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demonstrate) wrote2016-06-09 02:18 pm
demonstrate) wrote2016-06-09 02:18 pm
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entranceway | ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ
Other Characters: Elena Gilbert |
interpersonalCharacter Name: Iris West
Series: The Flash
Timeline:
Canon Resource Link: boop!
Character History: d e e p b r e a t h s
Iris West has been Barry Allen’s best friend since they were children. She was there when bullies like Tony Woodward would taunt him in school, and she was there when his mother died. They were only eleven years old when it happened. Barry’s home was a happy home, until a lightning-carrying man in yellow killed his mother and his father went to jail for it. Something impossible happened that night and ever since, Barry’s been trying to explain it. Everyone wrote him off as delusional or crazy, but Iris believed him.
With Nora dead and Henry in jail for a crime he did not commit, Joe West stepped in and decided to take care of him. Joe had been a friend to the Allens, and Barry and Iris were inseparable—he clothed, fed, and raised Barry as he would a son. Iris once reminisced about that night Barry came home to live with them. She’d been a little threatened at first. With her mother firmly out of the picture, Iris and Joe had been on their own for years, the two of them against the world. She didn’t want Barry changing that dynamic, but he did—and for the better. With Barry in the mix, they became a family again, and the house wasn’t quite so lonely anymore.
You’d think that Iris and Barry would be raised as siblings, and you would be wrong. Even before Nora Allen died, Barry had a crush on Iris, and that crush only deepened into love over the years. Fourteen years, to be precise.
And that's when our show begins.
Iris is utterly oblivious to Barry’s affections for much of the first season.
When we first see our obtuse Ms. West, she is visiting Barry at work. Joe West is a respected cop and Barry is an assistant forensic scientist who works for him. She is there to pick her best friend up so they can go to S.T.A.R. Labs, a prominent research facility. As Barry emphatically explains to Iris, a brilliant scientist by the name of Harrison Wells has conducted extraordinary research on Quantum Theory. The research is light-years ahead of anything that’s been studied before. Wells has been working on a particle accelerator in the process, and it has the potential of changing the way we look at physics. Basically, it’s a big deal.
It’s been Barry’s dream to see this infamous particle accelerator activated. While Iris has no special interest in science, she is a supportive friend. She cancels a date so that she can accompany Barry as he fulfills his “sad, nerdy little dream.”
What she lacks in insight she makes up for with charisma. She’s playful and funny as she steals Barry’s fries and despairs over her dissertation. A waitress at Jitters, only the best coffee shop in the world, Iris has access to fresh batches of cronuts and brownies. She’s also a stress eater, we learn, and stressing about her dissertation means she’s been eating a lot of those cronuts. Joe eventually joins them mid-conversation, and we see the ease and affection that exists between all three of them. I love them so much help me.
Barry solves Joe’s case earlier than anticipated, so Iris and Barry are able to go to S.T.A.R. Labs. They have a conversation that sort of goes like this:
Barry: Lately, I’ve been thinking about relationships a lot. I’m going to look at you with stars in my eyes until you realize that I’m talking about us.
Iris: This is going to go completely over my head so future plots make sense.
Barry is thrilled to meet Harrison Wells, as the scientist launches into an explanation that details the work he has been doing alongside his team. Just as Wells is giving his speech, someone steals Iris’ bag. Y’know, the one that has her laptop in it, and thus her dissertation. Barry tries to save the day, but his efforts are met with a bloody nose, not success. Detective Eddie Thawne is the one who comes to the rescue, effectively bringing the mugger to the Central City Police Department.
Iris is seemingly unimpressed with Eddie at first. A recent transfer from Keystone, Eddie Thawne aka Detective Pretty Boy is Joe’s partner. According to Joe, Eddie keeps score when it comes to arrests. While acknowledging he sure is pretty, Iris also thinks he’s sort of lame. But then, she doesn’t seem to be impressed easily in general.
It rains heavily that night, a torrential downpour that has not affected the particle accelerator’s activation. According to Wells, all is running smoothly. And it does, for forty-five minutes, until everything goes to hell. The storm causes a malfunction, and people are told to evacuate S.T.A.R. Labs. The particle accelerator will not shut down despite their best efforts—and Barry is struck by lightning.
Life, as they say, is forever changed.
Barry is taken to the hospital and Iris barges into the operating room. She is physically dragged away from the scene as she cries out his name and explains that she’s family. She is clearly devastated that Barry keeps flatlining.
