Iris West

[Sakura12]

They need to be careful with Iris and have her interact more with other characters or she's going to go the way of a better acted Laurel and start to become irrelevant (besides being Barry's object of desire). 

 

I'm hoping they have more planned for her because I do like the actress and find her capable of more. With the

Iris investigating Star Labs, I hope that leads into Iris' comic background. Wells may know that Iris, isn't from this Time and that's why he singled her out during his press conference.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Sakura12

[driedfruit]

I sort of disagree. It's true we don't have any backstories on Cisco, Caitlyn and Joe, but the former two have received quite a bit more character development than Iris.

Each episode we're getting more insight into both Cisco and Caitlyn through their conversations with others. The same can't be said for Iris.

 

I disagree, I definitely don't think either Cisco and Caitlin have been better developed than Iris. But lately they're certainly getting a lot more screentime and unlike Iris they're always involved in the main plot, so I can see how they might seem more important right now. 

Edited February 4, 2015 by driedfruit

[quarks]

It does seem to vary from episode to episode. Episode 9 ("The Man in the Yellow Suit") told us a bit more about Iris, with hints of her mother, and not all that much about Cisco, even though he had some good scenes.  This last episode told us very little about Iris, except that she doesn't like to cancel dinners with her future in-laws but a bit more about Cisco - that he's still feeling guilty about Ronnie, that he knows a bit of street fighting. In the previous episode we learned a bit about he came to Star Labs, and that's he's bilingual (I know quite a few Hispanics who aren't, so, yeah, that was info.) 

 

I continue to hope that Iris is going to be let into Barry's secret soon.  Especially since as much as I loved the scene between Barry and his dad, it doesn't speak that well for Iris's observational skills that the guy in prison who has seen Flash once and his son just a few times has already figured it out, when Iris, who has interacted with both of them a lot more often, hasn't.

 

(Edited because "dead" and "dad" are rather different concepts.)

Edited February 4, 2015 by quarks

[Shanna]

I sort of disagree. It's true we don't have any backstories on Cisco, Caitlyn and Joe, but the former two have received quite a bit more character development than Iris.

Each episode we're getting more insight into both Cisco and Caitlyn through their conversations with others. The same can't be said for Iris.

See, I feel like I get all of those characters much more than I get iris. We don't need backstory to understand a character if they make sense. Cisco and Caitlin are smart science people. They worked at star labs, lab exploded (background drama and trauma). Wells is a mentor. Now they help Barry and try to fix the mess. Done and done.

But even a little thing about iris being flaky about hobbies would go miles towards explaining why her phd got dropped, if it did. Why she threw herself into blogging, why she's got sudden journalism focus... And that would be fine.

Instead we got iris telling us that her interest was solely in meta humans at first and really about Barry and his mom. Which would have been fine too except now it's about journalism? This is confusing. I want to like iris but I also want to understand her and the show is doing a crap job showing me who she is.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Shanna

[Lady Calypso]

 

 

Instead we got iris telling us that her interest was solely in meta humans at first and really about Barry and his mom. Which would have been fine too except now it's about journalism? This is confusing. I want to like iris but I also want to understand her and the show is doing a crap job showing me who she is.

 

 

I agree with this. The reason why I think many people, including myself, feel like this is coming out of left field is because we don't really know Iris and her connection to journalism. Did she enjoy it when she was younger? Was she on the school newspaper when she was in high school? Was writing something she had a fleeting passion for and has sparked up again recently? We don't really know, and that's the problem. I do know that people can have various hobbies as children that could either lead somewhere or it won't. I know she had that journalism class at the beginning of the season that she said she had to take, but there is a reason why she took it. It's just that we don't know Iris, so it's easier to think that this is all random just for the sake of plot. This is why we need Iris storylines outside of Barry, and outside of her dad (not that we get many of those anyway). Her storyline in the police station being a hostage was the closest thing we got to her getting her own storyline, and now her working as a reporter. 

 

I get this story is about Barry. It is called The Flash, after all. But we're getting info on Caitlin and Cisco because they are in the know about Barry and about metahumans. This is why Iris needs to be in the know as well, so she can be connected to the story and have her own storylines without feeling like it's taking away from the show. Her working as a reporter is a good start, but that's about it at this point. And her being in the know would help a lot. She could do some good and be a valuable member of the Flash Mob. Her job now brings a different aspect to the team. Cisco builds the weapons and suits and does some hacking, Caitlin handles the biology/science side, Wells supervises, Joe (and Eddie) provides the inside law information, and Iris could also help gain information, get stories out there and find the metahumans that Barry has to stop. She wouldn't be useless, not by a long shot. The show just needs to give her a chance, and sooner rather than later. 

