Iris West has gone through a lot in a short amount of time. In The Flash Season 3 finale, she lost her second fiance and the love of her life, Barry Allen, when he sacrificed himself to stabilize the Speed Force. She also came very close to death when Savitar attempted to murder her to spite Barry, but was saved with just moments to spare thanks to a ploy by Earth-19's HR Wells. Now, when Season 4 picks up this fall, she will take on a new role as team leader at STAR Labs. At Comic-Con International in San Diego, Iris West actress Candice Patton reflected on her role in Season 3 and looked ahead to Iris' new lease on life in Season 4.
Asked when she found out that Iris would ultimately be saved, Patton said, "I knew very early on -- no thanks to any of the producers, let me tell you that. I think Grant [Gustin] one day was like, 'Hey, by the way, they're going to kill you, but you're not really dead. Don't worry. Don't worry! You're not going anywhere.' I was like, 'Thank you for giving me a heads up, because that's a terrible thing! Like, no actor wants to die on the show.' So I knew very, very early on, maybe episode three or four. So it was fun watching the fans like, 'Iris is dead! She's leaving the show!' I'm like, 'No, I ain't going nowhere.'"
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She also weighed in on the culmination of Iris and Barry's relationship. "It's been a long time coming! Barry and Iris, they've been flirting with the idea of the idea of them for two, three seasons, and so it was nice to finally see them get on the same page, you know?" she shared. "Iris was dating Eddie, and Barry was dating Patty and Linda, and it seemed like they could never kind of find the right timing to be with each other. So last season was finally Barry and Iris kind of meeting kismet, and everything just like working out."
"Those proposal scenes were beautiful and epic and iconic," she added. "I feel like, when you look back at the series, those are the moments that will live forever. So hopefully this season, we continue with more of that. There's still a wedding that we're planning, and hopefully we get Barry out of the Speed Force so we can have it and walk down the aisle."
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As to whether or not Season 4 could tap into Iris' skills as an investigative reporter, Patton said, "I mean, that's always been my question since Season 1, is where are we going with the reporter version of Iris West? I don't think they have any plans to develop that, unfortunately. I would love to see that. It doesn't mean that we'll never get there, but I don't know that that is a priority for them right now with Iris."
"I think the role they want to see her in is the team leader at STAR Labs, so I don't know what that means for her as a reporter at Picture News. I don't know! It's an interesting choice," she continued. "We kind of know Iris as this ace reporter, iconically in the comic books. So maybe they'll incorporate that with her leadership at Team STAR Labs, but I don't know. I just act! I say the lines."
Additionally, Patton brought up Iris' good friend Linda Park, who has been absent from the series since the Season 2 episode "Enter Zoom." "I keep advocating for Linda Park to come back because I feel like they, of all the characters, could have a really great female friendship. But yeah, I don't know if that's something that's going to happen," she lamented. "But we've got Caitlin, we've got Gypsy, Jessie Quick, who's kind of taken off for now… Yeah, I don't know. The female friendships are kind of not as strong, but I don't know. We'll see. Maybe Season 4. Maybe."
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Cisco "Vibe" Ramon actor Carlos Valdes revealed that STAR Labs' look will also change under Iris' direction. "There's only so many ways you can stand behind a computer," he explained. "And now it's Iris taking the mantle. But, I think in the six months that have transpired, between Barry's disappearance and where we pick up at Season 4, she's really stepped up her game and really taken control of the situation, which of course. She's a strong woman and she's written as a strong woman, so it makes sense that she would commandeer with such a resolve. There's even sort of a new look to the STAR Labs console, that reminds me a little bit more of the Starship Enterprise. It's kind of this sprawling sort of… just curved, like sleek metal sort of thing that's less like desk computer and more like ship console. So that's a good support for Iris, I think, at this point."
Starring Grant Gustin as the Scarlet Speedster, The Flash returns Tuesday, October 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. The series also stars Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Carlos Valdes, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Keiynan Lonsdale and more.