Barry slips into a coma. Every time he went under cardiac arrest (a misdiagnosis), Joe and Iris were right there by his side. But Barry wasn’t flatlining. His heart was beating too fast for the EKG to register it. He would become a meta-human with extraordinary abilities, forever changed by the particle accelerator. Joe and Iris gave Dr. Wells permission to transfer Barry to S.T.A.R. Labs so that he could be stabilized, but also in the hopes of bringing him back. Iris would visit her best friend often and according to Dr. Caitlin Snow, she would talk a lot. During one of those visits, Iris gives Barry a heartfelt speech about how much she needs him. She mentions the house is really quiet without him, and she’s jolted by electricity when she tries to hold his hand.
Time stopped for Barry. It did not stop for Iris.
When Barry wakes up from his coma nine months later, some things are still the same. Iris is still working at Jitters. She remains oblivious to Barry’s feelings; she may sense something is off with him, but she has no idea what that could be. Of course, some things are very different. The most important of these changes? Iris and Eddie are dating, a fact she has not shared with her father. Or anyone else, for that matter. She is determined to keep their relationship firmly under wraps, lest Joe kill his own partner. When Joe is around, she pretends she still can’t stand Eddie to maintain the ruse. The problem with this plan is that Iris is terrible at duplicity, and eventually slips. Barry catches Iris and Eddie kissing, and afterward she explains how it all happened. While Barry was in a coma, Eddie covered Joe’s shifts so that Joe and Iris could be with him. Ever since, Iris and Eddie have grown closer. They have something special and good.
(When pressed by Eddie to tell her father the truth, Iris explains why she kept their relationship a secret for so long: she really likes Eddie, and he is her first real boyfriend. Between her father, Barry, and work, her life had always been full. She feared that telling her father would make it real, and once it was real, it would become something she’d lose or screw up.)
A fog comes in from nowhere, and Barry pulls Iris away before a car can hit them. A pile-up occurs regardless, and there are casualties. Joe angrily storms toward them, chewing them out for being there in the first place. It’s evident that his distress comes from a place of love and concern. When Iris sees danger, she is meant to run in the opposite direction—at least, according to Joe. Iris West always has other ideas in mind. Mid-rant, Barry tries to tell Joe the truth. A man they think is dead is actually alive, he can control the weather, and that’s what caused the fog. They get into a fight, as Joe has never believed Barry when he talks about the unexplainable, and Iris protectively steps in before Joe can say anything that hurts him further. Eventually, Joe discovers Barry’s powers, and he apologizes for not believing him. But Barry has to promise him one thing—whatever he does, he can’t tell Iris the truth. Joe wants her safe.
Anyhoo! It turns out Barry wasn’t the only one affected by the particle accelerator that night. Meta-humans, is what S.T.A.R. Labs now calls them. Meta-humans have inexplicable powers—and not all of them mean to do good with those powers. Not all of them are like Barry. In fact, ever since Barry gained his powers, there’s been reports of a red streak around the city. This Streak stops muggers and rescues people from burning buildings, among other things. Spoilers: it’s totally Barry, and most people, including Joe, are clued in on this—except Iris. S i g h.
It should be noted that while Iris is not aware of Barry’s extracurricular activities, she does notice that something is amiss. She puts it best when she angrily reminds him that she grew up one bedroom away from him. She knows when he’s happy, sad, depressed, lost. Something is going on with him, and he will not tell her what it is. He keeps blowing her off and they’ve barely spent time together since he woke up from his coma. He’s lying about something.
Despite being kept in the dark, Iris takes notice of the Streak. In fact, she wants to write about him in her new article. She may have taken up journalism just to fulfill her sociological requirements, but she is beginning to take an active interest in reporting. This newfound curiosity of hers for all things impossible only strengthens as sightings of the Streak increase, as well. Meta-humans continue to pop up all throughout Central City, and the consequences aren’t without casualties: Joe ends up in the hospital after a poisonous meta-human causes trouble.
Also, this is not important to the application at all, it’s just that it gives me a lot of feelings and I need to share. Iris usually calls Joe ‘Dad’, but whenever she’s scared—like she is when she visits him in the hospital—he immediately becomes ‘Daddy’ again. It is during this hospital visit Joe concedes that he’s known about Iris and Eddie’s secret relationship all along. Iris is a terrible liar, and Joe fucking West is a detective. He’s also mad. Joe isn’t a fan of complications, and Eddie is his partner. But Iris really likes him, so he promises not to shoot Eddie, at least…
That doesn’t mean Iris is off the hook for going behind his back. Joe gives her the cold shoulder for a good while. It isn’t the first time Joe does it, either. Iris once signed up for the police academy without telling Joe, and he didn’t talk to her for weeks until she withdrew her application. The only difference is Iris will not cave this time.
As Joe and Iris mend their relationship, Iris announces to Barry that she’s started a blog. Specifically, she’s started an anonymous blog about the Streak. Everyone tries to talk her out of it, but Iris is not dissuaded. She believes that this is something people in Central City should know about. The Streak is out there saving people, and Iris is going to write about him. Determined Iris is determined.
