'The Flash' Season 3 puts Barry and Iris' love story front and center

On The Flash, we hold these truths to be self-evident: Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is the "Fastest Man Alive," and he and Iris West (Candice Patton) are destined to be together -- there's an honest to god newspaper from the future to prove it.

That knowledge has somewhat lessened the sting of the will they/won't they dynamic between the pair that might otherwise torture us, but Barry's problem has always been timing. In the Season 2 finale, after Iris finally decided she was ready for a relationship, Barry decided that he wasn't, and subsequently chose to run back in time and save his mother from being murdered by his nemesis, the Reverse-Flash (Matt Letscher), thus altering the entire course of his life -- and the lives of everyone around him -- and creating an alternate timeline known as "Flashpoint."

Because his mother never died and his father was never wrongly incarcerated for the crime, the Barry we meet in the Season 3 premiere is living with his parents, having never been taken in by Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and raised alongside Iris.

In this new timeline, Iris and Barry are practically strangers, but as Candice Patton tells Mashable, that doesn't alter the powerful connection between the two of them. See what Patton has to say about the new season and the consequences of Barry's actions below, and make sure to come back after the season premiere airs for more intel on what we can expect from The Flash this season.

What is the biggest difference between the Iris we've gotten to know over the past two seasons and the "Flashpoint" version of Iris?

There isn’t much difference, but the biggest difference is that she doesn’t know Barry Allen, and you see this really great scene where they meet for the first time — Barry’s trying to get up the nerve to talk to her and they have this really cute first meeting. Barry’s awkward as ever and Iris is really intrigued by him, so it’s very sweet. The thing is … something we’ve been playing with over the seasons [is], no matter where we go, whatever timeline or whatever Earth, Iris is this fixed point for Barry.

What do you think is at the core of her character that's always a constant for you when playing her -- do you feel like part of it stems from her feelings for Barry?

I think it’s her feelings for Barry and I think it’s also her inner moral compass; she has the courage to fight for what’s right and she’s fearless in doing that — she’s fearless in fighting for the people she loves… She’s essentially the same no matter where we find her, and that’s given her strength and determination to fight for what’s right.

You’ve had a chance to play several iterations of Iris at this point; how do you approach each new version?

In situations like Earth-2 it’s quite easy -- the writing is there, the costumes are completely different, and when you put on a bulletproof vest it changes the way you walk and the way you feel and your toughness. For me, costumes are always the fastest way to change a character. And essentially it’s the writing, it’s what the writers choose to make different about a character.

What do you think will surprise fans most about Season 3, judging by what you’ve filmed so far?

I think fans will be surprised by what’s changed because of Barry’s decisions ... Time travel comes with consequences and that’s something that Barry’s gonna have to struggle with throughout the entire season. It affects all of his friends, all of his family, and there’s a bit of a weight on his shoulders because of what he’s done.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

I rewatched the Season 2 finale ahead of the premiere, and the final scene between Barry and Iris is still so powerful, even after seeing it multiple times. How did it feel to finally get to play out that moment of intimacy after so many false starts between them?

It was amazing, and what was interesting about that scene was that we were under the gun -- we had a neighborhood curfew to shoot that; it was the last scene of the day and so Grant and I didn’t even have time to really rehearse, we were like, “let’s just skip rehearsal and shoot it.” So it’s a cool moment as an actor when you trust someone so much that you can sit down and do that, and I think we got a great moment out of that, just talking to each other. The lighting was beautiful and it just reminds you of a comic book -- our director did an amazing job of getting that really iconic shot.

Pretty much everyone in STAR Labs has had a brush with gaining powers in one form or another at this point, except for Iris. Would you like to see her with abilities somewhere down the line, or do you like that she’s the grounded one who gets to remain consistent?

I like that she’s the grounded one and I think on these shows - aside from Legends - you’ve got to have this human element to it, otherwise it just becomes a superhero team-up show, and we’ve already got one of those. I’m pretty happy just being Iris West, but I think if there was another Earth, it’d be cool for an episode or two to put on some leather and have some super powers -- I think it’d be really fun.

Now that Supergirl is officially part of The CW superhero family and will be crossing over to the other shows this season, what do you think Iris’ reaction to Kara (Melissa Benoist) would be if they met?

I think they would get along famously - they have a similar quality in being kind of lighthearted girls next door, wanting the best for everyone. I think they would get along really well.

The Flash premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on The CW.