Iris West

[cynic]

But that's kinda what I'm saying. I would understand him offering her this specific function of bringing in the Flash and other meta human news, but that's not what he did apparently. Or at least he didn't explain it to Iris when he offered her the job, since she was surprised that no one was interested in her as a legit reporter. He just hired her, brought her in to regular story meetings, gets disappointed that she has no Flash news, and basically appears to be willing to keep her on payroll until something Flash related drops into her lap again. I think the writers thought the overcoming low expectations thing was good character development, but I think the whole thing is a mess. I like Iris and Candice Patton, but I think the writers are mishandling her.

[phoenics]

Maybe they are - I'm sure they couldn't have guessed that some fans (not saying you are doing this) would practically be demanding proof of her journalism skills, lol.

Like I said - I think they've mishandled how this has come about, but maybe they'll get it together better now.

[wayne67]

Maybe they are - I'm sure they couldn't have guessed that some fans (not saying you are doing this) would practically be demanding proof of her journalism skills, lol.

Like I said - I think they've mishandled how this has come about, but maybe they'll get it together better now.

 

I think the fact that Iris was as clueless as we were about her function at the newspaper proves this story line is a mess. Iris apparently took a job as a reporter without actually asking any questions about the job. That's what makes me laugh at her 'reporting skills' more than anything. Of course noone took her seriously because she hasn't actually done any reporting before. Blogging is not the same as reporting, there may be degrees of intersections of skills, eg writing style but it varies so much with investigation skills such as corroborating information, asking questions of bystanders, liaising with the police and journalistic integrity.

 

I do find it funny that the picture she took of Flash ends up on the front page and they don't even have a conversation about it. If Iris is supposed to be Barry's BFF why isn't she telling him this major news instead of his father showing him the newspaper where I can't even read the byline to figure out if she got credit for the photo or wrote the article.

 

I don't really like investing in maybes personally. I want an actual trajectory that makes sense. I have a similar problem with Barry, he doesn't seem to be growing as a person much even with major life changing events.

Edited February 14, 2015 by wayne67

[cynic]

I actually took Iris' surprise less as evidence of her skills as a journalist and more as evidence that her boss sucks. For all we know, Iris basically talked to HR on the phone, got offered a job as a trainee and was told to show up at 8am. She may not have had the opportunity to discuss what her boss actually was expecting. At my work (which granted isn't a newspaper), you interview for a position and know what the general description is, but you don't see your actual boss or get a specific assignment until you get there.

I'm just hoping that the writers will give her more screen time soon and start her really investigating the weird happenings in town. My favorite parts of the show from the beginning were Joe, Wells, and Iris, especially her interactions with the Flash.

Edited February 15, 2015 by cynic

[Shanna]

Well, I thought it was super weird she did nothing with the picture and now that I realize it was on the front page I think it's weird they didn't discuss it or that there was zero reaction from Barry to her sneaking that picture on the sly when he came to her about something else...

[phoenics]

Agree with you on that Shanna.

The writers keep dropping stuff. Or maybe they only cared to show Barry about it with Joe - Iris didn't matter.

Ugh - this cold (on Valentine's Day!) is making me cranky, lol.

[wayne67]

Well, I thought it was super weird she did nothing with the picture and now that I realize it was on the front page I think it's weird they didn't discuss it or that there was zero reaction from Barry to her sneaking that picture on the sly when he came to her about something else...

 

See if Barry was annoyed that Iris took advantage of the Flash to further her own career at his own expense that could make for interesting drama with his pointless secret alter ego but instead it's just another non event. It's interesting that she failed the number 1 rule of reporting... She didn't protect her source. Depending on whether she got credit for that photo exposes her to tonnes more risk.

 

If not it wouldn't ingratiate her to the Flash. Then again The Flash is her lying BFF so nothing she does has consequences for their secret relationship.

 

 

I actually took Iris' surprise less as evidence of her skills as a journalist and more as evidence that her boss sucks. For all we know, Iris basically talked to HR on the phone, got offered a job as a trainee and was told to show up at 8am. She may not have had the opportunity to discuss what her boss actually was expecting. At my work (which granted isn't a newspaper), you interview for a position and know what the general description is, but you don't see your actual boss or get a specific assignment until you get there.

 

For all we know Iris didn't ask. We don't know anything we haven't seen on screen or hasn't been mentioned. It could have been solved if she said anything during those scenes with Barry complaining about reporting because it seems to imply that she expected something else to be the case. It's a mess because I shouldn't have to work this hard to figure out the details of a major character's major life event.

 

It's like her reaction to Barry's love confession. I'm stuck guessing at her reaction which seems to be a complete blank denial.

Edited February 15, 2015 by wayne67

[phoenics]

Wayne67 - if there's one thing we can definitely agree on - it's that we shouldn't have to work so darn hard just to understand Iris' pov. It feels very manipulative on the part of the writers - rather than give us Iris' pov, they keep it from us to draw out the drama.

It's like when a writer keeps the "lovers" apart due to a silly misunderstanding that could easily be cleared up if folks talked to one another - had a simple conversation. I hate manipulative writing like that.

[cynic]

Oh yeah, they've totally shortchanged Iris on some really important plot points. But we seem to have all the time in the world for stupid drunk Caitlin shipper bait.

[wayne67]

Wayne67 - if there's one thing we can definitely agree on - it's that we shouldn't have to work so darn hard just to understand Iris' pov. It feels very manipulative on the part of the writers - rather than give us Iris' pov, they keep it from us to draw out the drama.

It's like when a writer keeps the "lovers" apart due to a silly misunderstanding that could easily be cleared up if folks talked to one another - had a simple conversation. I hate manipulative writing like that.

 

The sad thing is the drama isn't even interesting. It's all very highschool drama. I love her, she loves someone else, I move on, she's now interested. For a show about super villains and super powers I don't want to see boring repetitive love triangles that I can see on basically every stupid show especially since I'm not overly invested in who gets with who.

 

Iris got into a relationship with Eddie off screen and pursues that relationship 95% off screen. 99% of Barry and Iris's relationship is supposedly implied as him crushing on her. It does not lend weight to their epic love triangle. It's just coming across as overwrought nonsense.

[phoenics]

Oh yeah, they've totally shortchanged Iris on some really important plot points. But we seem to have all the time in the world for stupid drunk Caitlin shipper bait.

And people wonder why Iris fans are claiming that Iris is being marginalized.

Edited February 15, 2015 by phoenics

[phoenics]

I pulled this over from Barry's thread, because I think it's a good point. While Iris is thinly drawn and her career storyline is a mess, she has consistently been shown caring about Barry, being supportive, and treating him well. I think she's confused about her feelings right now, but I don't think she purposely sabotaged Barry and Linda. Remember Iris was encouraging Barry Yu date early in the season. I don't think seeing him with another girl suddenly made her jealous and caused her to look at him differently. I think his confession of love caused that and now she's trying to sort out her feelings and maybe isn't sure if she made the right decision. I don't think her actions warrant hate at all. She made a mistake. Barry's made mistakes. Hopefully they'll both get past them.

Thank you for this post.

I've been trying to articulate how Iris must be feeling and I keep getting wrapped up in the whole convo she had with Linda.