In between trying to set Barry up with computer geniuses and remaining oblivious to further the story along, Iris investigates the Streak in earnest. Joe, once again worried for Iris’ safety, begs Barry to talk her out of it. Barry tries by pointing out she can’t be too serious about an anonymous blog. Iris’ reaction to being challenged? She puts her name on the blog. No longer shielded by anonymity, she paints a target on her back, and she’s willing to suffer the consequences. This lands her in more than a few sticky situations, and it causes friction in her closest relationships. Not just with Joe and Barry, but with Eddie, as well.
According to Iris, Eddie is a bit jealous of the Streak, and he might have some reason to be. The Streak (who we will now call the Flash) and Iris meet clandestinely as she tries to get a name out of him. She seems very taken with him at times. While all of their meetings are memorable, one of them in particular sticks out. During the meeting, Iris explains that something terrible happened to her best friend when he was a kid. Ever since, he’s been trying to tell a story about this impossible thing. He was ridiculed by those around him, and analyzed by shrinks for years. The Flash’s existence is proof that Barry wasn’t crazy—that the impossible is possible. This is what sets her on the Flash’s path, but it also becomes more than that to Iris. She is not stopping until the whole world believes in the Flash.
Iris loves Central City. She believes in protecting it, and she believes that the Flash wants to protect it, as well. Despite the fact she has no meta-human abilities, she holds her own when her investigations land her in trouble, time and again. Being a daughter’s cop means Iris was raised tough, and she’s been taught to protect herself. Joe’s had Iris in boxing gloves since she was six, and she’s got a good aim where guns are concerned. One meta-human in particular allows her to showcase her bravery. Tony Woodward, the bully who would torment Barry when they were children, was also changed by the particle accelerator. Tony can now turn himself into steel, and he wants Iris to write about him the way she writes about the Flash. He goes so far as to abduct her, and while the Flash is instrumental in stopping him, Iris is the one who literally lands the last blow. She nearly breaks her hand ok.
She puts it best: a girl has to be her own hero every once in a while.
It gets a little repetitive from here on out. The men in Iris’ life vow to protect her by keeping her in the dark, and Iris makes uninformed choices that land her in hot water. Her relationship with Eddie deepens, and he asks her to move in with him. And it bears repeating, despite the fact she is still being kept in the dark, Iris knows Barry well. She consistently senses that he’s hiding something from her.
Two important things happen from here on out: the first is that Barry finally tells Iris that he loves her in that way. The timing is admittedly kind of terrible, as Iris and Eddie are all but ready to move in together. Iris is shocked (somehow???) and Barry reduces her to tears with his declaration. It’s telling that throughout his entire speech, she has very little to say. In fact, she finds she cannot say nothing at all, a tear sliding down her cheek as he leaves. Iris does end up moving in with Eddie, but it becomes obvious that she does have conflicting feelings about Barry. Case in point! When Barry finally decides to go and get himself a girlfriend, Iris acts possessively, nearly sabotaging that relationship. Y i k e s. Despite Iris genuinely loving Eddie and assuring her father that Eddie is who she wants to be with, Iris has been thinking about Barry—something she admits to him during a life-and-death moment. They kiss passionately, but Barry accidentally time travels, fucks up the timeline, and now Iris does not remember the kiss or her admission.
The second development? Iris is offered a job as a reporter at City Central Picture News. She is thrilled with the opportunity, quick to offer ideas for her articles, such as a program that helps battered women get back on their feet. She tries her best to make a good impression, but it’s clear they only want her there to get a scoop on the Flash. Mason Bridge, a reporter Iris has always admired, is assigned to be the ‘mama bear’ to Iris’ cub. He basically calls her a worthless, talentless millennial. Double y i k e s. Iris was understandably disheartened by this, but she doesn’t stay down for long, proving to Mason Bridge that she does, indeed, have ‘gumption’ during a press conference. More importantly, she shows that she is serious about being a reporter.
Mason thaws toward Iris at the newspaper. He confides to her his suspicions about Harrison Wells, wondering if Wells deliberately wanted the particle accelerator to explode. Iris believes Wells is a good person who made a mistake, because he kept Barry alive. Of course, Mason meets a disastrous end, AND TO PROTECT IRIS, her loved ones decide to cover it up. At this point, even Eddie is in on it, though he is a lot more reluctant to lie to Iris. It is possibly unsurprising that Iris has zero chill left when it comes to secrets. She values honesty, open communication, and trust. When you love someone, you tell them everything. She is rather severe once she realizes that Eddie is withholding something from her, and moves out after giving him an ultimatum.
The fucking men in her life, I stg.
Anyway.
