The Flash The Iris West/Candice Patton Thread - Part 1

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This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]475051[/split]

 

[DrCosmic]

One of many casting announcements.

On IMDB

Casting Call:

IRIS - 22-28 - African-American - As smart as she is beautiful, Iris is in grad school studying psychology. She's also Barry's mile a minute, fast-talking, quick-witted best friend. Her father, Detective West, took in Barry when his mother was murdered, and his father was wrongly accused and imprisoned for her murder. In a tough childhood for Barry, she was the one "not tough" thing. She's unaware of Barry's strong feelings for her.

Dialogue from the Audition Video:
Here on Reddit

The video was already deleted, but someone in /co/ typed it up before it happened.
IRIS: Are you ready for the big turn-on? Because I agreed to go with you to this Atom-Smasher's smashing, and in return you agreed I get to pick the next five times we go to the movies. Hope you like Channing Tatum, because you two are going to be very close soon.
BARRY: Iris, I don't know if I'm going to make it. Your dad kinda' tore me a new one some minutes ago, actually.
IRIS: But seeing this thing go on is, like, your dream. Your sad nerdy little dream.
BARRY: It could change everything we know about the Universe. Electron particles crashing into another at high speeds...
IRIS: Do we really need to stand next to it when it happens?
BARRY: Statistically speaking, any danger is almost an impossibility.
IRIS: Aren't you the one who believes in the impossible? That's why you went looking for it in Starling City, wasn't it? Did you find it, or did you make my dad mad for no reason?
BARRY: I found... a girl. I mean, I met one.
IRIS: A girl? Good for you! When was the last time you went on a date? All you do is hang out with me.
BARRY: About that. While I was away, I got the chance to think about, you know, us... You're my best friend, Iris.
IRIS: You're mine too. Why else would I be here?
BARRY: That's not what I meant. What I meant was...
IRIS: I know what you're gonna say, Barry.
BARRY: I'm not sure you do.
IRIS: Even though we pretty much grew up in the same house and we're kind of brother and sister, we're not really brother and sister, so it can get really weird and awkward talking to me about girls. But I want you to know it shouldn't be awkward, because there is nothing that I want more than for you to meet the right person that totally loves and adores you for the amazing guy that you are.
BARRY: ... Took the words right out of my mouth.
IRIS: Aren't you glad I know you so well?
and
IRIS: I'm not thirsty.
BARRY: It'll keep your hands warm, at least.
IRIS: Thanks.
BARRY: You okay?
IRIS: I... Don't know what that word means anymore after what I just saw, that we saw... How many people?
BARRY: Iris...
IRIS: How many?
BARRY: Twelve. We'll catch the Trickster, whoever he is...
IRIS: That's really fantastic, Barry! You get on that, you catch him! Put him on trial, put him in jail. Let him wake up every morning and eat breakfast and see the Sun unlike that little girl he slaughtered in the street!
BARRY: You're right. It's not fair. But it is what makes us not them.
IRIS: There's something else.
BARRY: What?
IRIS: I swear that I saw something. A flick of light, gust of wind, something that pulled one of the families out of the way of the debris. It was the way that you described it that night. What you saw in your house, the way that your mother was killed.
BARRY: Iris, I was just a scared kid, I don't know what I saw...
IRIS: You told me a million times that what you saw was impossible. Today, I saw the impossible, too. And for the first time, I really believed you.

 

[fan4stic]

Whose to say who deserves it?

 

[igoogol]

By now, a potted plant is more relevant than Iris.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

 

[AcePair]

Her last thread hit 100k views. Impressive. I’d say Iris is the most talked about character after Barry Allen, even if most of it is hate. There’s no such thing as bad buzz.

 

[p4poetic]

Her last thread hit 100k views. Impressive. I’d say Iris is the most talked about character after Barry Allen, even if most of it is hate. There’s no such thing as bad buzz.

I don't understand the hate at all.

 

[igoogol]

Her last thread hit 100k views. Impressive. I’d say Iris is the most talked about character after Barry Allen, even if most of it is hate. There’s no such thing as bad buzz.

Well it is the only interesting thing about this version of the character, so that's something. But in a contest of most hated DCCW character, it'd be a tie between her and Felicity.

 

[Avenging Angel]

Felicity is still a better character than Iris will ever be.

 

[CLARKY]

Felicity is still a better character than Iris will ever be.

I disagree here. I can't stand Felicity. the character or the way the actress "act".
Iris on the other end, seems to have evolved this season. I find her less empty, I can relate to her choices, it's cool. It's better I'd say. But most of the episodes seem to be better anyway this season. Actors better, plots better, the vilain is amazing.

