Romance is going to have to wait; Barry Allen and his compatriots have a lot of unfinished business to take care of on The Flash. But in between all the action, the episode "The Trap" sneaked in a little hint about one of the show's most popular 'ships. According to Eobard Thawne's 2024 newspaper, Iris West and Barry Allen are very much married. Barry's disappeared, yes, but at least those two crazy kids finally worked things out. Obviously, I'm hoping that at least one aspect of that predicted future changes. But does it all have to go? Is there hope yet for WestAllen 'shippers?
In a word, yes. The Iris West/Barry Allen coupling is a huge deal in The Flash comics. Declaring that nothing will ever happen between them would be like putting a wall between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. In an interview with MTV, Candice Patton (Iris) talked about her hopes for the romantic future of her character. "And for me, being a fan of the comics now and knowing the relationship between Barry and Iris, I just think it’s something that I would like to see happen at some point," she said. But she also went on to say, "I don’t know if I want to see it right away, but I think it would make so many people who love the comics so happy to see that relationship at some point."
Barry has been pretty stolid in his feelings for Iris. (Pour one out for the lovely Linda.) But the reverse isn't necessarily true. Iris has her own full life: stressful job, loving yet overprotective father, adoring boyfriend, and yes, superhero secret service via The Flash. She's a little behind the 8-ball on this, though the alternate timeline proves that there are more than friendly feelings for her life-long buddy somewhere in that heart. I hope that the writers don't flick Iris' feelings on like a light switch, though. That would be a disservice to a character who's on her own inner journey and deserves to be more than just there for Barry when he needs her.
As of "The Trap," the secret that Barry, Joe, Eddie, and basically half the population of Central City have been keeping from Iris West is out. She figured out the identity of The Flash. There will be consequences in those relationships because Iris was kept in the dark for so long. Patton told Entertainment Weekly that those trust issues will be explored, and that Iris will definitely show her anger. But once she works through that betrayal, something else will still be there: "The issue of Iris having feelings toward The Flash, and also subsequently feelings toward Barry, will continue to be dealt with," Patton said. "That can never just go away. That will be explored in later episodes, for sure."
So, while I don't expect Iris to soon be launching a Pinterest wedding board for her nuptials to either of the men in her life, I do think that Thawne's paper is predicting at least one unavoidable future. WestAllen is The Flash endgame for sure, but Iris and Barry have a lot of healing to do first.
Images: Katie Yu/The CW; lexyknope, boniferhasty/Tumblr; Giphy