Barry glimpses into the future—2024, to be exact—and sees a headline that reveals the Flash goes missing. He battled someone called the Reverse-Flash, and disappeared in an explosion of light. The byline is written by (dun dun dun!!) Iris West-Allen. So yeah, apparently Barry and Iris get married in the future??? That’s trippy. Isn’t she with Eddie? And why does the Reverse-Flash—who coincidentally turns out to be the man in yellow, the man who killed Barry’s mother—kidnap Eddie, of all people? And just as he’s about to propose to Iris, for that matter?
All will be answered in due time.
Iris finally pieces everything together. All of the weird events happening in their city never pre-date the event of the particle accelerator’s explosion, and she deduces that must be how people are getting their powers. She also deduces that Barry is the Flash, after the Flash grabs her hand and she is jolted by electricity, much like she was when she visited a comatose Barry.
While conflicted at first, Iris decides to confront Barry. She is heartbroken, angry, and disappointed. He explains that Joe was only trying to protect her—that they both were. Iris tells him under no uncertain terms that it is time they both stopped. All he’s done is lie to her, and how can he call her his best friend when he’s been keeping so much from her? Barry apologizes profusely, but he also points out out she hasn’t exactly been honest herself. He is talking about her feelings, naturally. Iris doesn’t have a comeback when called out for that, leading us to believe there’s a grain of truth in what Barry is saying.
Joe is in trouble with Iris, too. Initially, she tries to give him the cold shoulder, but eventually the dam bursts. She accuses Joe of using her safety as an excuse. She yells that being kept in the dark didn’t keep her safe at all. It didn’t prepare her for what was out there, and so she kept getting in the way. Iris is also hurt that Joe knew about Barry’s feelings for her and never said anything. She blurts out that if only everyone had been honest with her from the start, Eddie would not be in danger. After all, he’s only in danger because she’s been dating him. Joe starts to ask what she means by that, but Iris deflects and they are interrupted shortly after.
Btw, the meta-human of the week is a fucking gorilla named Grodd. Joe is once again injured, this time more severely. It leads to an earlier and heartfelt reconciliation with Iris. Despite her anger, she is compassionate and understanding, asking her father to love her enough to always tell her the truth. Similarly, she has a heart-to-heart with Barry, where she admits he is right. She has been thinking about him—about them—a lot. At the same time, she can’t keep doing that. Not with Eddie kidnapped. Not when she loves and lives with Eddie. Barry promises to bring him back, but Iris doesn’t know what will happen after that.
It’s around this time the show reveals why Eddie was kidnapped. Harrison Wells is not Harrison Wells at all. His real name is Eobard Thawne aka Reverse-Flash aka the man in yellow, and he’s from the future—a descendent of Eddie Thawne. Team Flash (which now includes Joe and Iris) is able to rescue Eddie from Eobard’s clutches. In the process, Iris finds the wedding ring that Eddie was going to give her. She wants to take care of him and make sure he recovers from the harrowing experience, but Eddie avoids her instead. He wants to get back to work as soon as possible, claiming he is in need of a ‘constant.’
Iris is hurt by this reasoning. She thought the constant was their relationship. Iris confronts him with the ring box, demanding to know why he’s changed his mind about them. Eddie finally reveals the truth. Eobard showed him the future, and in the future, Eddie and Iris aren’t married. She and Barry are married. She’s obviously shaken by the revelation, but she impulsively denounces destiny—she doesn’t believe in it. They all choose their own destiny, she chooses who she loves, and she loves Eddie. She wants to prove to him that the future isn’t written in stone, but Eddie says it’s not about the future. It’s about the present. Since the beginning, there’s been three people in their relationship: the two of them and BearBear. Iris can deny it all she wants, but they all know it.
After their break-up, Team Flash deals with not only the Reverse-Flash and his hatred for Barry, but the possibility of Barry traveling back in time to save his mother. He is torn about this literally life-altering decision. On the one hand, it’s his mother. But if he does save her, everything changes. Henry would never go to prison for her death. Barry would never move in with Joe and Iris. He’d probably never meet any of the friends he’s made at S.T.A.R. Labs. He turns to Iris for guidance. Iris is selfless and supportive in her answer. Despite being aware of what she may be losing, she tells Barry to think of himself for once in his life, and do what’s in his heart.
Iris and Eddie get back together once Eddie comes around to her way of thinking. All of them gather around Barry as he travels back to that fateful night Nora Allen died. The night everything changed. Annnnnnnd then he doesn’t save his mother. Barry is met with another version of himself, ostensibly from the future, gesturing at him to stay back.