 

[Zant]

Felicity is still a better character than Iris will ever be.

 

[Babillygunn]

This season has ruined Iris. She was immeasurably better as a reporter. Why in the world you would have her serve as the leader of a team that includes 4 metas, an experienced cop, and some of the brightest minds on two earths is beyond me. She is 100% the least qualified person to be on that team, yet these geniuses allow her to play “boss” and order them around? That’s genuinely stupid.

 

[Lantern Venom]

This season has ruined Iris. She was immeasurably better as a reporter. Why in the world you would have her serve as the leader of a team that includes 4 metas, an experienced cop, and some of the brightest minds on two earths is beyond me. She is 100% the least qualified person to be on that team, yet these geniuses allow her to play “boss” and order them around? That’s genuinely stupid.

Cisco is an engineering genius, but he's immature at times and clearly not leadership material. Caitlin doesn't trust herself due to her KF personality. Harry has shown flashes of brilliance as a tactician, but his inclination is science, and he's seemingly in a state of constant inner turmoil. Joe would make a natural leader, but he's already got one of the most time-consuming jobs and now he's embarking on fatherhood as a late middle-aged man. None of them are good leadership candidates in Barry's absence. With her understanding of psychology and her investigative skills, Iris is the only one who makes sense under the current circumstances.

 

[igoogol]

With her understanding of psychology and her investigative skills, Iris is the only one who makes sense under the current circumstances.

...this is about Iris West on the CW's Flash. The same Iris who didn't understand why Cisco wanted to bring Barry back or why Caitlin "abandoned" the team, who tagged along with Joe or Barry as THEY did the investigating. What Iris are you talking about?

 

[Lantern Venom]

...this is about Iris West on the CW's Flash. The same Iris who didn't understand why Cisco wanted to bring Barry back or why Caitlin "abandoned" the team, who tagged along with Joe or Barry as THEY did the investigating. What Iris are you talking about?

The one who was shown to track down dangerous leads and be a capable at gathering and analyzing evidence. She's got her father's personality in several key ways, including her inclination to act decisively, like when she entered the speed force to retrieve Barry. With Cisco and Caitlin incapable of being in charge while Joe and Harry have too many personal issues to lead the team, Iris is the singular choice right now.

 

[Wildcard]

You laugh but it's unequivocally true.

 

[Babillygunn]

The one who was shown to track down dangerous leads and be a capable at gathering and analyzing evidence. She's got her father's personality in several key ways, including her inclination to act decisively, like when she entered the speed force to retrieve Barry. With Cisco and Caitlin incapable of being in charge while Joe and Harry have too many personal issues to lead the team, Iris is the singular choice right now.

If Iris is the only choice, then heaven help them. I really liked her character in seasons past, but I feel that by having her be in charge, it’s really a disservice to the character as she doesn’t fit in there.

That said...Go Big Blue!!!

 

[Lantern Venom]

If Iris is the only choice, then heaven help them. I really liked her character in seasons past, but I feel that by having her be in charge, it’s really a disservice to the character as she doesn’t fit in there.

That said...Go Big Blue!!!

How about we start a petition to get Coach Cal a cameo on the Flash? t:

 

[igoogol]

her inclination to act decisively, like when she entered the speed force to retrieve Barry.

Henry came up with the idea and was going to do it until Iris jumped in to grab it for herself. You make it sound like she came up with the idea and was the only one with the guts to do it. And that doesn't even take into account that Cisco already tried it all by himself. I bet you think she really is Flash, too.

The one who was shown to track down dangerous leads and be a capable at gathering and analyzing evidence...With Cisco and Caitlin incapable of being in charge while Joe and Harry have too many personal issues to lead the team, Iris is the singular choice right now.

Oh! I get it! You're talking about marysue fanfic Iris. Well, we certainly wasted each other's time, didn't we.

 

[Eni]

I'm not watching the show anymore, it is entertaining to still follow this forum, though, and I find it very interesting what they made of Iris this season. Well, to be accurate, I watched episode one and then decided to lay off, but I do occasionally see bits and pieces posted on diverse platforms, so I didn't miss the whole 'We are the Flash' thing and such.

I'm a comic Flash fan; I never got that warm with the show after season one because I honestly think they messed the characters up spectacularly since they seem to lack the understanding of who they are. I'm a big fan of Iris in the comics, well, up until the New52, currently the comics are about as lackluster to me as the tv show is, but until Flashpoint messed everything up, I enjoyed her character.