What I believe is happening is exactly what you said: it wasn't Barry and Linda dating that caused feelings to come to the surface for Iris - it was Barry's confession.

I think Iris is trying to deal with her feelings for Barry - but she's got the added complication of what to do about Eddie (whom she obviously loves) - and then Barry keeps "taking back" his confession - so what's Iris supposed to do? Confess that she might have feelings for a guy who keeps downplaying and "taking back" his love confession (understandably)?

I think that for Iris - she's trying to sort out what she feels, and then WHAMMO! Barry pops up with a new girl and now Iris probably feels like she has to get her life immediately - or she might lose him.

This is why I really wish the writers had allowed Iris to at least TELL Barry something - so we'd know if/how she'd rejected him. That way we'd know if she just didn't respond because she was still processing what he said, or if she really did actually verbally reject him (in a knee jerk, but I have Eddie kind of way) and THEN the feelings came up later on as she continued to process.

I honestly think Iris is in a tough spot. If she'd told Barry she needed time to think - she'd be blasted for "betraying" Eddie. But if she really DID need time to think but rejected Barry because of Eddie - now she's dealing with the feelings for Barry anyway.

It's like being told you need to get somewhere immediately, but the train has already left you behind.

Barry has had all of this time with his feelings for Iris. He has has SO much time that in his mind, she could never reciprocate - thus he hasn't even given her TIME to process to see if she really would reciprocate. Iris hasn't had nearly the amount of time with the idea of Barry "that way" as Barry has had with the idea of Iris "that way".

[Xander]

 

and then Barry keeps "taking back" his confession - so what's Iris supposed to do? Confess that she might have feelings for a guy who keeps downplaying and "taking back" his love confession (understandably)?

Didn't this just happen once? At the end of the last episode? 

[phoenics]

Didn't this just happen once? At the end of the last episode?

Well, not if you count when they had the whole "fist bump" conversation... I could see Iris thinking of that as Barry taking his "love confession" back. Barry kept saying how he wanted to go back to BAU (paraphrasing) so there's room for interpretation there that Iris could have taken him to mean that he was taking the love confession back.

My point in bringing it up is to say that Iris has a "sure thing" somewhat with Eddie. So with the way Barry has been so wishy washy (he's never actually pursued her) with everything puts Iris in a weird spot. She could either drop Eddie and go for Barry, but risk that Barry "didn't really mean it" or "realized he's over it" or whatever and now she's put herself out there counting 2 birds in a bush when she had one in her hand.

I think Barry - in his assumption that Iris couldn't possibly feel anything for him - kinda shot himself in the foot.

I'm still kinda irritated at Barry for that a little. He really was just doing the confession for himself - he didn't really give Iris an opportunity to have a full reaction.

[Xander]

Phoenics, to be quite honest, when it comes to Iris and Barry, I don't quite understand what you expect of him.

 

Barry confessed to Iris and she didn't say a word. He might have left to give her time to process what he said but regardless, she never said a thing to him afterwards. I don't think leaving after that confession constitutes not giving her an opportunity for a full reaction. And both he and Iris arrived at the same conclusion, which was that she did not reciprocate his feelings. She said this herself in the past episode. 

 

Iris went along and moved in with Eddie. Things were very awkward between them and Barry said that he hoped that they would regain their friendship. As she's moving in with her boyfriend, does it really make sense for Barry to reiterate that he still loves her? What that conversation indicated was the he'd accepted her decision and hoped they could stay friends. Even if he'd asked for time to get over his feelings, he would have been asking time for himself and not giving her time since it wouldn't even make sense. She never asked for time nor indicated that she would need some or that he could have some hope that his feelings would ever be reciprocated. She was moving in with her boyfriend. 

 

 

So with the way Barry has been so wishy washy (he's never actually pursued her) with everything puts Iris in a weird spot. She could either drop Eddie and go for Barry, but risk that Barry "didn't really mean it" or "realized he's over it" or whatever and now she's put herself out there counting 2 birds in a bush when she had one in her hand.

 

Huh? Iris made her choice when she moved in with Eddie. This was before Barry told her that they should still be friends. This was before Barry told her that he no longer had feelings for her. He told her that he loved her for 14 years. I don't understand how that means he's wishy-washy (from her perspective) and from her conversation with Linda, she believed that he still loved her. So even after he asked that they be friends, Iris was still under the impression that he still loved her. 

 

 

I think Barry - in his assumption that Iris couldn't possibly feel anything for him - kinda shot himself in the foot.

 

I agree that he shot himself in the foot by being a coward since high school and only confessing when he had the lowest chance of getting his feelings reciprocated. I don't think he really gave them a chance. 

[phoenics]

Phoenics, to be quite honest, when it comes to Iris and Barry, I don't quite understand what you expect of him.

Sorry?

Barry confessed to Iris and she didn't say a word. He might have left to give her time to process what he said but regardless, she never said a thing to him afterwards. I don't think leaving after that confession constitutes not giving her an opportunity for a full reaction. And both he and Iris arrived at the same conclusion, which was that she did not reciprocate his feelings. She said this herself in the past episode.

Yes - she said that - but as I said, I wonder if what she actually meant was that she didn't reciprocate - at the time that Barry sprung the confession on her - as in, she waited, saying nothing, and now she's kinda lost her chance.

Because we don't know what happened with the confession (writers please fix this), it's hard to really understand what Iris meant when she said what she said.

Also, I'm not so sure Iris ever rejected him with words. The reason I think this is because I don't think that if she'd have said, "No, Barry, I'm with Eddie and I'm staying with him... and I don't see you that way..." Barry would have been expecting her to fall into his arms when he offered to help her with her reporter thing.

I may be reading into this a little bit but when things have been left unsaid, I can kinda see how Barry might still be in wish/hope mode with Iris and then be disappointed when he sees Iris with Eddie and Eddie's parents. It still irritates me though that he was trying to "nice guy" his way in though, but whatevs.

Anyway - that's where I'm coming from there.

Iris went along and moved in with Eddie. Things were very awkward between them and Barry said that he hoped that they would regain their friendship. As she's moving in with her boyfriend, does it really make sense for Barry to reiterate that he still loves her?

Oh I see where we are crossing hairs.

I think what I meant by pursuit is that when Barry confessed, he just dropped the information on her and left. He didn't say, I want to be with you. He didn't say, please love me back. He just dropped it and left. I'm not saying he was a bad guy for that - just that he didn't really leave room for Iris to do anything there.

Someone else mentioned it in Barry's thread or perhaps this one - but it's kinda like when someone cheats on you and then confesses 10 years later just to get it off of their chest, but now YOU have to deal with something they've probably already dealt with AND now you have to deal with it pretty much alone - since it's too late to address it.

That's one of my pet peeves.

I do understand why Barry confessed that way - but as I've been trying (perhaps unsuccessfully) to say is that Barry made a lot of assumptions about Iris before actually coming clean that framed his behavior in a way to make it really hard for Iris to even TRY to reciprocate.

I'm not saying it wouldn't have been hard for Barry to come right out and ask Iris to be with him, but with the way that he did it, I'm not sure Iris could have really reciprocated even if she understood her feelings at the time. She was with Eddie.

