The Flash Theory: "Family Matters" Sets Up Iris Pregnancy Reveal - Screen Rant

WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for The Flash, season 7, episode 10, "Family Matters, Part 1."

Iris West-Allen is likely pregnant, based on the hints in The Flash season 7, episode 10, "Family Matters, Part 1." Fans of the Arrowverse series have known for a long time that Iris and Barry would eventually start a family. Not only do they do so in the comics, but viewers met their future Arrowverse daughter, Nora West-Allen aka XS, in season 4. After helping Team Flash defeat Cicada, this version of their daughter faded from existence; however, the experience clearly left Barry and Iris yearning to start a family. It seems season 7 is setting up the reveal that Iris and Barry are expecting, and that in the near future, they will welcome their first child.

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In The Flash season 7, episode 9, "Timeless," the Speed Force — going by "Nora" — reveals that Barry and Iris created the new cosmic forces, Still, Sage, and Strength, the night they brought her back. She explains that the Forces were "willed into existence" by Barry and "his lightning rod" (Iris), but that unlike her, the other Forces merged with their avatars, which is why Nora wants to kill them. Nora also notes that the Forces have a special connection with both Barry and Iris, which she compares to her relationship with Barry — complicated, of course, by the fact that the Speed Force has taken on the appearance of Barry's late mother, Nora Allen.

Although Iris appears to be dead (along with Alexa and Bashir) at the end of episode 10, it's almost certainly going to be reversed; not only is Candice Patton a beloved member of the cast, but she's reportedly part of the plot for the special 150th episode of The Flash, along with her children from the future, set to air later in 2021. This alone sets up Iris to be pregnant in The Flash eventually — but the episode "Family Matters" suggests the reveal will happen in the near future.

The Flash Season 7 Is Full Of Pregnancy Hints

Candice-Patton-As-Iris-West-Allen-In-The-Flash-Season-7

The language used in The Flash season 7 — especially since episode 9 — is heavily coded. When Iris is looking for Nora with Allegra and Kamilla, the conversation is full of pregnancy hints: Kamilla notes that when viewed using the camera Cisco upgraded, Iris has "a glow," and that there's "a bright spot at the center" of her. Iris concludes from this that there must be a part of each Force "inside of [her]." Later, when the women don't find the Speed Force where they expected to, Allegra suggests it might be "a false positive," while the women all share a knowing look. During her nightmare, Iris sees a version of Barry's Mom Nora, who taunts Iris, saying she'll never live up to her and will fail as a mother. Even before Barry tells Iris the truth about the Forces, she's preoccupied with fears about parenthood.

Throughout the episode, Barry and Iris argue like parents. After they discover the nature of the Forces, the conversation takes a different tone. Towards the end of episode 9, as Barry and Iris talk about what to do next, Barry mentions how he "could feel how [the Forces] would affect the future. All the speedsters' and heroes' lives they would shape. Some of them were family [...] Our family." Barry was explicitly referencing the Forces, but — given what is known about his future children being speedsters — it's likely he was also hinting at his future children, Nora Allen-West and Bart Allen.

Barry and Iris Are Now Parents - To the Force Family

Barry and Iris created the Speed, Sage and Still Forces in The Flash, but the language used to describe the situation distinctly frames the relationship as familial. Deon angrily tells Barry "so I was a mistake" and "I didn't wish to be born." When Barry and Joe have a heart-toe-heart about the Forces in The Flash episode 9, Joe compares the situation to when he discovered he had a son, Wally West. When Barry says that they aren't his children, Joe points out that Barry "brought them into this world." From that point on, both Barry and Iris approach the Forces as their children — and so does everyone else. The Forces aren't created but "birthed," and Psych refers to Iris as his "mother." Later, Iris admits she was trying to be a "mother figure" to him. Bashir refers to Barry as "Dad," and by the end of episode 10, Bashir jokes about him and Alexa being Iris and Barry's "children."

Meta-humans have been a core part of The Flash season 1, and they are almost always the result of an event involving dark matter — whether it be the particle accelerator explosion or Clifford Devoe (the Thinker) creating the bus-metas. Yet, in those circumstances, there isn't a "connection" between the creator and the meta-human. Even the fact that so much attention is being paid to how Barry and Iris created the Forces together is a nod to procreation — particularly the need for Iris and Barry to "be in sync." Devoe's wife Marlize was also a key player in him creating the bus-metas, yet the two never discussed their creations as "children."

Likely, the Force Family story is hinting that Iris and Barry are ready to start a biological family. However, it can also be setting up the reveal that she's already pregnant. Iris displayed some abilities never seen before in season 7, such as her eyes glowing. While Nora (Speed Force) suggests this is because Iris is Barry's "lightning rod," could it be more than that? Perhaps Iris has a bit of the Speed Force inside of her because she's already pregnant with Barry's child.

Bart Allen & Nora West-Allen Are Coming To The Flash

The most obvious set of for Iris being pregnant is the news that her future son, Bart Allen aka Impulse, will be in The Flash episode 150. Despite having disappeared previously, Nora West-Allen, or XS, will also be in the episode, with actress Jessica Parker Kennedy reprising the role. In the original timeline, Nora was born sometime between the years 2019 and 2024. The Arrowverse is quickly approaching the time period when she would have been conceived. Although the timeline was changed, it's still likely the two want children; given that Barry and Iris are both married, in their 30s, and want children, it's reasonable to assume pregnancy is at least a possibility.

Iris and Barry being pregnant with their first child would be a welcome direction for the long-running Arrowverse show. Increasingly, the CW's DC TV series have dealt with themes of parenthood: both Black Lightning and Superman & Lois center around older heroes parenting teenage children, while Arrow and The Flash both had storylines involving children from the future. DC's Legends of Tomorrow twice had a main character accidentally create a child through time-travel interference. It's time for The Flash to tackle the next major stage in its lead's life: becoming a new parent. Given all the signs, it seems that's where the Arrowverse show is headed next.

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Sarah Bea Milner (229 Articles Published)

Sarah Milner is an editor for Screen Rant's Film/Television features division. She is a writer, researcher, and folk musician. Her writing has appeared in Exclaim! and Electric City Magazine. A graduate of Trent University, Sarah's MA thesis examines Frankenstein adaptations and their relationship with popular culture. She has a fierce love of all things "spooky," and a deep appreciation for classic cinema.