After Flashpoint, Iris, like so many other characters got into quite the identity crisis of who they are and how the writers should portray them to make them mainstream popular. I think that is the best way to ruin a character and their legacy, but since this is comics, things will probably return to status quo in a couple of years as it is.

This desire to make characters more interesting and 'relatable' to the audience is what probably ruined the show for me, and I think it is also the reason why TV-Iris is so widely disliked. She has never been someone with a constant characterization, she was the adorable, lovable friend/sister at first, then tried her luck with being independent/kicking ass, got reduced to being a damsel in distress again, turned into someone pretty selfish and so on. I think the problem with her is that the writers didn't know from the beginning what to do with her, and that kept showing itself through the first season.

Then, she started to become a little more like her comic counterpart, a reporter and got a little bit more independent, though it really was only a little. She still was the love interest for Barry first and foremost. She kept being that for the next two seasons, and her reporting job started to slip into non-existence once again, which likely was a problem since there was nothing else for the writers to define Iris as other than being the love interest. I guess that is why they now pushed her into the role as a leader, even though she does not fit it and didn't earn it.

She is a means to an end, more or less, she is a 'strong' female character on a show that clearly has troubles to depict any female characters in an interesting/believable way, and she is the anchor to Barry, holding him back and making it easier for the writers to handle an overpowered character like the Flash.

Iris is not any more competent or fit to be a leader than Cisco or Caitlin, on the contrary, she has no powers and doesn't add anything skillwise. Her main task is to keep Barry in check so that the writers don't have to worry about him getting rid of an enemy or solve a problem too quickly since Iris, or more accurately his 'love' for her, will cause him to behave like a dumb-dumb - tho, to be fair, this Barry doesn't need a lot of assistance in that for the most part.

I find Iris is a very interesting character, not a well-written one, but very telling when it comes to the audience. Most hate or love her, few don't care, and her skin color or being a female is often used as a defense against anybody who has anything bad to say about her.

I get the feeling that Iris is alluring to younger girls because she is a little bit of a Mary-Sue, in a way, someone who doesn't bring anything that relevant to the table, but she is still in a position of power and still gets the hero no matter that she did not earn any of it. That is probably very alluring especially to teenagers, who often tend to make do with bad writing and characterization as long as they get their otp.

 

[igoogol]

You nailed everything about Iris, especially this:

her skin color or being a female is often used as a defense against anybody who has anything [critical] to say about her.

Iris is a love interest and that's it. The character, and really the show and her fans too, is being called out for not staying in her lane. It's always going to boil down to this: it's The Flash, not The Iris, and there's a reason why Laurel before she became BC, Felicity and Iris are so hated and it's got nothing to do with their physical appearance. This is why it would have been great to see Wally for the 1st half of the season, because that will really show that it's not her race or gender that's the problem, it's that she's not necessary most of the time. Even the season premiere showed this.

 

[Eni]

You nailed everything about Iris, especially this:

Iris is a love interest and that's it. The character, and really the show and her fans too, is being called out for not staying in her lane. It's always going to boil down to this: it's The Flash, not The Iris, and there's a reason why Laurel before she became BC, Felicity and Iris are so hated and it's got nothing to do with their physical appearance. This is why it would have been great to see Wally for the 1st half of the season, because that will really show that it's not her race or gender that's the problem, it's that she's not necessary most of the time. Even the season premiere showed this.

I think Iris can be more than a simple love interest, she can be Barry's lightening rod, a partner for him, so that they can support each other, but it is something I would like to see portrayed in a believable way. On the show their relationship is very shallow and artificial/forced, I don't know whether it is due to the chemistry between the actors or just their acting and the material they are given, but they don't come over like a healthy, stable couple to me.

I can relate to what you say, I honestly would prefer for the show not to be about the romance-drama and all those side-characters, and more about Barry being the Flash, but it is CW, so we won't get that since they aim for another demographic.

 

[Babillygunn]

How about we start a petition to get Coach Cal a cameo on the Flash? t:

Where do I sign???

It’s only fair. After all Ricky P already had a cameo:

 

[Avenging Angel]

Candice is one of the most miscast I've seen, she doesn't belong on the show and the writers don't care what to do with her character because they just never had a plan with her from the start.

Her crazy stans claim she needs to be there for representation, well she has no agency. With Black Lightening airing soon with characters of color that have actual arcs there is no need to keep her on the show anymore and her lunatic stans can't use faux racism to inflict fear onto the writers.

 

[Babillygunn]

Where do I sign???

It’s only fair. After all Ricky P already had a cameo:

Poop. My image of a time Wraith and Pitino was deleted