I guess now I'm wondering what Barry expected of Iris when he dropped the bomb. Did he want her to leave Eddie? I don't know - he was pretty clear when he said that "I was so afraid of losing you that I did." --> which makes it seem like Barry wasn't even trying to be with Iris then - he was accepting (without her even confirming it) that he'd already lost her.

That's when Iris' tear went down her cheek... and we're left wondering about what she's really thinking.

What that conversation indicated was the he'd accepted her decision and hoped they could stay friends.

I have a hard time with this - because I don't know that there was ever a hard and fast decision. We were never shown one. All we got was them talking about it after the fact. For you, Iris' statement that it wasn't reciprocated means she rejected him.

I'm just not so sure. What I think happened (because they never aired this) is that she never really said anything - which, as I've said before, isn't bad - she's obviously still trying to process her feelings. See my comments above about Barry's expectations being crushed when Iris was still going to dinner with Eddie.

I just feel like an actual "I reject you" conversation never actually happened and Barry still had some hidden hope.

Even if he'd asked for time to get over his feelings, he would have been asking time for himself and not giving her time since it wouldn't even make sense. She never asked for time nor indicated that she would need some or that he could have some hope that his feelings would ever be reciprocated. She was moving in with her boyfriend.

Which - again - is partly how Barry shot himself in the foot. I don't know that he had much choice - except maybe to tell her as soon as he woke up from the coma, but I guess that would be too easy. The problem for me is that I think that when you make a huge confession like that, don't half @ss it. Barry half-@ssed it because he made assumptions. I get why, I'm just saying he shot himself in the foot.

And now both of them have to deal with it.

I think Barry's method of confessing didn't give Iris room to do much more than not reciprocate. A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.

Perhaps it would have been nice for Iris to tell Barry she needed time, but then - what about Eddie? And again - like I said - Barry didn't really ASK anything of her - he just confessed and rolled out and then the next time she saw him he was congratulating her and Eddie and giving them his blessing.

See where Iris might think that maybe he doesn't really mean it and it's safer to just keep the status quo?

What a mess.

And for the record - when I said Barry could ask for time from Iris, you're right - it wouldn't make sense to ask for that unless we got a scene where Iris explicitly rejected him. Though - I still wish he'd have asked for it since he seems determined to move on. Perhaps the writers meant for us to assume Iris explicitly rejected him - but that's NOT what they have shown us.

 

Huh? Iris made her choice when she moved in with Eddie. This was before Barry told her that they should still be friends. This was before Barry told her that he no longer had feelings for her. He told her that he loved her for 14 years. I don't understand how that means he's wishy-washy (from her perspective) and from her conversation with Linda, she believed that he still loved her. So even after he asked that they be friends, Iris was still under the impression that he still loved her.

I explained what I meant above. I meant that during his confession, Barry never asked her to be with him. He framed the confession as though he'd already lost her and then bounced. Not much time for Iris to do anything. Which leads me to my question of whether or not Iris stuck with Eddie because he's the devil she knows vs. trying something new and scary with Barry in a way she'd never thought of him before. When you connect the way Barry confessed (wishy washy - with no real in for Iris to have input because he presented it as a foregone conclusion) with Iris never thinking of him that way, I can see how she'd stick with Eddie then because he's safe. A sure thing.

However the "rejection" happened, that doesn't mean that she doesn't have feelings for him - and honestly - after a confession like that, Iris deserves time to think over what she's doing... but again - how could she even ask for that without appearing to emotionally cheat on Eddie?

And I guess, to be fair - how could Barry ask for time without making Iris feel like she was choosing between being with him and having him at all as her friend. So - I get how that would be hard for Barry too.

Again. What a mess.

I agree that he shot himself in the foot by being a coward since high school and only confessing when he had the lowest chance of getting his feelings reciprocated. I don't think he really gave them a chance.

On this we're agreed but I think the WAY he confessed also shot himself even further in the foot.

But I'm sure it will resolve itself soon.

[wayne67]

On this we're agreed but I think the WAY he confessed also shot himself even further in the foot.

But I'm sure it will resolve itself soon.

 

I doubt it'll get resolved for several seasons. They tend to drag these relationship drama triangles out forever long past my patience.

 

The problem with Barry's confession is that it was a last ditch attempt to try and stop Iris from progressing to the next level with Eddie. Iris didn't respond and moved in and on with Eddie with nary a pause to say anything at all to Barry about it.

 

Barry lobbed the emotional ball over to Iris, she hung onto it and Barry thought the game was over and went over to try and play a new game with a different player. Now Iris seems to be bringing back the ball once Barry has started a new game with Linda all the while having frequent games with Eddie.

 

Ok that metaphor sort of fell apart at the end but Barry didn't ask anything probably because he just confessed to a decade long crush and freaked out and left before he said anything else he might regret or to give Iris a chance to process the news alone.

 

The next time Barry saw her she proclaimed that she was moving in with Eddie apparently undaunted by Barry's love confession.

 

While it might have been unfair to lob the ball into her court without notice, the least Iris could have given him was a response of some sort even if it was "I need time to think". Apparently we couldn't get that so it just comes across bad that she continues on with her relationship with Eddie while processing her feelings for Barry silently and being passive aggressive about him moving on.

 

If Barry had demanded that she respond immediately or break up with Eddie immediately or that Iris should love him back he would have come across as even worse. He just expressed how he felt to his supposed BFF, he demanded nothing of her and he got nothing back so he moved on. It's about as mature as Barry could be given the nature of their relationship and the Eddie situation.

 

Considering the amount of times he had nearly died from the Pilot episode to his love confession maybe he thought time was too short to keep that particular secret when he had a new STUPIDER secret to replace it.

 

Iris is stuck as the worst person (IMO) in the triangle the Waffler, the person with all the power to decide which man/woman to choose and doesn't for AGES while the Trusting Bf continues on in the relationship unaware of the doubts building below the surface and the Pursuer pursues someone else to the annoyance of the often narcissistic Waffler.

 

Though Barry isn't much of a pursuer, he's kind of a wimp emotionally. He doesn't like taking emotional risks.

Edited February 15, 2015 by wayne67

[In2You]

As far as Iris's career. Its worth noting that in an old draft of The Flash movie script. Which is written by much of the same team for this show they had Iris as an ex reporter turned blogger.

[phoenics]

I doubt it'll get resolved for several seasons. They tend to drag these relationship drama triangles out forever long past my patience.

 

The problem with Barry's confession is that it was a last ditch attempt to try and stop Iris from progressing to the next level with Eddie. Iris didn't respond and moved in and on with Eddie with nary a pause to say anything at all to Barry about it.

 

Barry lobbed the emotional ball over to Iris, she hung onto it and Barry thought the game was over and went over to try and play a new game with a different player. Now Iris seems to be bringing back the ball once Barry has started a new game with Linda all the while having frequent games with Eddie.

 

Ok that metaphor sort of fell apart at the end

LOL - you gave me a huge chuckle there.

But I think that's what's so complicated here. Iris was in a relationship, so any confession on Barry's part was going to put her in a tough spot of having to consider two men at the same time. I guess Barry couldn't totally avoid that - but I don't think it's quite fair to insinuate that Iris is playing with both guys at once... I think one of the main reasons we might not have seen Iris say anything yet is because the writers are walking a fine line with her and not wanting her to look unfaithful to Eddie - who is - in all fairness - her boyfriend.

