer his feelings about comfort and twist it with early puberty into an infatuation on Iris?  Most of those traits of hers wouldn't have been applicable when she was 13. 

[phoenics]

Are you asking when Barry went from "crush" on Iris to being in love with her?

I think the writers are trying to say that he loved her that way before he even knew what being in love was - so I'm not even sure Barry could pinpoint that.

Max from Roswell loved Liz like that - from the moment he met her when they were like 6 years old or something.

[Xander]

 

act 8 they break up again after one party cheats on the other.

 

Cheating is only mildly tolerable in fiction if they cheat with each other. Cheating on each other is a harder pill to swallow.