Barry doesn’t alter the timeline as they had assumed he would. That means Eobard Thawne is furious, and a force to be reckoned with. The Flash and the Reverse-Flash proverbially lock heads, and the Flash is losing… until Eddie shoots himself. The way Eddie sees it? It’s the only way to stop Eobard for good. As Eobard’s ancestor from the future, if Eddie dies, then Eobard is never born. Thus, Eobard is erased from existence as Eddie dies in Iris’ arms. It’s suitably traumatic and heartbreaking. She is once again is dragged away as she loses someone she loves.
And sadly, that’s not the end of it.
A wormhole reopens just as Eobard is disintegrating. The wormhole swallows everything in its path, including Eddie. It’s feeding, we are told, and it won’t stop feeding even after Earth itself is obliterated. The Flash has to disrupt the wormhole’s motion to stop it. With the help of his friends, he is successful, but not without consequences. A portal is created, and it connects their world to other worlds. Their Earth has now opened up to new threats, and they will be meeting characters from other timelines and universes because of it.
Six months later, everyone—Iris included—is still picking up the pieces. Iris remains her warm and supportive self, but she is noticeably subdued as she mourns Eddie. Her grief is a quiet and solitary thing, one that she holds in while taking care of others. Iris is steadfast when she proclaims to Barry that she believes in him, encouraging him to still believe in himself and in others. She aids Joe in bringing Team Flash back together and putting her reporter skills to good use when necessary. Speaking of those skills, Iris starts kicking real butt as a crime-fighting reporter. More than once, she puts her neck on the line for a good story, and her exposés are landing on the front pages!
And despite all the terrible things that have happened, there’s a silver lining amidst all of the pain. Eobard Thawne confessed to killing Barry’s mother before he died, and Henry Allen is released from jail. They all celebrate this momentous occasion with Henry, and together they decide there’s only one direction to move in.
Forward.
But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it?
The past comes back to haunt Iris in the form of Francine West. We are given a lot more background on Iris’ mother. Joe has always led Iris to believe that her mother died, to keep her memory intact. The truth is Francine walked out on them when Iris was very young. Joe was still a beat cop back in those days. He and his partner were on patrol one night when a dispatch came on their radio. It was a little girl—Iris—saying her mom had taken some pills and she wouldn’t wake up. Joe’s heart stops as he realizes that it’s his address. The scene he stumbles on is sobering: Francine was passed out on the couch. The stove was on in the kitchen. And then there was Iris, standing in front of an open flame. This is only one instance of many where Francine put herself and baby Iris in jeopardy. It’s only one instance of many where Joe would check her into rehab to treat her drug addiction. The very last time he checks her into rehab, however, Francine disappears after a few days. The wife of a cop, she knew how to disappear. Joe looked everywhere for her, and decided he didn’t have the heart to tell Iris that she was abandoned.
Joe comes clean to Iris about all of this. He also admits that Francine is alive, and she’s returned to Central City in the hopes of reconnecting with Iris. There’s a moment where she is a child again, small and confused. Joe falls apart and sobs openly in front of Iris, asking for her forgiveness. And Iris? Iris takes his hand, and tells him that she understands. We are once again shown her enormous capacity for forgiveness and kindness. Joe wanted to keep her safe. Joe has always wanted to keep her safe. Even when he’s flat-out wrong for it, Iris gets where he is coming from. There is nothing he can do that could ever make her stop loving him.
Iris reflects on her childhood as her meeting with Francine draws closer. When she does finally meet Francine, Joe is at her side. Iris assures Francine that she doesn’t hate her and wishes her well, but they have lived separate lives for two decades now, and she sees no reason why that should change. A heartbroken Francine reveals to Joe that she is dying. Joe believes it immediately, but Iris has her suspicions. A reporter through and through, Iris looks into Francine’s past to make sure her story checks out. Francine is telling the truth. Well... she is telling the partial truth. Iris reminds Francine that she is an investigator. It’s her job to uncover what others would like to keep hidden: she knows that Francine was pregnant when she walked away from Joe. Iris has a brother out there somewhere (the precious prince that is Wally West).
Despite this revelation, Iris forcefully asks Francine to leave her and Joe alone.
This time, Iris is the one that decides to keep something from Joe. It doesn’t last, as Iris does value honesty, and lying to her father has been hollowing her inside out. It’s Christmastime, and Iris is not only missing Eddie, she’s feeling guilty about what she did. She tearfully admits the whole truth to Barry, and they agree to tell Joe together. Joe is understandably crushed, but when Wally comes knocking on their door, they welcome him into their home despite their shock.