 

Edited February 4, 2015 by jessied112

[Xander]

I sort of disagree. It's true we don't have any backstories on Cisco, Caitlyn and Joe, but the former two have received quite a bit more character development than Iris.

Each episode we're getting more insight into both Cisco and Caitlyn through their conversations with others. The same can't be said for Iris.

 

I completely agree with his. The only relationship being explored is hers with Barry and it's not been developed for three episodes. We can only assume she doesn't reciprocate his feelings but we don't know anything else. All she talks about is how she's not being taken seriously as a journalist. There's a lot of room for them to make us connect with her but that needs to start with letting her form relationships with the rest of the cast.  

 

Sadly, they've done such a terrible job with her and there are no indications that it will improve. 

[Shanna]

And Of course she isn't taken seriously! She's been a journalist for five minutes. She's practically an intern....

[wingster55]

Iris' trajectory into journalism actually makes sense imo. She didn't know she'd love it until she explored it. It happens. 

And based on future episode descriptions (which I don't consider spoilers) there's more to come.

This week's ep didn't feature her much. So? Is she meant to be ignored because of that? Her story has been building since the end of the pilot. 

[Xander]

And Of course she isn't taken seriously! She's been a journalist for five minutes. She's practically an intern....

 

For real. She keeps whining about a job she didn't even apply for. I think those scenes could have been written with a different tone to make her come across more sympathetically. 

[Oscirus]

I'm just bothered that it took us eleven episodes to even get her talking about reporting. And that's supposed to be her "dream job." Before that, the only three things they emphasized about her was that she was a waitress, wrote a block and that Barry has an unrequited crush on her. If I didn't like the actress who played Iris I'd probably find her irrelevant.

Hell, the writers  don't even seem that enthusiastic about her since they don't even bother to put her in promotional materials or even the preview synopsises half the time.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I don't think it was ever said that Iris considered reporting her "dream job."

 

It also didn't take 11 episodes to get her talking about reporting. In episode 2, she was doing reporting as part of a journalism requirement for whatever degree she was in school for. It will be seared into my memory that she tried to get a quote from the scientist/CEO Simon Stagg, and when she got blown off, she goes "I'll just make something up." Which is a first-rate violation of journalistic ethics. 

 

Her blogging has also been a form of reporting as well that has been featured for most of the show's run. 

 

Minor correction: Iris has been shown to be a barista at the coffee house CC Jitters (rather than a waitress), a student (albeit barely), and has been displayed in terms of being Joe's daughter who he has to protect and Eddie's girlfriend. That doesn't take away from the overall point that Iris needs to be fleshed out more and given more agency.

[venusnv80]

Tonight's episode was difficult for me. I think that I have some kind of PTSD from other shows where WoC characters are minimized and marginalized... it's worse when they are the lead actress and they get shoved aside, as Iris West has been.

I think she had less than 5 minutes of screen time in this episode.

I can handle the ship baiting - but not when Iris is barely shown and when she is, Barry's being kind of a dick to her and acting like she owes him something.

I feel like I've been baited and switched. I was going to watch The Flash regardless, but CP being cast was really an exciting and historic thing that made me even more stoked for the show... and seeing her get shoved to the sidelines and barely registering as a fully fleshed out character and looking like a supporting character when she's supposed to be the lead actress...

No. That will not do at all.

Yeah, they will get the side eye until further notice and with the promo pics for The Nuclear man 

with Barry carrying and saving Caitlyn (AGAIN), i'm just rolling my eyes. Funny that we were worried Iris would become the damsel in distress.

The fact is, the CW would catch some hell if they even THINK about going against the comics on this one. 

[driedfruit]

I don't think Iris is going to have much screen time until her new arc gets started in 1.14 and I'm alright with that. She has some interesting stuff coming up that I'm really excited about.

[phoenics]

Yeah, they will get the side eye until further notice and with the promo pics for The Nuclear man 

with Barry carrying and saving Caitlyn (AGAIN), i'm just rolling my eyes. Funny that we were worried Iris would become the damsel in distress.