It would have been ugly if Iris had immediately dumped Eddie for Barry. That would make it seem as though she was harboring feelings for Eddie all along and just waiting for Barry to come to her. Which, incidentally, is kinda what Barry (maybe unknowingly) is doing to Linda. Oops.

 

but Barry didn't ask anything probably because he just confessed to a decade long crush and freaked out and left before he said anything else he might regret or to give Iris a chance to process the news alone.

Yeah - I agree. I think he psyched himself out before he even got to the confession - so convinced was he that Iris wouldn't reciprocate.

 

The next time Barry saw her she proclaimed that she was moving in with Eddie apparently undaunted by Barry's love confession.

While I'm not sure she "proclaimed" anything - as I recall Iris was with Eddie at the precinct and Barry walked in while they were discussing moving in and all 3 had an awkward meeting... but yes - at that point, Barry knew Iris was moving in with Eddie - so there's that.

I still wonder if Iris ever actually SAID anything to Barry definitively. I feel like they never had a followup discussion - she just continued with her plans.

 

While it might have been unfair to lob the ball into her court without notice, the least Iris could have given him was a response of some sort even if it was "I need time to think". Apparently we couldn't get that so it just comes across bad that she continues on with her relationship with Eddie while processing her feelings for Barry silently and being passive aggressive about him moving on.

But wouldn't it have come across as equally bad if she'd said she needed time to think? What about Eddie? Then it would look like she'd basically been in sort of an emotional affair the whole time with Barry if his love confession made her need time to think. That time to think would be her considering a relationship with another man, which you don't do when you're already in a relationship with someone else.

BUT - I agree that it would have been great to have seen Iris respond to him with words one way or the other.

 

If Barry had demanded that she respond immediately or break up with Eddie immediately or that Iris should love him back he would have come across as even worse. He just expressed how he felt to his supposed BFF, he demanded nothing of her and he got nothing back so he moved on. It's about as mature as Barry could be given the nature of their relationship and the Eddie situation.

That's fair - I'm just saying that it limited Iris' possible responses.

 

Considering the amount of times he had nearly died from the Pilot episode to his love confession maybe he thought time was too short to keep that particular secret when he had a new STUPIDER secret to replace it.

HA HA! Agreed.

As far as Iris's career. Its worth noting that in an old draft of The Flash movie script. Which is written by much of the same team for this show they had Iris as an ex reporter turned blogger.

I guess they recycle!

Thanks for that tidbit - I think if they'd written it slightly better here, it wouldn't be causing consternation for some fans... although maybe it still would, lol.

Edited February 15, 2015 by phoenics

[cynic]

I think the lack of followup to Barry's confession is less about Iris and more about the writers dropping the ball. Sigh.

I actually don't think she's being a waffler at all or passive aggressive for that matter. Barry's confession put Iris in an awkward and unwinnable situation. Nothing she did was going to make her look good to the audience. And really, if she's never considered a relationship with Barry was feasible until he said something, its perfect understandable that she would need to do some serious thinking about it, especially since it impacts not only her and Barry, but also Eddie and Joe as well. If they got together and it didn't work out, Thanksgiving is about to get really awkward at the West house. Plus, a breakup with Eddie complicating his partnership is exactly one of the reasons Joe didn't want them to date in the first place. So, Barry's need to unload basically screwed Iris. Damned no matter what she does. Also, I still don't think her overshare was a passive aggressive plot. I think she actually just tried to help and failed. I don't think her possibly having mixed feelings about it played into it much if at all. And still all of this could have been avoided if Barry had just realized that he missed his chance despite having years to do something about his feelings and kept his mouth shut and just tried to be happy for his best friend.

[wayne67]

LOL - you gave me a huge chuckle there.

But I think that's what's so complicated here. Iris was in a relationship, so any confession on Barry's part was going to put her in a tough spot of having to consider two men at the same time. I guess Barry couldn't totally avoid that - but I don't think it's quite fair to insinuate that Iris is playing with both guys at once... I think one of the main reasons we might not have seen Iris say anything yet is because the writers are walking a fine line with her and not wanting her to look unfaithful to Eddie - who is - in all fairness - her boyfriend.

But wouldn't it have come across as equally bad if she'd said she needed time to think? What about Eddie? Then it would look like she'd basically been in sort of an emotional affair the whole time with Barry if his love confession made her need time to think. That time to think would be her considering a relationship with another man, which you don't do when you're already in a relationship with someone else.

BUT - I agree that it would have been great to have seen Iris respond to him with words one way or the other.

 

 

You're welcome.

 

Saying "I need time to think" isn't an indication that you are going to return that person's feelings but it does acknowledge that you're thinking about the possibility of considering them in a new way.

 

There is the problem of Eddie, the problem becomes double edged for Iris, if she continues to date/sleep/live with Eddie she should be faithful to that or at least tell Eddie that she has doubts but if she doesn't acknowledge that there's potential for something with Barry to anyone than Barry is free to move on. Which is why I feel worst for Eddie, he doesn't even know he's competing against Barry's alter ego and Barry himself all at the same time. Iris is choosing to keep Eddie in the dark. At this point Iris is coming across as wanting Barry to still love her while continuing on a relationship with someone else more or less in front of Barry.

 

Or at least that's the way it seems, maybe in the next episode they'll reveal that Iris has told Eddie that Barry told her he loved her and she's conflicted about it and it will absolve her of some of the blame of the triangle.

 

At this point the only person that has been sort of honest about their feelings was Barry initially. Now it seems like everyone is lying to everyone else. Barry is claiming his love is all gone and Iris is claiming she had no ulterior motive for oversharing to Linda.

[phoenics]

Remember after Barry confronted Iris about what she said to Linda and he said, "You told her I was in love with you!" or something like that... and Iris said, "That is NOT what I said... wait - did I?"

I honestly don't think Iris is aware of her feelings really at this point - if she did sabotage Barry, it wasn't consciously. But that's what happens when you are in denial of your feelings - stuff comes out kinda beyond your control.

[wayne67]

Remember after Barry confronted Iris about what she said to Linda and he said, "You told her I was in love with you!" or something like that... and Iris said, "That is NOT what I said... wait - did I?"

I honestly don't think Iris is aware of her feelings really at this point - if she did sabotage Barry, it wasn't consciously. But that's what happens when you are in denial of your feelings - stuff comes out kinda beyond your control.

 

That's the biggest problem with this whole triangle. Iris doesn't know how she feels, we don't know how she feels and Barry and Eddie are clueless as how she feels about Barry so it makes it hard for anyone to know what to do about the situation when the person who decides between the two men is equally clueless.

 

It would help if Iris had a single friend from college or highschool that wasn't Barry to talk through the problem she's having. Or at least confided in her father, though she doesn't know that her father already knows and approves of Barry's love which is why I find Joe annoying at the moment but that's a different conversation entirely.

Edited February 16, 2015 by wayne67

[cynic]

You're welcome.

Saying "I need time to think" isn't an indication that you are going to return that person's feelings but it does acknowledge that you're thinking about the possibility of considering them in a new way.

