The Flash star Candice Patton explains recent season 8 absence

There were a number of great episodes through The Flash season 8, but there was also one frustrating thing about the final stretch: How much of it was without Candice Patton as Iris. She is such an integral part of the series, so to see the character stuck in the Still Force for so long was unbelievably frustrating.

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So why did this happen? As it turns out, there is a reasonable explanation for a lot of it, and it originates from Patton herself. In a post on the actress’ Instagram Stories (see below), she explains that originally, her contract for season 8 was designed in the event that the borders between the United States and Canada were closed at some point during production. (The Flash shoots in Vancouver.) As she puts it, being home in America is “paramount” to her, so she wanted to make sure the option was there. She added that she would be open to doing all episodes if there were signs of optimism, but that option was not exercised by the show at that point. It is possible that they already figured out plans for Iris’ absence at that point … but we still think they could’ve found a way to include her.

Regardless of anything with season 8, we hope that Patton will be a part of every episode in season 9. For starters, we wouldn’t be surprised if there is a smaller order; the news came out months ago that Grant Gustin was only signed for 15, and we don’t want to see a repeat of last season where Barry or Iris is gone for a certain stretch of time. If you don’t include Candice in every episode with Grant, what in the world are you doing?

Also, with season 9 being potentially the final one, there does need to be a greater focus on the WestAllen relationship. This is one of the consistent beating hearts of this show, and it’s essential given that there has been so much change elsewhere. We still don’t know that the future is going to hold for Caitlin, who is the only other remaining OG character.

Related – How many Big Bads are we going to see during The Flash season 9

What do you want to see from Candice Patton during The Flash season 9?

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