The fact is, the CW would catch some hell if they even THINK about going against the comics on this one.

Yeah - it wasn't really Iris fans who were worried about her becoming a damsel in distress (as Caitlin has now been TWICE and soon to be THRICE - it was fans looking for a reason to dismiss Iris. They didn't need to bother - TPTB clearly don't plan on fleshing Iris out in a meaningful way and by the time they do, it will be too late and the shipping will end up costing CP her job. CP won't have the same buffer time that KC had to try to save her leading status. I'm calling it now. It's not like this kind of mess hasn't happened before.

[Enero]

Yeah - it wasn't really Iris fans who were worried about her becoming a damsel in distress (as Caitlin has now been TWICE and soon to be THRICE - it was fans looking for a reason to dismiss Iris. They didn't need to bother - TPTB clearly don't plan on fleshing Iris out in a meaningful way and by the time they do, it will be too late and the shipping will end up costing CP her job. CP won't have the same buffer time that KC had to try to save her leading status. I'm calling it now. It's not like this kind of mess hasn't happened before.

I really do hope you're wrong. I'm trying very much to give the show the benefit of the doubt. However, I can't lie. It's difficult due to how I've seen other shows handle WOC. I've seen too many times how it starts, and this show is starting to adopt those same patterns I've seen many times before on other shows that ended up marginalizing their WOC.

With regards to the 1x14 spoilers on Iris, it just states that

she will be told that something is fishy at STAR Labs. It says nothing about her beginning an investigation into Wells. I think the latter is just fan speculation, logical, but speculation nonetheless.

. There have been a few things already that I thought would logically go one way for Iris only for nothing to come of it. So...I guess we'll have to see what or if anything of substance happens.

[driedfruit]

I guess maybe I'm used to how girls get treated on CW, so Iris' case isn't so jarring to me. I seriously doubt Candice will lose her job, phoenics, as she's pretty popular (though obviously not on previouslytv, lol) and even if the writers wanted to send her packing the network would veto them for another couple of seasons at least.

[Oscirus]

I don't think it was ever said that Iris considered reporting her "dream job."

 

You're right, I just gave her the benefit of the doubt on that one. The alternative is she was offered some random job that she may or may not be interested in and she said yes just because of the prestige. Which would be worst.

 

It also didn't take 11 episodes to get her talking about reporting. In episode 2, she was doing reporting as part of a journalism requirement for whatever degree she was in school for.

 

 

Ok that's a bit of a cheat but I'll amend the statement. It took her eleven episodes to actually get interested in journalism. Which considering that's her comic book counterpart's job, that's pretty ridiculous imo.

 

Her blogging has also been a form of reporting as well that has been featured for most of the show's run.

 

Cutting and pasting is not reporting. I'd argue that the blog was just a lazy way of having Iris's connection to the flash get noticed/ connect Iris more to the rest of the cast.

 

 

Also people, I wouldn't worry about Candice getting fired unless she does something really stupid like demand a raise or something of the sort.  With all the flack this show gets for it's lack of diversity, it can ill afford to dump it's one African-American female anytime soon.

 

It makes perfect sense for her to start investigating the lab with Mason during episode 14 and beyond. Otherwise, it would be pointless to have her partnering up with him. That plus I imagine that her investigating the lab and finding bad things would serve to: a) form a divide between her and Barry ( tension) b) Put her in danger with wells (tension) and c) Bring her that much closer to finding out about Flash ( more tension. 

That story writes itself.

[wingster55]

Based on episode descriptions and tweets...Iris will have more going on for her soon. Not to be rude...it's pretty ridiculous people are assuming (ok one person) that Candice is going to be fired. Sometimes patience is a virtue. Considering Iris didn't have an interest in journalism pre-series I like that her arc is taking time. Not insta-reporter Iris like Smallville tried.  

[Sakura12]

Candice is not going to lose her job. She's a canon character with a name. She's safe.

 

Now whether or not they will do anything with her character is still up in the air though. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

To briefly respond to Oscirus:

 

There's a lot of middle ground between "dream job" and "random job she may or may not be interested in." Like other posters have said, millenials often do not take the straight-line career paths that Baby Boomers or Gen Xers did. It's perfectly plausible that she has thought about various careers (police officer, academic or social worker) on some level or another, and is now interested in experimenting with journalism. Not (just) because of the prestige or the paycheck, but she may have found she enjoyed it.

