I haven't been keeping up since the middle of last season but yeah, think that has always been Iris' problem, that the writers refused to give her a meaningful role in team flash and had to shoehorn her in as the friendship and believe in yourself speech girl.

The rest have several roles, they a direct function to the team, whether it be science, engineering, medicine, police-stuff, fighting capabilities and then their personal story arcs that more often than not tie into Barry and the plot at large.

Iris was always really just floundering around as the love interest with no real connection to team flash outside the fact that she is related to people who are and that Barry has the hots for her. She wasn't even Lois Lane, who found the threats/plot points by investigating things and stumbling upon them and she didn't have anything to contribute otherwise.

Well, what Iris does, the "believe in yourself, Barry" speeches, well, that's already been filled by the rest of the cast who kinda took turns in doing that.

Iris would have been much better received if she had a more active or at least meaningful skillset, that contributed something. Her going "we're a team" is a bit...shallow since she doesn't actually do much, at least she didn't to the point that I watched.

 

That whole episode was just retarded. Putting him in his dad's cell is a spectacular masterstroke of douchebaggery though.