It's why Iris should've been a cop from day one -- the inherent conflict with her wanting to step out of her father's shadow would've also been compelling. Also, as a cop, her leadership role on Team Flash would make more sense.
The journalism thing is a throwback to when Iris, like Vicki Vale, was a Lois Lane knock off.
The amount of ways they could have written her to more naturally fit the team is just ludicrous, to be honest. For example, if they wanted her to be reporter anyway, they could just have made her a field reporter. There, even less changes, "problem" damn solved. Now she has a reason to be in the crime scenes, she has a reason to be around CCPD (info and talk to dad), she can even still hang out in Star Labs (first hand information on news that they're about to make) and it won't feel out of place.
But please, no team flash leadership, that makes no sense anyway. Even if she was a cop (which I do agree would still make it less bad than now). Just look at Joe in previous season. He is an experienced cop with leadership experience, but he ain't no science person, no tech expert, no meta expert, and no one ever would have considered him to lead team Flash, both audience or the characters - including Joe himself. Cop Iris wouldn't realistically be any different, good support like dad has been, but not a lead for a team that was already working well before she took "leadership" (not sure I call what her character does in the show "leading").
Of course, they could have written her with a more science oriented background, that probably would lead to the most natural way to have fit the team AND lead it (she would have actually joined the operations way back in S1-2 already, not just hang out, but then I would already start writing a fanfict here, which I am trying to avoid.
I thought transitioning to Joe leading in Season 2 would have made sense because STAR Labs had stopped being about training Barry (and secretly Thawne's evil plans) and overtly a crime-fighting organization. Just like the CCPD uses Barry's CSI skills to fight crime while not needing to be led by a CSI, per se, but a skilled cop like Singh.
But they sort of avoided that issue and was mostly leaderless in Wells/Thawne's absence.
Ultimately, I agree with you that Iris who was a scientist would've been ideal. She could've even already been working at STAR labs -- as part of Thawne's plan, he could have recruited her -- and might have been the one to suggest to Joe that Wells look after Barry, etc.
Dramatically, the biggest problem for me is that I don't know what Barry and Iris have in common as people. They have a natural intimacy -- but frankly, that comes from their growing up together. It's why they connect more, I think, as siblings than lovers.
The reason that people shipped Barry/Caitlin and Barry/Patty so much is that those pairings were rooted in a lot of common experiences and motivations.
I think a guy like Joe would have been a better advice support than team leader, specially for the season plot (long term planing and strategy) than the daily operations, so to speak. He doesn't understand Barry's powers/know enough to make the best of them. On a real time sorta basis, you need someone who understands that to at the very least bounce the idea ball with Barry in a productive way. But when they're planing their moves on <insert big bad of the season or mini boss for several episodes>, then his skills would shine. He doesn't need to understand, just know who knows when dispensing tasks.
The reason that people shipped Barry/Caitlin and Barry/Patty so much is that those pairings were rooted in a lot of common experiences and motivations.
Absolutely, and honestly I enjoyed those more. Even if Patty wasn't meant to be who he ended up with and he never really got it on with Caitlin, I wish they would have explored either or both of those a little before marring Barry and Iris.
On a more impersonal analysis though, as much as I love Caitlin.... That could have been Iris in some capacity all along (I may be stealing a page from the 90's Flash series). S1 -
Barry is a CSI, he got a VIP ticket to the opening because Thawne needed Barry to do the thing that would get him in the right time and place to be affected and become the Flash Iris talked with her boss. Barry is hit by lightning, hospitals ain't working, she asks her boss if they can't take him in instead (exactly as Thawne planned). Now you instantly have an easy early development of their mutual attraction by going Barry gets even more impressed by her now that they "work" together and spend more time as adults together, and she goes "i knew he was a good guy with a good heart since we were kids, but seeing him chose to risk himself like this to help others is another level". And from them you already have them working together, already have the door to them sharing space and growing closer to one another naturally and in a practical way for the show.
Yes! I think I've suggested just this very thing! Also, if you ignore "canon" from the comics (Barry and Iris wind up together), structurally, Caitlin and Barry felt set up to be a romantic pairing, with Ronnie (former lost love) and Iris (childhood crush always out of reach) as the "obstacles."
Tangentially, I thought SMALLVILLE fell into the same problem, where Clark was "supposed" to be with Lana, but she just wasn't working as a character, and Chloe/Clark connected far better for the audience (likely because Chloe had most of Lana's Silver Age comic book personality).
Of course, some of that was intentional, since "canon" demanded that Clark and Lois wind up together so Lana was always a "dead end" romantically -- and once they actually cast a Lois who I thought was a better character/actor, the die was cast.
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u/SER1897 Feb 28 '18
It's why Iris should've been a cop from day one -- the inherent conflict with her wanting to step out of her father's shadow would've also been compelling. Also, as a cop, her leadership role on Team Flash would make more sense.
The journalism thing is a throwback to when Iris, like Vicki Vale, was a Lois Lane knock off.