 

We have to put aside to a certain extent what Comic Book Iris did/does/is like and judge Show Iris on her own terms. I tend to agree that if I were the showrunners, I would have just started with Iris either as a journalism student or a journalist, rather than as a barista/non-journalism grad student, but that's water under the bridge now.

 

The line between blogging and traditional journalism are in some respects blurry. Iris has been excited about her blogging from the jump. So it still is incorrect IMO to say it took her 11 episodes to get excited about journalism. 

 

We haven't seen her actual blog contents, but it seems that it involved more than merely "cutting and pasting." The scene in which Caitlin talks to Iris to ask about the information about a man on fire suggests that  much, as does the fact that the Central City Picture News would hire her. Even with a connection to the Flash, if all she was doing was cutting and pasting news from elsewhere about the Flash, she doesn't have much to offer. They had to have some reason to think that she could actually break news about the Flash rather than post a link to what the Central City Citizen or some other source might be reporting.

[MarkHB]

Personally, I'm fine thinking of it as "better job than barista, that happened to fall into her lap because the editor thinks she has an inside line to The Flash."

[phoenics]

Based on episode descriptions and tweets...Iris will have more going on for her soon. Not to be rude...it's pretty ridiculous people are assuming (ok one person) that Candice is going to be fired. Sometimes patience is a virtue. Considering Iris didn't have an interest in journalism pre-series I like that her arc is taking time. Not insta-reporter Iris like Smallville tried.

You call it rude - I call it understanding how often women of color are erased from media (see Sleepy Hollow as an example - they actually admitted that they tried something and it didn't work - which means that if it HAD worked, they would have continued marginalizing the black lead on the show and from there it's easy to just go full in and kill her off).

The last episode had a definite tone shift - DP got all of the emotional beats of the episode (and the time to actually display them), while CP got 5 minutes of screen time. She's been left out of promos constantly and in the back half of the season she's barely gotten any screen time.

So - call me rude if you want - but I'm just being realistic. Of course I don't WANT her to lose her job (and I'm not the only one worried this will happen - read the thread please) - but given recent events (Slepy Hollow, the leaked Sony emails), I don't think my fears are unfounded. Couple that with how KC lost her leading status in every way except the credits, I don't think my worries are unfounded.

[wingster55]

I was actually calling myself rude (or rather hoping I didn't come off that way) 

 

The last episode had a definite tone shift - DP got all of the emotional beats of the episode (and the time to actually display them), while CP got 5 minutes of screen time. She's been left out of promos constantly and in the back half of the season she's barely gotten any screen time.

 

Right and if it continued that way for all the episodes afterwards (and the ones before) then you'd have a real reason..but for there to be just one ep where Caitlin had more focus...I don't think worrying or jumping to conclusions is needed now. 

[phoenics]

You know - if it was just writing I might agree - but it was that Caitlin now has an apartment set while we still haven't seen where Iris lives - plus the emotional beats in this episode just felt way off to me.

Like a shift.

Aargh - Sleepy Hollow has made me so jumpy.

[Trini]

 

Aargh - Sleepy Hollow has made me so jumpy.

 

I get you, I do. But I'm not ready to hit the panic button ... yet.

[bettername2come]

but it was that Caitlin now has an apartment set while we still haven't seen where Iris lives

 

We have seen the bedroom, before she moved in with Eddie.

 

I think it was just an off ep in general. Wells pushing her to ask him a question is one of the more telling things about her having an important future in the show, whether or not it's connected to Barry.

.

[phoenics]

We have seen the bedroom, before she moved in with Eddie.

 

I think it was just an off ep in general. Wells pushing her to ask him a question is one of the more telling things about her having an important future in the show, whether or not it's connected to Barry.

.

See - I took that as being there so that Barry would look at Wells more favorably for helping Iris out with the question... though how did Wells know Iris was struggling in her job?

[Oscirus]

About the blog. Since she's only shown up at one crime scene while tending to the blog, ( I know that people will say that she showed up to two, but whether or not she was tending to the blog during the captain cold-heatwave/flash fight is debatable), and since she's only been involved with one Flash villain, I'd think it's safe to say she's cutting and pasting. The newspaper hired her because from her blog story about  Girder, it was obvious that she had some sort of connection to the Flash and they wanted to exploit it.  They partnered her up with a Pulitzer winning reporter to cover up any reporter shortcomings that she may have had. 