There is the problem of Eddie, the problem becomes double edged for Iris, if she continues to date/sleep/live with Eddie she should be faithful to that or at least tell Eddie that she has doubts but if she doesn't acknowledge that there's potential for something with Barry to anyone than Barry is free to move on. Which is why I feel worst for Eddie, he doesn't even know he's competing against Barry's alter ego and Barry himself all at the same time. Iris is choosing to keep Eddie in the dark. At this point Iris is coming across as wanting Barry to still love her while continuing on a relationship with someone else more or less in front of Barry.

Or at least that's the way it seems, maybe in the next episode they'll reveal that Iris has told Eddie that Barry told her he loved her and she's conflicted about it and it will absolve her of some of the blame of the triangle.

At this point the only person that has been sort of honest about their feelings was Barry initially. Now it seems like everyone is lying to everyone else. Barry is claiming his love is all gone and Iris is claiming she had no ulterior motive for oversharing to Linda.

I think it's pretty unrealistic to expect Iris to tell Eddie anything until she actually knows how she feels herself. What is she supposed to say? "Hon, Barry told me he loves me. I've never thought of him that way, but I'm going to spend some time considering his offer and if I decide that I don't like him, then we can go ahead and move in together. Cool?" Seriously? I can understand telling him if and/when she actually realizes that she has developed feelings, but to torpedo her relationship and break Eddie's heart on a possibility that may never happen seems crazy, especially now that Barry has been so quick to move on. Apparently Barry's feelings weren't that strong if he dropped them so easily. If he could move on just like that, he should've never told Iris in the first place! And if you think Iris is being dishonest by not disclosing doubts that we don't even know she's actually having (or is consciously aware she's having), then Barry is being even more dishonest to Linda since he actually does have feeling for Iris and knows Linda doesn't want to pursue dating a guy who has feelings for someone else and yet he is begging her to give him a chance. I feel bad for her. He's using her to get over Iris and really he needs to deal with those feelings without the rebound crutch, because that's just unfair. Edited February 16, 2015 by cynic

[wayne67]

I think it's pretty unrealistic to expect Iris to tell Eddie anything until she actually knows how she feels herself. What is she supposed to say? "Hon, Barry told me he loves me. I've never thought of him that way, but I'm going to spend some time considering his offer and if I decide that I don't like him, then we can go ahead and move in together. Cool?" Seriously? I can understand telling him if and/when she actually realizes that she has developed feelings, but to torpedo her relationship and break Eddie's heart on a possibility that may never happen seems crazy, especially now that Barry has been so quick to move on. Apparently Barry's feelings weren't that strong if he dropped them so easily. If he could move on just like that, he should've never told Iris in the first place! And if you think Iris is being dishonest by not disclosing doubts that we don't even know she's actually having (or is consciously aware she's having), then Barry is being even more dishonest to Linda since he actually does have feeling for Iris and knows Linda doesn't want to pursue dating a guy who has feelings for someone else and yet he is begging her to give him a chance. I feel bad for her. He's using her to get over Iris and really he needs to deal with those feelings without the rebound crutch, because that's just unfair.

 

She could mention that Barry the guy she spends a lot of time with alone told her he loved her and that she feels weird about it. Since he's her partner and she should be able to tell him things since apparently they're at the stage where she meets his parents at a fancy dinner I don't think it's that unrealistic to at least mention the weirdness.

 

The upside would be that Eddie would get some screen time and we could find out how he feels about the whole thing because he's got even less of a POV about the love triangle than Iris does.

 

Barry is trying to move on with his life so he's burying what he feels are unreciprocated feelings. I agree it's unfair to lie to Linda about his baggage though. He should just try dating like a normal person...

 

He would rock it on the speed dating circuit ;-)

[phoenics]

It would help if Iris had a single friend from college or highschool that wasn't Barry to talk through the problem she's having. Or at least confided in her father, though she doesn't know that her father already knows and approves of Barry's love which is why I find Joe annoying at the moment but that's a different conversation entirely.

From your lips...

She could mention that Barry the guy she spends a lot of time with alone told her he loved her and that she feels weird about it. Since he's her partner and she should be able to tell him things since apparently they're at the stage where she meets his parents at a fancy dinner I don't think it's that unrealistic to at least mention the weirdness.

 

The upside would be that Eddie would get some screen time and we could find out how he feels about the whole thing because he's got even less of a POV about the love triangle than Iris does.

Yeah - but there is NO way to do this without making an even bigger mess. And as cynic said (and I said some time ago in this thread), Barry seemingly has moved on - and he did it pretty fast - so what's there to talk about?

This is another reason why Iris is in a tough spot. Barry had YEARS with his feelings, while Iris got like a few days before she had to make some kind of decision because she already had a boyfriend when Barry confessed.

Again - what. a. mess.

Barry is trying to move on with his life so he's burying what he feels are unreciprocated feelings. I agree it's unfair to lie to Linda about his baggage though. He should just try dating like a normal person...

He should be alone for a little while until he's really over Iris - but I know that sounds old fashioned... or he should just "date around" and be clear he isn't looking for a commitment - but that might just make him even more emotionally unavailable. Because he didn't deal with his feelings for Iris.

[cynic]

Making Linda just a love interest instead of a friend and mentor to Iris is a lost opportunity. If the show hadn't made Barry confess, Iris would probably have been thrilled for them. They could have made Iris the reason Linda met Barry.

[Xander]

What exactly is the problem? Was Barry never supposed to move on? Iris never ever told him a damn thing about how she might be feeling so he's just supposed to keep hanging on for no reason? Especially when she's progressing in her relationship with Eddie, meeting his family and all that great stuff? 

 

Fine, his feelings weren't strong enough so Iris should be glad that she dodged a bullet. 

 

I don't understand why Barry should be blamed for moving on when the woman he's in love with is not even available. As far as he knows, he told her how he felt and it did not change anything so the right thing to do is move on. 

 

To be honest. this isn't a competition between who is worse between Barry and Iris. Barry has done his stuff but Iris is also responsible for her own shit. If she can't tell Barry anything, then he can't be blamed for how he reacts. And she herself acknowledges that Barry had an unrequited love and needs time. Time to move on, right? She expected him to move on. 

[wayne67]

Yeah - but there is NO way to do this without making an even bigger mess. And as cynic said (and I said some time ago in this thread), Barry seemingly has moved on - and he did it pretty fast - so what's there to talk about?

This is another reason why Iris is in a tough spot. Barry had YEARS with his feelings, while Iris got like a few days before she had to make some kind of decision because she already had a boyfriend when Barry confessed.

He should be alone for a little while until he's really over Iris - but I know that sounds old fashioned... or he should just "date around" and be clear he isn't looking for a commitment - but that might just make him even more emotionally unavailable. Because he didn't deal with his feelings for Iris.

 

It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for Iris. If she tells Eddie, they may have an argument about Barry and her spending time with him, which would probably blow over eventually but she's choosing the cowardly option of not saying anything, withholding that information from Eddie. Considering that there's at least 5 other people that know that Barry confessed to Iris that's he's in love with her by now keeping that secret from Eddie is just making an awkward situation into a SECRET that's bound to come out at the worst time RUINING their relationship.

 

I just don't want a soapy blow out between Eddie and Iris about secrets.