This isn’t to say that Wally’s integration with the family is seamless. There is blatant friction between Wally and Barry, but it also turns out Wally appreciates speed in his own way. He’s a drag racer! As Francine’s condition deteriorates, Iris and Joe keep vigil at the hospital. Iris can no longer hold on to her anger in the face of her mother’s sickness. She asks if there’s anything she can do for Francine, and Francine asks for Iris’ help with Wally. He’s angry that Francine is dying, and thus nowhere to be found. Iris expresses regret for the life they could’ve all had together. She lets go of her anger, and only wishes that Francine had come back years ago. She would’ve forgiven Francine sooner, and they would’ve had more time. Iris steps out of the room in tears, and breaks down in Joe’s arms. She doesn’t even know Francine—why is this so hard?
Iris worries about Wally. His reasons for hitting up the street racing scene are honorable; his victories helped pay Francine’s medical bills. But Iris worries he’ll get caught one day. More over, Francine isn’t getting any better, and Wally refuses to see her. Iris only gets through to Wally when she ruefully brings up Eddie. She didn’t get to say goodbye to Eddie properly. She didn’t get to express how much she loved him, that he was her world, and she doesn’t want Wally to live with that kind of regret. Wally decides to take her advice, but he doesn’t want to face it alone. Iris comes to the rescue, and it won’t be the first time she does the big sister thing.
Iris continues to harsh Wally’s buzz when it comes to his drag racing. When Wally is unresponsive to her concerns, Iris decides to get in the thick of it. She does some good ol’ reporting once again, and resolves to put a stop to the races. She even goes directly to the main honcho of the operation, threatening to publish an exposé. Wally asks her not to show up to the races anymore, as he won’t be able to protect her, but of course Iris doesn’t listen. She shows up anyway, except this time with Joe in tow. She will undoubtedly go to great lengths to protect the people she loves. Wally nearly dies during this race, and while the Flash is able to come to his rescue, Iris is hurt in the process. It lands her in the hospital, and Wally has his wake up call. Remorseful, he brings her flowers and they speak candidly about Francine for the first time. It’s here they begin to truly bond.
PS: she hates hospitals.
The emotional upheaval Francine caused means that Iris is not quite as involved in Team Flash shenanigans, though she is kept in the loop, unlike season one. She meets the real Harrison Wells from a different earth to theirs, specifically Earth-2. Despite the fact it’s a lot to process—he does look exactly like the man that caused Eddie’s death—she handles it gracefully. Additionally, she meets several different people throughout the season, most notably Jay Garrick, a speedster from the real Harrison Wells’ world. Iris grows close to her co-worker Linda Park, who happens to be Barry’s ex-girlfriend. She is also a lot more mature about Barry’s new girlfriend, Patty Spivot, encouraging them to salvage their relationship when it hits a rough patch.
I mean, the relationship crashes and burns, but she tried ok.
Besides, it’s not like there’s lot of room for romance. This year’s big bad is Zoom, a speedster like Barry. Zoom declares that he must be the fastest man alive in all of the lands!!!! He steals Barry’s speed more than once, and proves to be a great threat—not only to their world, but to Earth-2. Barry ends up traveling to Earth-2 in the hopes of rectifying a terrible situation and saving Harrison’s daughter. Despite the fact he is not supposed to tell Iris and Joe the details about his journey (or anyone for that matter), he divulges everything.
In Earth-2, his mother is alive, Joe is dead, and Iris is once again married to Barry.
Barry and Iris are left reeling from the news, and they helplessly revisit their feelings for one another. Feelings they placed aside as Iris grieved Eddie and Barry dated Patty. Iris’ editor takes an interest in her around that time, and while she does go on a date with him, she and Barry continue to share deep moments together. It is safe to say that Iris is, at long last, moving on from Eddie’s death. Consequently, she can’t help but wonder if Barry is the person that she is meant to be with.
But! Yes, there is a but. You know there has to be. Iris is the one with unfortunate timing now. Just like Eobard Thawne betrayed them, so does Jay Garrick. And much like Eobard Thawne, Jay is an usurping usurper who usurps.
He’s actually Zoom, and Zoom is their biggest threat yet. Barry giving up his speed for honorable reasons means that they are helpless against him. To get his speed back, Team Flash decides to recreate the night of the particle accelerator’s explosion. It doesn’t go as planned, and Barry is lost to the Speed Force. Iris reacts similarly to the way she did when Barry first flatlined, but the show is not over. In Barry’s absence, Iris is instrumental in taking down the meta-human of the week, and she is equally influential when bringing Barry back from the Speed Force. Barry declares that Iris means everything to him, and her voice will always bring him home. They share an intimate hug, and when Barry finally asks her to give them a chance, Iris happily says yes.
