‘The Flash’s’ Candice Patton on Meeting ‘Arrow’s’ Felicity: ‘Last Thing We Need Is Women on TV Hating Each Other’

CW actress tells TheWrap why The Flash’s secret is “shocking and devastating” and whether her character will end up where the comic book version did

'The Flash' Star Candice Patton Talks Iris and Barry
The CW

The superhero leads of “The Flash” and “Arrow” may be destined to butt heads during their upcoming crossover event, but CW star Candice Patton swore it would be a different story for the shows’ leading ladies.

“We are not going to be at each other’s throats, and I’m really thrilled about that,” she told TheWrap of her character’s upcoming meeting with “Arrow’s” Felicity Smoak, played by Emily Bett Rickards. “The last thing we need is women on TV hating each other.”

Patton’s character Iris West is far more than just super-speedster Barry Allen’s (Grant Gustin) best friend and possible love interest on “The Flash,” which debuted last Tuesday to unbelievably high ratings, she’s an aspiring photojournalist with a good heart and an even better mind.

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Anyone familiar with the television’s more common tropes might assume Iris is bound to brawl with “Arrow’s” equally endearing sidekick Felicity when they meet on Episode 4, especially considering how flirtatious Felicity was with Barry on Season 2 of “Arrow,” well before a golden bolt of lightning turned him into The Flash. But an Iris-Felicity showdown would be more than just a tired cliche, it would be antithetical to their well established characters.

“Felicity is such a beloved character and I think in the comic books Iris is such a beloved character, and I’m very protective about that on our show,” Patton continued. “I want Iris to continue to be a lovable character. It only makes sense to me that when Iris and Felicity meet, there’s nothing but kindness.”

During TheWrap’s chat with Patton, the actress discussed how the big Flash secret is going to affect Iris’ relationships with her best friend and her father, whether Iris and Barry will end up where their comic book counterparts did, and which “Flash” villain she was most excited to go toe-to-toe with.

Also read: ‘Alias’ Star Victor Garber Lands on CW’s ‘The Flash’

TheWrap: Congratulations on “The Flash” premiering to such high ratings. How has that changed the mood on set?
Candice Patton: Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed because we’re here shooting in Vancouver, so we’re kind of isolated from any mayhem or pandemonium or anything. I think the only difference is my Twitter, I have a few more followers who want to talk to me on Twitter now. We’re just really excited that this show we spent months and months with, we now get to share with the world and the world is responding really positively to it, so that’s really exciting.

What can we expect on Tuesday’s episode, “Fastest Man Alive”?
You can expect a metahuman [laughs]. From Iris, you can see her relationship with Barry start to change, she’s getting very curious about why he’s acting different and she kind of presses him on that. You’ll also see that she’s discovering there’s something going on in Central City and there’s this person out there, this “Streak” that’s saving people, and that piques her interest and eventually she’ll start this blog about that.

Barry and Joe, Iris’ father, played by Jesse L. Martin, are keeping this huge secret about The Flash from Iris. How will she react if or when she finds out the truth?
I can only speculate, but I think it’s going to be shocking and devastating for her. The relationship between herself and Barry and herself and her father is very, very tight-knit. They’re loyal people, and Barry and Iris don’t lie to each other. Out of everyone in the world they’re each other’s best friend and they tell each other everything. I think when she finds out that Barry has been keeping this from her and has been in cahoots with her father, I think she’s going to feel extremely, extremely betrayed.

Also read: ‘The Flash’ Gives The CW Its Biggest Premiere in Five Years

In the comics Barry and Iris end up getting married. Is a romance where this version of Barry and Iris are headed? Obviously in the pilot we know Barry already harbors romantic feelings for her.
I mean, it’s always there, I think it’s always there especially for Barry, becuase when you have feelings for someone it’s hard to turn them off. So yeah, there’s a lot of feelings going on from multiple characters. You’ve seen the pilot — Iris has found someone to love and he’s a good guy and it’s hard to not love Eddie. Barry knows that, he’s just a decent guy, so I don’t know how it’s going to unravel. I know in the comics they eventually get married, I don’t know if we’ll even explore that on the show, but I do know there will always be some kind of relationship between Barry and Iris, there has to be. More than anything, they’re family.

Who has she gotten to go up against? Do you have a favorite villain you’ve shot scenes with already?
I do have one: Tony Woodward, aka the Girder [played by Greg Finley]. I don’t want to say too much, I want people to just enjoy it. It’s a really fun episode, that’s episode six and I think people will really like that one.

“The Flash” airs every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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