 

how did Wells know Iris was struggling in her job?

 

When she was the only reporter not trying to ask Wells a question, it was kind of a dead giveaway.

 

But Candice fans should be thrilled that she's not going to be Barry's first conquest. This gives writers a chance to build her up as something other then the object of Barry's affections. As for any worries about her being phased out. So far, she's the one who named Flash, she was the only non-Barry narrator and there was also the "you'll never be alone," dream that Barry was having with Iris being the one to wake him from said nightmare.  I'd agree that she's underused but for the most part, she's fine.

[peachmangosteen]

I get this story is about Barry. It is called The Flash, after all. But we're getting info on Caitlin and Cisco because they are in the know about Barry and about metahumans. This is why Iris needs to be in the know as well, so she can be connected to the story and have her own storylines without feeling like it's taking away from the show.

 

I've been wondering if maybe the fact that Iris isn't in on the secret is why she's so marginalized right now. Like maybe the writers just aren't good enough to figure out how to use her because she's not in the know. Or they're too lazy.

 

Especially since as much as I loved the scene between Barry and his dad, it doesn't speak that well for Iris's observational skills that the guy in prison who has seen Flash once and his son just a few times has already figured it out, when Iris, who has interacted with both of them a lot more often, hasn't.

 

This. I was like damn Iris you outta be getting a clue by now. But hell, maybe she is, but it's just happening off screen since we're so rarely allowed to see her POV on screen!

 

I hope that the last ep was a one-off and that it's not a clue about a big shift. But honestly, I don't think Iris has gotten much development at all so far, so the fact that she didn't in this ep didn't even stand out to me that much or even seem like a shift. They just need to write Iris better.

Edited February 6, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[In2You]

I still dont understand why they are holding off on Iris knowing that Barry is The Flash. She was in his life before all these other people and if he can reveal it to villains he can tell her too.

[Shanna]

I still dont understand why they are holding off on Iris knowing that Barry is The Flash. She was in his life before all these other people and if he can reveal it to villains he can tell her too.

I would be inclined to think this and many of the other issues are just about the writers being hacks. This is typical superhero nonsense.

I just wish they would actually give us Iris's perspective on things and write her job stuff more consistently as far as motives go.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Wells doesn't need to specifically know that Iris was struggling in her job. 

 

He has future knowledge, and so he probably has some knowledge of what becomes of Iris, how she got started in journalism, etc.

 

He also could have thrown the question to her not to help her, but to ingratiate himself further with Barry. 

[Xander]

I don't think this is the first episode she's been marginalized so I understand the worry because it just seems to be getting worse.

 

 

This gives writers a chance to build her up as something other then the object of Barry's affections.

 

The fear is they won't use this chance. 

[FurryFury]

I've been wondering if maybe the fact that Iris isn't in on the secret is why she's so marginalized right now. Like maybe the writers just aren't good enough to figure out how to use her because she's not in the know.

 

This is definitely #1 problem for them. Arrow showed that non-Team Arrow characters (except for the older ppl) were never given anything interesting to do (at least in the first 2 seasons, I quit after that). I really hoped that The Flash will correct this mistake, but no such luck.

 

I really think that the fears that Iris is going to be marginalized and written off are absolutely unfounded. So far, the reaction to her has been mildly positive. CP is definitely a better actress than DP. The ship tease with other characters doesn't mean she'll be written off or even lose her leading lady status. Again, Arrow has shown that while the writers depend on fan reaction up to a certain point, comics canon is still very (too much, I'd say) important for them, whether it works or not. So don't worry, really. Iris is far from hated. She'll be there until the end, most likely, barring actress problems.

 

I'm not sure she'll get better writing, though, but she's not the only character in the show who isn't written well. Hell, look at Eddie. Caitlyn is also all over the place. 

Edited February 6, 2015 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

Is Iris really The female lead? This isn't a Felicity/EBR situation, Iris West and Caitlin Snow were cast as regulars since the beginning. DP even appeared first on Arrow before The Flash aired. I think they might be equal female leads. 

