I agree with what you're saying in terms of the dynamic of Barry and Iris's friendship because that's been clear and I don't think anyone would argue with it.
At this point , Eddie could be anybody imo. The character really hasn't been given that much to do or defined as much as the other characters in the show have been as of now. We still have the rest of the season though so that may change.
Where I would disagree with you're argument that the writers were trying to convey what you described in relation to the whole Barry making a move and Iris's reaction to it. I think you're giving these writers more credit for what their intentions are in telling the story then is really there. I just don't think the writers really have as much depth or understanding to the dynamics to the romantic side at least that you've stated.
I think your explanation is great , and makes sense, I just haven't gotten that sense either implied or nuanced, from what the writers have given us. That said, I do think the actors are doing their best to raise the material they've been given , and had they cast lesser actors it probably would have come off worse. It's clear from Grant Gustin and Candice Patton's performances that Barry is in love with Iris and its clear she cares for him. But they're actors and actors can only go so far in conveying what is or isn't stated in the scripts their working with.
I really do like your explanation of it, but for me its not a question of ignoring what is there in the nuances of the story telling or missing subtexts to what's been given. It's that I don't see much nuance there them to begin with because the construction of the romantic relationship dynamics has been pretty superficial. As a result, there's not much there to read beyond without me coming up with my own interpretation of what they're trying to get convey because the writers aren't able to do it themselves.
Now of course, its not a writers job to spoon feed everything to the audience but if you're strong enough and a good enough storyteller you don't have to and you can get implied or inferred beyond what's being said and shown. I just don't think they're really that good in terms of the romantic relationship side of it in that regard. I think they're good at it with Wells and Joe, Barry and Wells, Joe and Barry, and even Joe and Eddie. I do think that they are good when it comes to the implied, inferred , or nuances when it comes to alot of the non romantic dynamics. I think that's clearly their stronger suit.
I just haven't seen how the Barry/Iris romantic dynamic is really beyond what the CW has done in the past. I think the context of their friendship is different and the performances are fine, and you can get alot of the nuances that you've stated with regards to how Barry and Iris feel about each other in terms of their friendship. However, I don't think of their romantic dynamics as all that original or deep.
Again, I think you're explanation and interpretation of what's going is great and it would certainly makes the relationship more interesting , if that's what the writers are trying to go for. You've seen it there and could be that you're correct and that the writers are trying to convey what you've stated. I'm just not seeing that either implied or explictly in what that writers have given us. But we can agree to disagree.
Ah, I get it, and I'm actually inclined to agree. The friendship is the bigger, better part, their strong suit, as you've put it, and the romantic feelings are more or less perfunctory. I also do understand that my understanding that the friendship, as opposed to romance, defining a great marriage, as in real life, is probably a bit beyond what the writers are planning to/able to realize on a CW television show.
I guess the part where I view it differently is, to me, the friendship is part of the romance, they're not two separate things, functionally, thematically, narratively... but it seems like a lot of people see it that way, which makes me a little sad for the western world in general, and in a much smaller way, for the Flash fanbase.
I think I'm just more interested in the long term plan, assuming it's the traditional Barry ending up with Iris, than I am him dating any number of women for the sake of filling the romantic relationship quota of a young adult show.
It's fine if it somehow adds something to his and Iris' end game relationship. If the CW really wants their demographic to expand more, that's what should happen.
I just want this Linda relationship to mean something in the end whether it's for Barry & Iris or for Barry as The Flash. If it's just to create drama and make Iris look bad with a simplistic storyline about her inadvertently hindering their dating life or make Iris look bad for not immediately breaking up with Eddie to date Barry(I'm sarcastically simplifying ), then it's a waste of screen time.
Obviously I don't know what their plans are and it'd be wrong of me to assume just yet, but ideally they should keep Iris' current arc from being "did I make the mistake of staying with Eddie? Look at how happy <girl Barry's dating> is."
Too much of that and it makes Iris look simple and like she doesn't have a life of her own. It would feel too Smallville like. That would be a step backward of the network wants to expand.
I feel that, if the love storyline with Barry is the driving force for the character, then, well... she's not very interesting.
Here's stuff I'd like to see from/for Iris:
- Put her with Barry for good in Season 2. No need for more CW shenanigans. Give them a cool relationship, and background it the way it is in comics. Basically, in the classic books, Barry is a guy without a love interest, because he's already married. Certainly those around him have plenty such drama, but Barry, he's more like us normal folks emotionally than most CW leads.
- Do the reporter thing, because comics. That's her day job... like Jitters or anything else. I think we'll all see soon it's not a role that goes anywhere, unless she goes super-intrepid-daily-reporter-that-always-gets-into-trouble, which is very hard to make anything but cliche... possible though.
- Bring back the psychology angle and let her be the, basically, psycho-analyst of the team, especially after Wells is gone. She can size up and break down the psychological weaknesses of the enemies. She can do this from Star Labs, or Jitters, or the News Station. Make her useful to the story every week, and it will be difficult not to like her.
- Banter with Barry. Once she knows, it needs to have a feel similar to Thea finding out about the Arrow and just opening up a lot of conversations, and a non-team angle on the team, basically. This is pretty much the best and easiest shot at changing the reporter-dives-into-trouble trope into something interesting. More Roxanne Ritchi and less Lois Lane.