 

It wouldn't even be an issue but we're supposed to assume that Iris is developing feelings for Barry retroactively after the confession so keeping the potentially growing feelings for another man from Eddie comes across as self serving and duplicitous which I'm sure isn't the intention at all.

 

I really wish they'd write Iris better because this is making the endgame coupling of these two seem as toxic as Klaine from Glee what with the living together as teens thing and Joe acting as a surrogate father for Barry and everyone keeping pointless secrets from Iris.

[cynic]

What exactly is the problem? Was Barry never supposed to move on? Iris never ever told him a damn thing about how she might be feeling so he's just supposed to keep hanging on for no reason? Especially when she's progressing in her relationship with Eddie, meeting his family and all that great stuff?

Fine, his feelings weren't strong enough so Iris should be glad that she dodged a bullet.

I don't understand why Barry should be blamed for moving on when the woman he's in love with is not even available. As far as he knows, he told her how he felt and it did not change anything so the right thing to do is move on.

To be honest. this isn't a competition between who is worse between Barry and Iris. Barry has done his stuff but Iris is also responsible for her own shit. If she can't tell Barry anything, then he can't be blamed for how he reacts. And she herself acknowledges that Barry had an unrequited love and needs time. Time to move on, right? She expected him to move on.

I'm assuming you're responding to my post. I'm not blaming Barry for moving on from Iris. I was disagreeing with the idea that Iris was duty bound to tell Eddie about it, especially considering Barry has already moved on and it appears that nothing was going to come from the confession.

However, I do think it's lame when people don't deal with their emotional baggage and start relationships that are likely going to be hampered by said baggage, especially considering Barry knows that Linda specifically doesn't want that.

Edited February 16, 2015 by cynic

[Xander]

Would it make a difference if Barry moved on two years later? 

 

Eddie asked her if she had any second thoughts about moving in she said no. If she had any doubts, she wouldn't have to torpedo her relationship but could delay moving in with him. I don't think that's such a big thing to arrange.

 

Who she wants to be with should come down to how she's feeling. If she loves Eddie, then she should stay with him. If she's confused about her feelings, then the best thing for her is to be honest. It could cause a fight but it's better to deal with it sooner rather than later. Eddie already expressed that he'd been intimidated by their long-term friendship AND asked Iris if she thought Barry liked her. So it honestly wouldn't have come as a shock to him and who knows how he would have reacted? 

 

I completely agree that Barry is in the wrong for dating Linda when he isn't over Iris and perhaps will see the fallout of this in a future episode. 

[Shanna]

I agree it's unfair to lie to Linda about his baggage though. He should just try dating like a normal person...

He would rock it on the speed dating circuit ;-)

I think that's exactly what he is doing. Best way to get over someone is to date someone else. I don't get the feeling he doesn't like Linda.

Since this is Iris's thread, I would love to see her talk to Eddie. But of course I wouldn't want to see one of their tiresome conversations where Eddie tries to tell her not to see Barry. If he said she should be careful of his feelings that might have been interesting.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Shanna

[cynic]

Barry not being able to move on right away would have made me more sympathetic to the idea that he just couldn't resist telling her and causing all these problems. If he could move on so easily, he should have just done so. But more importantly, it would impact how I would feel about Iris' reaction.

If Iris still thought Barry had feelings and had not moved on, I would be inclined to think that she needs to have a conversation with Eddie. I would also probably expect her to put some distance in their friendship, out of respect for Eddie.

Of course, if she does have doubts, she should tell Eddie, but I'm not sure she does or realizes she does or is ready to admit she does anyway. And she may even think any fleeting niggles don't matter, since nothing is going to happen since Barry has moved on.

I really wish Barry hadn't told her. There was very little chance of an upside considering the timing.

Edited February 16, 2015 by cynic

[wayne67]

Barry not being able to move on right away would have made me more sympathetic to the idea that he just couldn't resist telling her and causing all these problems. If he could move on so easily, he should have just done so. But more importantly, it would impact how I would feel about Iris' reaction.

If Iris still thought Barry had feelings and had not moved on, I would be inclined to think that she needs to have a conversation with Eddie. I would also probably expect her to put some distance in their friendship, out of respect for Eddie.

Of course, if she does have doubts, she should tell Eddie, but I'm not sure she does or realizes she does or is ready to admit she does anyway. And she may even think any fleeting niggles don't matter, since nothing is going to happen since Barry has moved on.

I really wish Barry hadn't told her. There was very little chance of an upside considering the timing.

 

 

I'm not crystal clear on the timeline but hasn't it been a few weeks since Barry confessed feelings to Iris?

 

Or are we supposed to believe that Reverse Flash, Captain Cold and Peekaboo all menaced the city within a week ?

 

It seems implied that Barry has been busy training to increase his speed for weeks not days ... Or maybe that was just my impression ?

[Xander]

Barry didn't move on the day after he confessed. Iris moved in with Eddie a month after the confession. Then we had two more episodes and Barry only decided to move on last week. He obviously still loves Iris but is doing his best to move past what he thinks is a hopeless situation. We obviously think differently because I find this more respectable than some guy choosing not to move on from a woman that (to him) he has no future with. 

 

Iris didn't think Barry had begun to move on till the end of Ep 12 when she saw him with Linda. The confession was in Ep 9. So in that time, she certainly was under the impression that Barry hadn't moved on and as far as we know, she didn't speak to Eddie. 

 

I understand that there is risk involved but is that what it should be about? Having confused feelings about Barry should be about how she feels not about whether Barry has moved on or not. Does she love him or not? That's the most important question.

[phoenics]

I agree that "does she love him or not" should be the most important question - but because of the circumstances, Iris may not really have a lot of time to really think all of that through... and definitely not after Barry moved on.

It's hard to think about whether she loves him or not fully when she's supposed to be in love with someone else. Even thinking about her feelings for Barry probably feels like some kind of betrayal to Eddie.

Again - a bird in the hand...

I can understand why she wouldn't want to torpedo her relationship with Eddie for a question mark with Barry (and truth be told, telling Eddie she's confused about Barry would definitely torpedo it - no man would stick around for his girlfriend to sort out feelings for a best friend she claimed all along was just a friend).

[phoenics]

It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for Iris. If she tells Eddie, they may have an argument about Barry and her spending time with him, which would probably blow over eventually but she's choosing the cowardly option of not saying anything, withholding that information from Eddie. Considering that there's at least 5 other people that know that Barry confessed to Iris that's he's in love with her by now keeping that secret from Eddie is just making an awkward situation into a SECRET that's bound to come out at the worst time RUINING their relationship.

Whoah - Iris doesn't know that anyone else other than her and Barry (and I guess now Linda) know about the confession. It's not like any of them actually have talked to her about that... so for Iris, I can kinda get why she's keeping it under wraps. Even just mentioning it to Eddie might prompt Eddie to force Iris to choose between them... she's really between a rock and a hard place.

It wouldn't even be an issue but we're supposed to assume that Iris is developing feelings for Barry retroactively after the confession so keeping the potentially growing feelings for another man from Eddie comes across as self serving and duplicitous which I'm sure isn't the intention at all.

Yes I see what you mean, but I also think the writers are trying to play it as though Iris isn't fully aware of her feelings yet.