Before any of that can happen, everything goes to hell in a hand basket. Again. Not only does Zoom kidnap their beloved friend Caitlin Snow, he also kills Barry’s dad right in front of him. Zoom is ultimately defeated, but the damage has been done, and none of them can celebrate the victory. Iris is at Barry’s side the way she always is, but he’s more broken than ever before. They have a beautiful and sad moment on the porch steps of their home, wherein they declare their love for one another. Barry tells her that in spite of what they feel, he has nothing to give right now. Iris vows to wait for him the way that he has always waited for her. They kiss sweetly. After Iris steps back into the house, Barry runs back in time to save his mother—altering the past, the present, and the future irreparably.
Everything changes.
CANON UPDATE
The Flash's arch-nemesis, Eobard Thawne, likes to call the new timeline that Barry created Flashpoint. In this new timeline, Barry never moved in with Iris and Joe, and why would he? Both of his parents are alive and everything is as it should be. Barry is a kid that Iris used to know in school and nothing else. Iris doesn't even recognize him when he arranges a little meet-cute between them, though they still have a connection because #true love.
Interestingly, while Iris's circumstances changed, her core personality remains the same, right down to her driven integrity and her crime-fighting journalistic pursuits. However, this time around the heroic speedster is none other than her brother, Wally West.
Despite Thawne's early warnings, Barry refuses to undo the Flashpoint timeline. He's whole and he has everything he wants. His parents are alive, he and Iris are going on a date, his best friend is the richest man in America! Everything seems to be working out — what could possibly go wrong? A LOT, APPARENTLY. Thawne cautions that there are always consequences to playing with time. Time is their common enemy, and there's a side effect that comes with this new reality: it's overwriting the reality that Barry once knew, and the more he uses his speed, the more he forgets it. His friends, his family, everything that he once loved? It will all fade away eventually. They need to set things right before Barry forgets he is the Flash, because once he does forget, this reality becomes the permanent one.
It isn't until Wally is gravely wounded that Barry finally admits defeat. Everyone has been paying for his happiness, and he can no longer ignore that. He asks for Iris's help to make things right again and she helps him reach Thawne. Barry and Thawne go back in time to the infamous living room.
Nora Allen dies again, and Barry doesn't save her. 😢
To make a long story short, Barry does end up reverting the timeline, but it has not remained intact. It can never go back to the way it was, despite his best efforts. The first half of the third season encompasses all these little-to-big changes, and Barry facing the music when it comes to how deeply he altered the course of all their lives. If he hadn't gone back, would Cisco's brother still be alive? Would Caitlin not have powers? Would Iris and Joe's relationship not have been so close to disintegrating? Would Wally not have become a speedster? MORE IMPORTANTLY, WOULD THE NEWSPAPER FROM THE FUTURE STILL BE WRITTEN BY IRIS WEST-ALLEN?
There's really no way to know for sure. Barry can't put it back together and he must learn to live with that. So must Iris, and so must everyone else that he loves. The reactions of his friends vary, but to the surprise of no one, Iris responds to Barry's confession with compassion. Even when she is demanding the truth from him and standing her ground, she never lets him sink into self-loathing. Barry made a huge mistake in a gut-wrenching moment. It's Iris who reminds them all that they're a family, and they're allowed to be angry when one of them screws up, but that makes them no less a family.
Family forgives.
So, things are broken! And a new villain in the form of Alchemy arrives in Central City, a villain who can apparently give people abilities, not to mention control them. Barry still has to face the music, but everyone is trying to move forward for a change.
Now that Iris knows their timeline has been altered, she chooses to remain in the dark about Flashpoint. The way she sees it, she's Iris in any timeline, and she finds her way back to where she is supposed to be, and with who she is supposed to be. Baw.
Anyhoo, things sort of go back to normal. Or at least the gang's version of normal. They deal with meta-humans of the week and the more lasting new threats that Barry unleashed when he altered the timeline
I'm sure it's fine.
(Oh, and they meet yet another Harrison Wells.)
Other changes are meaningful at an interpersonal level, and Iris is at the heart of several of them. She and Barry stumble their way into an official romantic relationship, for one. They've known each other for forever, but this is a side to each other they have yet to explore, and it takes them a bit to settle into their new roles. There's also Wally, who wants to be both a hero and a speedster very, very badly — and gets his heart's desire. Iris struggles with supporting him despite Wally's determination to become part of the team. They were apparently a crime-fighting team in Flashpoint, but all she wants to do in their current timeline is protect him. She doesn't want him to get hurt, and she doesn't know if Wally is ready. It might have something to do with evil Alchemy possessing Wally to get what he wants, but w/e.
And that takes up a bulk of Iris's time now that she is a full member of Team S.T.A.R. Labs: uncovering the mystery of Alchemy and Savitar one episode at a time while also attempting to keep their broken little family together. More than once her reporter-like perspicacity gave them further insight. Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of all this is Iris will believe they have won by the time she returns to Wonderland. The bad guys have been defeated. The stone that powered Savitar, the stone that gave Alchemy a voice, is now lost to the Speed Force. With Savitar seemingly defeated, his warnings are forgotten in the process, too.
