Shantal VanSanten IS Patty Spivot

Been looking forward to seeing Patty in the series. I've liked her ever since the New52 started.

 

So more Iris jealously right? No thanks.

 

From what I've heard of Patty, she's kind of a two sided coin.

On the one hand, she seems to have been written pretty well for the New 52 comics she's been in. That's good, since she seems have been incorporated into those stories with a purpose and skill.

On the other, she was still created literally just to cloud up Barry's love life in the comics and act as an opposite to Iris. In effect, she was spawned by the opposite process Lois Lane went through in Post Crisis comics: whereas Lois gained traits from other love interests and was given whole new traits and characteristics to try and make the romance work better and thus worked well as a marriage interpretation of the character, Patty exists to absorb whatever new characteristics Iris, who was married to Barry previously, may have to increase dramatic tension and stave off any forward momentum the classic relationship may have.

 

Eh, at least in Felicity's defense, she only started doing stuff like that in Season 3; she was a throwaway Easter egg (there's a distressing and disappointing number of those on Arrow, come to think of it) played by a quirky actress that the writers realized was taking off. Most of her development up until S3 on Arrow was organic; the personality of the character wrote her plot elements.

It was only when the writing staff decided to "bless" her with their "skills" in romantic writing that she started to get inconsistent and kind of stupid moments. Notice how she stopped being funny the second she became the official love interests for the season? In contrast, when she showed up on Flash, where she was no longer a romantic interest, she was written exactly like she was in Arrow's season 2... And was pretty much just fun.

The real threat to Patty's characterization isn't neccesarily being based off Felicty in terms of personality. It's being defined and written in the same manner that Laurel, Iris, and Felicity have been written to appeal to a demographic with horribly skewed views of interpersonal relationships.

 

I never found Felicity to be that funny in the first place. All she was good for was a few "foot in the mouth" comments that were maybe cute for the first few episodes in season 1.

 

Patty is decently written in the comics. But yeah, I don't really like that that seems to be her only real function in said comics. And it sounds like the show is going there as well, which is disappointing. Just make Iris his love interest already. God, don't drag this crap out AGAIN! We know that that's where you're going anyway, so I'd hope that Patty wouldn't go the way of Linda Park last season.

 

In the minority here - loving this casting. She reminds me of Julie Benz from Buffy and Dexter.

 

Yeah I'm hoping this happens since I don't want another Linda Park 2 episode run. And I hope the writers do something with Iris besides the love interest trope. At least Patty has a purpose besides being Barry's girl.

 

Purpose is the keyword for both ladies. Give them a part to play in the A-plot of each episode where they have major screen time, and use it. Iris is now in a confidant's position, and I actually liked the way their friendship was played in earlier episodes. Maybe Patty can be an over enthusiastic geek about the supervillains and heroes in Central City, kind of like Felicity, but with the added benefit of investigating crimes herself.

 

Looking forward to seeing Patty Spivot this season! I hope her and Barry are just a season 2 thing with him and Iris getting together at the end of this season, or beginning of season 3.

 

Iris needs to win over most of the audience for that to happen.

 

Well they will try this season of course I'm not liking what I'm hearing [BLACKOUT]they said there cutting back on Barry/Henry Family scenes for Iris/Joe Family scenes, not cool Iris will be joining the team being ace reporter I don't mind that but it seems the first half will focus on Iris and Barry will be the lone wolf, I thought Barry was the main character? not Iris is she the next Felicity? [/BLACKOUT]

 

Spoiler

Well that sucks cuz the Barry and Henry scenes are the best acted scenes and dialogue in the show. If that's true then holy chit. I really don't see Iris as part of the team yet.

I think they were rushing her story too much without giving her any build up or personal interest in writing in the beginning. Blogging isn't the same thing as Journalism. She blogged about the Flash, that's the equivalent of anyone getting a tumblr and talking about the superhero that saving lives. Anybody can do that, it doesn't take skill, plus she was posting other links and sightings, they weren't really her credit. With Felicity you believed she was this smart techie because of how they drew her character as time went on. Iris is not in that same league. She has no genuine origins that prove she's a professional yet. The writers need to focus on rounding the character out before they give her titles and labels she hasn't earned.

 

No she doesn't.

 

Two words: Laurel Lance.

 

She didn't, as well.

 

Huh?

 

She didn't need to win over the acceptance of the audience either.

 

Iris is the lead female. The fans who like her even though there's nothing to like yet don't matter. She needs to win over the majority of the audience who literally can't stand her character. She is Lana 2.0. Laurel from season 1-2 also.

 

I could see Patty looking like this in S2:

 

There's no reason to hate her either, but they do. Just like with Laurel. The people who hate for no reason shouldn't be pandered to.

 

It's valid to not favor badly written characters. That's a good enough reason.