I really wish they'd write Iris better because this is making the endgame coupling of these two seem as toxic as Klaine from Glee what with the living together as teens thing and Joe acting as a surrogate father for Barry and everyone keeping pointless secrets from Iris.

Sorry - never watched that so...

I don't see it as toxic as you do though - just messy.

[phoenics]

Barry not being able to move on right away would have made me more sympathetic to the idea that he just couldn't resist telling her and causing all these problems. If he could move on so easily, he should have just done so. But more importantly, it would impact how I would feel about Iris' reaction.

I think Barry believed that the only way he could move on was to tell Iris... then he'd be "free" so to speak. That's why I'm not even sure he expected her to reciprocate (well, okay, he did) - but I don't think he thought she would or was really thinking about that when he made his confession. I think he was thinking about how to get the truth out into the open so he could move on.

Which of course seems really unfair to Iris. He confessed so he could transfer the burden of his feelings onto her - so he could be free and move on - but of course now he's kinda screwed Iris up in her current relationship by opening a can of worms.

I get why - but that doesn't make it suck any less for Iris.

If Iris still thought Barry had feelings and had not moved on, I would be inclined to think that she needs to have a conversation with Eddie. I would also probably expect her to put some distance in their friendship, out of respect for Eddie.

Of course, if she does have doubts, she should tell Eddie, but I'm not sure she does or realizes she does or is ready to admit she does anyway. And she may even think any fleeting niggles don't matter, since nothing is going to happen since Barry has moved on.

Exactly.

I really wish Barry hadn't told her. There was very little chance of an upside considering the timing.

I'm not upset he told her - I just wish he hadn't botched it so badly. And I wish the writers had handled the fallout better - or even let us really see it.

[wayne67]

Whoah - Iris doesn't know that anyone else other than her and Barry (and I guess now Linda) know about the confession. It's not like any of them actually have talked to her about that... so for Iris, I can kinda get why she's keeping it under wraps. Even just mentioning it to Eddie might prompt Eddie to force Iris to choose between them... she's really between a rock and a hard place.

 

 

I know Iris doesn't know that (Henry, Caitlin, Cisco, Wells and Joe)  knows but she essentially confessed to a random coworker that Barry was hung up on her... That person is a reporter who is now dating her best friend who also works with Eddie which she knows.

 

Linda could rock up at Barry's workplace and accidentally reveal the secret to Eddie without even knowing who he is. That Iris works at a newspaper and doesn't understand how information can be spread worries me. Also Eddie is a detective, he might detect some odd tensions that weren't there the last time they double dated so it just seems like Iris is holding the Idiot Ball by keeping Barry's confession to herself.

[phoenics]

I know Iris doesn't know that (Henry, Caitlin, Cisco, Wells and Joe)  knows but she essentially confessed to a random coworker that Barry was hung up on her... That person is a reporter who is now dating her best friend who also works with Eddie which she knows.

Yes - but it's pretty clear that Iris didn't mean to "confess" that... hence her "Wait - did I?" to Barry later when he confronted her.

Perhaps soon Iris will bring this up to Eddie - but right now she just seems really confused honestly - but I have a feeling it will be as you fear - and there will be some kind of soapy blow up with her and Eddie later on.

Especially as she's wearing the ring again - though I guess you could argue that she thinks Barry has moved on... so...

Linda could rock up at Barry's workplace and accidentally reveal the secret to Eddie without even knowing who he is. That Iris works at a newspaper and doesn't understand how information can be spread worries me. Also Eddie is a detective, he might detect some odd tensions that weren't there the last time they double dated so it just seems like Iris is holding the Idiot Ball by keeping Barry's confession to herself.

"doesn't understand how information can be spread worries me" -- um really? LOL - I'm sure she understands how information can be spread...

I guess Barry doesn't understand how information can be spread either - as he's discussed his feelings for Iris with nearly anyone who will listen. Cisco and Caitlin knew about Iris before the pilot even aired.

That being said - it will definitely bite Iris in the @ss if she doesn't tell Eddie soon if all of this keeps up. Right now, the status is that Barry is over it, so maybe Iris doesn't need to tell Eddie anything - unless she personally realizes that she herself is confused. Then she should do it as soon as she can so Eddie isn't blindsided.

But that's probably not what will happen.

We'll get the crappy version that makes Iris look as bad as possible.

[cynic]

Barry didn't move on the day after he confessed. Iris moved in with Eddie a month after the confession. Then we had two more episodes and Barry only decided to move on last week. He obviously still loves Iris but is doing his best to move past what he thinks is a hopeless situation. We obviously think differently because I find this more respectable than some guy choosing not to move on from a woman that (to him) he has no future with.

Iris didn't think Barry had begun to move on till the end of Ep 12 when she saw him with Linda. The confession was in Ep 9. So in that time, she certainly was under the impression that Barry hadn't moved on and as far as we know, she didn't speak to Eddie.

I understand that there is risk involved but is that what it should be about? Having confused feelings about Barry should be about how she feels not about whether Barry has moved on or not. Does she love him or not? That's the most important question.

We have no idea how Iris feels, because the writers apparently feel like Iris doesn't need a PoV. And ultimately, I guess that makes this discussion pointless, because it's really all speculation. We don't know if she has any doubts or felt she needed several weeks to process or is horrified by the semi-incestual desires of her almost foster brother and doesn't want to reveal Barry's secret to anyone because it's gross. I'm just kidding on the last one. I don't have a problem with Barry/Iris. The point is we have no idea what she's thinking, so it's hard to say what she should/shouldn't do for sure.

I know Iris doesn't know that (Henry, Caitlin, Cisco, Wells and Joe) knows but she essentially confessed to a random coworker that Barry was hung up on her... That person is a reporter who is now dating her best friend who also works with Eddie which she knows.

Linda could rock up at Barry's workplace and accidentally reveal the secret to Eddie without even knowing who he is. That Iris works at a newspaper and doesn't understand how information can be spread worries me. Also Eddie is a detective, he might detect some odd tensions that weren't there the last time they double dated so it just seems like Iris is holding the Idiot Ball by keeping Barry's confession to herself.

No one on this show has any idea what to do with sensitive information apparently. Barry keeps talking to villains with his mask off and Team Flash took a group photo. I'm just waiting to see what happens first - Cisco accidently lets another meta human out who reveals Barry's identity and the headquarters of Team Flash or Cisco accidently uploads that dang photo to the cloud where it gets promptly hacked. And don't get me started on how Joe seems to think the way to keep Iris safe is to not tell her about Barry or the fact that someone threatened her life. For some reason, those are the only secret on this show that get kept. Edited February 16, 2015 by cynic

[wayne67]

"doesn't understand how information can be spread worries me" -- um really? LOL - I'm sure she understands how information can be spread...

I guess Barry doesn't understand how information can be spread either - as he's discussed his feelings for Iris with nearly anyone who will listen. Cisco and Caitlin knew about Iris before the pilot even aired.

 

Was his crush on Iris revealed in the Arrow cameo he did before the pilot? I haven't watched Arrow in forever so I honestly have no idea.

 

Barry sucks at information gathering and keeping. Everyone but Iris had suspicions he had feelings for Iris.

 

The only reason Barry's big secret hasn't been revealed is Plot armor and a lack of consequences inherent in this show.