... Right, yes. Savitar warns our gang about their future.
According to him, one person in the team will become a traitor and another will die. If Barry did indeed travel to the future like he thinks he did, then the future shows us that the one who dies is Iris. Savitar kills her in front of Barry, but Iris does not know at this point in time. So she celebrates Christmas with her family and her loved ones, totally unaware. She teases her father about his new quasi-girlfriend, she finally accepts that Wally is meant to be the Kid Flash, and she exchanges presents with Barry.
But! Before Barry can show Iris her Christmas present, she ends up in Wonderland. Again.
Abilities/Special Powers: Iris is a badass with a gun and a pen, but she is as human as they come.
Third-Person Sample: Joe looks to her and hopes for an answer.
Iris isn’t used to that: her father is the one who leads. She agrees with him or she defies, but he rarely stumbles. Now Joe wavers where she must be resolute, except Iris doesn’t know what to do any more than he does. She can’t bring Henry back. She can’t undo the insurmountable damage Zoom has inflicted. She can’t close a wound that opened years ago when Nora Allen died.
(The tougher thing is to feel.)
Maybe that’s what worries her. Not the sadness. Not the grief. Not even the anger, palpable and unflinching as it has been. No, what worries Iris is the emptiness she’ll sometimes see in Barry, like he’s bled out from the inside. Like he was stitched back up all wrong. Wally tries to help. So do the others, in all their good and hopeful intentions. And Joe looks to Iris for an answer that never comes.
Iris won’t assure Barry that everything will be okay. She doesn’t rush to fix what can’t be fixed. She doesn’t swear to him that it gets easier. She doesn’t promise that one day he’ll look outside the window to find the sun still comes up and some jokes are still funny. Losing Eddie broke her heart. Losing Francine was no less difficult, despite how little Iris knew her in the end. Some ghosts don’t fully leave you.
You learn to carry them. You remember the places where you’ve buried them.
And because she knows Barry and grief so intimately, she decides that all she can do is wait. Having said all that she needs to say to him, Iris brings herself to her feet. Her heart is heavy and so is her pace as it leads her further away from him. A curious thing happens, then.
Iris never makes her way into the house. Instead of the living room she knows by heart, she is met with vibrant orchids and a maze that has her head spinning.
Curioser and curioser.
“Woah.”
First-Person Sample: [ well.
she did say she was going to embrace the impossible, didn’t she? this definitely ranks as the most impossible thing that has ever happened to her. iris west is not prone to freaking out, but she also doesn’t believe in placidly taking things as they come. she jumps into the fray; that’s what you do when you want to get to the bottom of things.
and oh, trust. she will be getting to the bottom of things!!!
it doesn’t long to find her communicator. it takes her less to figure out its settings. ]
A year ago, I would’ve pinched myself and decided I must be dreaming. These days, I’d like to think I know better.
So. Keeping all the weirdness in mind.
What’s a girl gotta do to get some straight answers around here?
THIRD PERSON SAMPLE 2.0
She could probably do worse if she made the effort, but that's not saying much. Thankfully, she doesn't get to realize the full extent of how lacking her gift is in comparison to Barry's. He is currently ushering her through a door, asking that she cover her eyes to keep the surprise intact. She can hear the boyish excitement in his voice, and as always, it's infectious. A flutter rises in her stomach as she waits.
"Open your eyes ... now!"
Iris does as she is told, but Barry is no longer anywhere to be found, and instead of a newly leased apartment, Iris finds herself in Wonderland again. At least the rabbit hole was thoughtful this time around: she shows up steps away from the mansion's entrance.
It's snowing. It wasn't snowing before when she — when she what?
Iris wraps her coat more securely around her frame, a light shiver creeping up her spine. It takes several minutes, perhaps longer than that, for the full weight of her memories to return to her. They don't come back at once. It's all in pieces, and confusion soon gives way to apprehension. She's been here before. But that doesn't make sense, she was home and how could she possibly forget in the interim?
The click-clack of high heels signals her arrival to the mansion proper, her eyes taking everything in. Old memories coalesce with new ones, and she almost sways to the side at the impact. This isn't the Wonderland she remembers. Not exactly.
Is she somewhere else altogether?
FIRST PERSON SAMPLE 2.0
let us tell you, it won't be easy. but it's also not impossible.
to iris west, impossible is nothing. ]
For those of you who don't mind humoring me, I have a question. The catch is: it only applies to those who've been sent home. That said, I won't turn down information if you've got something you think might help.
What's the longest you've gone missing in Wonderland? Did you keep your memories when you returned?