 

Iris is supposed to be the end game love interest if they go with because comics. Which is what these writers seem to depend on whether it's working or not. And If Iris is the end game love for Barry and they want to wait to put them together right away, they need to make Iris her own character and not just depend on the love interest part of it, which is what they are doing. 

 

However these EP's being the same as the ones on Arrow are terrible at writing for women. It's the actresses that are making the character popular. Women it seems are only seen as victims or love interests, and everything about them is told not shown. Laurel is told she's a great fighter, Iris is told she's a great reporter, when the evidence on screen shows the opposite. They do very little to show them work towards deserving the praise. Most of the time they just suddenly are great. 

[phoenics]

According to the credits, CP is the lead actress on this show.

[Shanna]

According to the credits, CP is the lead actress on this show.

I think I'm with Sakura on this. CP may come first in credits (I guess I don't really pay attention) but somebody has to. I think of everybody but Barry as sort of ensemble characters. This isn't Lois and Clark. It's Barry and friends.

However these EP's being the same as the ones on Arrow are terrible at writing for women

I actually they wrote some great female characters, they just failed with one important one. The problem is they wrote good characters and then killed them off. I think they did far better job writing the women on arrow in its first season than they've done on this show.

But the actress they cast for iris is actually like able which is helpful because that's kind of the only thing carrying her character right now for me.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Shanna

[phoenics]

There is a visible gap between her and Barry's name and the rest of the names - which is done when illustrating lead roles.

[Sakura12]

Exactly, Barry/Grant is the lead everyone else is his ensemble. 

[peachmangosteen]

I'm not sure she'll get better writing, though, but she's not the only character in the show who isn't written well. Hell, look at Eddie. Caitlyn is also all over the place. 

 

Yea really. But I think I expect more from the writing for Iris because I thought she was the female lead. But she sure hasn't seemed like that at all so far IMO. I do think Caitlin has come off as more of the female lead than Iris so far, but again I think that's most likely because the writer's don't really know how to write for her currently because she doesn't know Barry's secret.

[Enero]

As I understand, for a long while in the comics, Iris didn't know Barry's secret but still has a rich history in her own right. There's a wealth of stories the writers of this show can draw from to build Iris' story while tying it back to the main story that is the Flash. It seems that at this point the writers have no interest in tapping into that history.

For all its faults, I can say that in S1, Arrow worked to give all of its leading ladies a POV i.e. Laurel, Thea and Moira. Hell even Diggle got a POV and character insight and he was clearly support to Oliver. This is where this show needs work, especially in terms of Iris, since she is a major player in the story of Flash.

[phoenics]

Exactly, Barry/Grant is the lead everyone else is his ensemble.

What I said was that there is a gap between his name, her name, and THEN the rest of the cast.

His name gets a bit more time than hers, but she gets more than the names that follow hers. That's usually how shows denote lead status.

[driedfruit]

Exactly, Barry/Grant is the lead everyone else is his ensemble. 

 

People actually disputing Candice's role as the female lead is where things get a little depressing since it shows the problems with the recent arc and how little focus/screentime she is getting.

 

But hopefully things get better 1.14 and on. 

 

 

I do think Caitlin has come off as more of the female lead than Iris so far, but again I think that's most likely because the writer's don't really know how to write for her currently because she doesn't know Barry's secret.

 

How so? Caitlin's only arc has involved Ronnie, and that hasn't even gotten that much screentime. Nor has she had much development as a character. Mother hening the Star labs gang and her ping pong feelings for Ronnie aren't really much. Meanwhile Iris has had her own independent arcs involving her blog, her relationship with Eddie, and going against her father. She might not get a lot of screentime in group situations at Star Labs, but her character has actually gone from point A to B in her arcs, defying her overprotective dad, advancing her relationship and moving in with Eddie, starting her blog, breaking her relations to Flash, getting a job... No one other than Barry has gone through much changes 1.01 to now. 

Edited February 7, 2015 by driedfruit

[peachmangosteen]

I don't see it. Iris doesn't seem like a lead to me and often times I have no idea what she's even doing/thinking at all. And the whole thing with her career is terrible. I can see what people are saying with it making sense, but that's fanwanking it IMO. On the show itself it doesn't work IMO. 

 

The writing for Caitlin is atrocious and CP is better than DP (but I personally like DP and don't think she's abysmal or even that CP is heads and shoulder above her), but I still feel like I understand Caitlin better than Iris and that I know more about her.