 

However Barry's crush being revealed by someone else would have relieved him of the burden and allowed him to keep his proverbial hands clean whereas Iris not telling Eddie makes her look suspicious by the lies of omissions necessary to keep it a secret. It makes the relatively mediocre emotional issue into a full blown secret.

 

Moving on from Barry and Iris for a second.

 

Has Iris told Eddie about her mysterious meetings with The Flash ?

I wish this show would bother to tell us if she got any credit for that photo because that should have had major ripples.

[phoenics]

Was his crush on Iris revealed in the Arrow cameo he did before the pilot? I haven't watched Arrow in forever so I honestly have no idea.

Yeah - it was... Cisco does this whole, "Iris is his ... something..."

Barry sucks at information gathering and keeping. Everyone but Iris had suspicions he had feelings for Iris.

 

The only reason Barry's big secret hasn't been revealed is Plot armor and a lack of consequences inherent in this show.

 

However Barry's crush being revealed by someone else would have relieved him of the burden and allowed him to keep his proverbial hands clean whereas Iris not telling Eddie makes her look suspicious by the lies of omissions necessary to keep it a secret. It makes the relatively mediocre emotional issue into a full blown secret.

Well to be fair - Eddie figured out that Barry liked Iris - it's just that when Iris asked about it, Barry lied. But Eddie seems very perceptive so I think that he might figure out on his own that Iris is feeling something more than friendship for Barry.

Moving on from Barry and Iris for a second.

 

Has Iris told Eddie about her mysterious meetings with The Flash ?

I wish this show would bother to tell us if she got any credit for that photo because that should have had major ripples.

I believe she did tell Eddie about her meeting up with The Flash - because right after that Eddie started up the Anti-Flash Task Force.

And you know they'll never tell us if she got any credit... perhaps it got cut? Oh wait - maybe her partner (forgot his name already) will give her props for it when she finally starts doing real reporter work?

[wayne67]

And you know they'll never tell us if she got any credit... perhaps it got cut? Oh wait - maybe her partner (forgot his name already) will give her props for it when she finally starts doing real reporter work?

 

I know it's so frustrating if they want me to take Iris's career as a reporter seriously they should tell me whether she wrote a first page story or whether the photo she took was used while her 'mentor' did the actual story. If she did get any credit for the photo, it should up the stakes about her visibility in the metahuman community increasing and becoming more of a target to get to Flash or at least cause a few conversations to happen like with Joe about how the Reverse Flash threatened her life or how Barry is shocked/amazed/hurt that she was meeting The Flash without telling her.

 

Or her "mentor' stole credit and he respects her slightly more but the newspaper doesn't care.

 

That ship has probably sailed.

 

Didn't Eddie want to start a task force before Iris told him about the Flash meetings ? which was reinforced when The Flash tried to kill him. I may be misremembering though.

Edited February 16, 2015 by wayne67

[phoenics]

Didn't Eddie want to start a task force before Iris told him about the Flash meetings ? which was reinforced when The Flash tried to kill him. I may be misremembering though.

If I remember correctly - oh - it was the red eye episode where Eddie wanted to start the task force.

Okay - if I remember correctly - Eddie and Iris were together in bed and Iris admitted that she'd been meeting with the Flash. Eddie then went to the captain to ask him to do a task force on The Flash (out of jealousy, according to Iris). Iris got really mad at Eddie. Barry listened in and seemed pleased that Eddie might be jealous of The Flash. Captain refused to give Eddie the task force. Then Arrow showed up and shot someone in the leg to get information about him and Captain relented to Eddie on the task force.

Flash showed up at Jitters and flirted with Iris and she gave him some info on something... Flash thought/hoped Iris and Eddie had broken up. Iris corrected him. Then Flash went and got red-eyed and beat up Eddie. Iris "dumps" The Flash.

I think that's what happened, but honestly this cold medicine is hitting me right now so I may have confused a few things...

[Xander]

Eddie wanted to start the task force before Iris told him she'd met the Flash. She told him in the car in the crossover episode right before the Flash pulled him out of it. 

Edited February 16, 2015 by Xander

[phoenics]

Thanks Xander - do you remember what their conversation was in the bed? It prompted Eddie to go and ask for the task force... That's why Iris told Barry that Eddie was jealous of The Flash.

I thought that was Iris saying she'd met him - but I guess I was wrong. I know they discussed him though - because Iris was irritated about it after she saw Eddie in the office with the Captain asking about the task force.

[Xander]

She was fangirling about the Flash and Eddie said he couldn't believe in something he couldn't see. Then the next thing we knew, he wanted to start a task force because the Flash had been spotted at a crime scene. Frankly speaking, it didn't make much sense for him to want to start the task force before he got his ass kicked. 

[phoenics]

She was fangirling about the Flash and Eddie said he couldn't believe in something he couldn't see. Then the next thing we knew, he wanted to start a task force because the Flash had been spotted at a crime scene. Frankly speaking, it didn't make much sense for him to want to start the task force before he got his ass kicked.

Thanks for the clarification.

As for Eddie and the task force - I think they were showing that he was jealous. That fueled a lot of the stuff Barry did in that episode - him looking pleased that Eddie was jealous of the Flash: "Should he be?" and then his "Did you break up?" comment as The Flash to Iris later on.

Oh Barry, lol.

[SevenStars]

I think the lack of followup to Barry's confession is less about Iris and more about the writers dropping the ball. Sigh.

I actually don't think she's being a waffler at all or passive aggressive for that matter. Barry's confession put Iris in an awkward and unwinnable situation. Nothing she did was going to make her look good to the audience. And really, if she's never considered a relationship with Barry was feasible until he said something, its perfect understandable that she would need to do some serious thinking about it, especially since it impacts not only her and Barry, but also Eddie and Joe as well. If they got together and it didn't work out, Thanksgiving is about to get really awkward at the West house. Plus, a breakup with Eddie complicating his partnership is exactly one of the reasons Joe didn't want them to date in the first place. So, Barry's need to unload basically screwed Iris. Damned no matter what she does. Also, I still don't think her overshare was a passive aggressive plot. I think she actually just tried to help and failed. I don't think her possibly having mixed feelings about it played into it much if at all. And still all of this could have been avoided if Barry had just realized that he missed his chance despite having years to do something about his feelings and kept his mouth shut and just tried to be happy for his best friend.

 

All of THIS!!!

 

This is exactly why I called Barry's decision to confess to Iris selfish. I understood why he did it and I don't think he is a bad guy but the problem is he had no consideration for the position he was putting Iris in. He was only thinking about himself and his feelings. 

 

Since he already spent years holding these feelings secret, even when Iris was SINGLE, and was in a better position to hear his confession and actually do something about it that wouldn't hurt others. Instead, he waited until Iris got really serious with a guy, to tell her that he is in love with her. He could have waited until things with her and Eddie go bad, and they were over before he confessed. And if things didn't go bad, then he should have kept it to himself.

 

Barry's confession only helped Barry, while putting Iris in a bad position no matter what decision she makes afterward because either way, she will end-up hurting people. 

 

This is why I badly want Iris to have a pov because it's not fair that we get to see this bomb drop on her but we get to see none of the damage that bomb did, except in little slices in relation to Barry.