Edited February 7, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Xander]

Even if she's the intended female lead, the writers aren't treating her as such. She's barely on screen these days and isn't even in the promos. She's never involved in the 'A' plot and she was barely in this episode which was largely about Barry deciding to move on from their relationship. 

 

Right now, she plays like that ex-girlfriend who screws up the lead turning him into a tortured soul who's a player, jerk, sleeps around or whatever. And she might end up getting a flashback scene or an appearance towards the end of Season 1. Her story isn't told because it's irrelevant. But as Iris is an actual character here, both sides of the story need to be told and we're not getting that at all.

 

One may say that Caitlin hasn't grown but her story with Ronnie is hers. We can't say the same of Iris. Even if all Caitlin does is nurse Barry's wounds, she's still always involved in the "A" plot.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Xander

[Oscirus]

She's definitely the lead since she's the only non barry character that has storylines independent of star labs and Barry.

 

The problem with Iris is that she's been playing catch up this whole time. Everybody else was locked into the careers they were destined for and Iris was still in school. The writers tried to fix this by pretending that her blog was the definitive work on meta-humans but it came off as forced. Add a father who seems more interested in protecting her then being a parent ,and best friend who apparently does nice things for her to get with her and it's easy to see why she gets little screen time.

 

I don't think anybody wanted to know that Iris's origin story was that she couldn't be a cop because her dad's an ass and that she basically became a reporter by virtue of some blog she wrote.  Also the growing up together under the same roof thing? Yea, that makes nobody look good. 

 

It's quite infuriating that they took her interesting comic book history and reduced it to the crap it is on the screen.

[In2You]

It would be nice to have a show about The Flash that wrote Iris correctly since she is the canon love interest. And Barry and Iris are a popular comic couple. The 90s show wasn't kind to her either(and coincidentally wanted to pair Barry up with one of Wally's love interests).  

[driedfruit]

One may say that Caitlin hasn't grown but her story with Ronnie is hers. We can't say the same of Iris. Even if all Caitlin does is nurse Barry's wounds, she's still always involved in the "A" plot.

 

Playing a secondary role in the main plot has nothing to do with it. A lead, as the term suggests, is a character who "leads" their own arcs. 

 

Even if she's the intended female lead, the writers aren't treating her as such. She's barely on screen these days and isn't even in the promos.

 

The fact that she isn't is where the current outrage on social media is coming from. People are shocked and disgusted by this change because Iris is the female lead and they expect to see her in promos and for her to have more screen time. If she wasn't the lead it wouldn't be a big deal. Just like how no one is flooding twitter with outrage over Eddie's minuscule screen time. 

Edited February 10, 2015 by driedfruit

[FurryFury]

I'm actually not sure that the term "female lead" always has weight. I mean, there are shows with all-male casts, shows that are focused on bromances with all females in the background, yet nobody gives a damn. For instance, I don't watch Hawaii 5-0, but does the girl on the team really has more plot importance than any other secondary character, just by virtue of being the only female on the team? From what I've heard, she doesn't. And who's the female lead on, say, Gotham? I'm not even sure. 

 

The point is you and some other fans of Iris are just invested in her comic book character and you expected her to have more prominence on the show. I'm not saying you are wrong to do that, you probably aren't, but she isn't a second lead, like Abby on Sleeping Hollow, she's just another secondary character here, just one whose actress is second billed and whose role is that of a love interest. Maybe this will change - I'd love for it to happen, I like the actress and I hate it when female characters are reduced to nothing more than love interests - but right now, the show isn't diminishing Iris' role, it's continuing to use her in the way they've originally intended to.

Edited February 10, 2015 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

I don't care what the actual term for "lead" is, I go by whoever has plot relevance on the show I'm watching.

 

Yes, Iris gets outside things to do, but it's not that well thought out or focused on. All that does is show me they are bidding their time until she can become part of the actual show. (they made that mistake on Arrow) I can FF her scenes and it wouldnt' change the show, which makes me start to count her as unimportant until they decide she is. If they want to keep the Flash identity a secret from her, fine, they do however need to have her interact with the other characters more, Caitlin or Cisco or I don't know, her own father. Her upcoming storylines sounds like she might, I'll wait and see what happens with that.