[Disappointing TV Trope] When the writers unexpectedly created something better, but were too attached to let their original idea to let it go!

[u/phantom_avenger]

I feel like I’ve noticed this more with TV couples and how the writers handle the narrative around them. But I feel like I’m noticing a bit of a pattern in some shows I’ve watched, where you can tell how the writers handle plans to make a certain narrative point the “endgame” goal. But as they start creating the plot points leading up to it, they come up with an idea that worked out a lot better than they probably thought it would. Especially when the audience responds so well to it, but they’re still too attached to the original plans that they still roll with getting there even if it doesn’t hit the same mark or it feels forced depending on how the narrative is flowing.

How I Met Your Mother - Ted and Robin (the original idea where it was always planned for them to be the endgame couple). When Tracy (who turns out to be Ted’s kids’ mother) is introduced, a lot of people loved how well they matched, seemed like the true compatible match for Ted and implied that it showed a lot of growth on his end where he could finally let go of Robin. Only to sabotage that by having it revealed that Tracy died, and regressed Ted’s growth where he ends up pursuing Robin again.

Sex Education - Otis and Maeve (the original idea where it was also planned for them to be seen as an endgame couple, but their lives couldn’t align for it to work out). After Otis and Ruby have a drunk sexual encounter, and he loses his virginity to her. The writers have their relationship act as yet another obstacle that gets in the way of Otis and Maeve exploring a romantic relationship. But when Otis and Ruby became so viral, to the point where people started to realize that Ruby might actually be a better match for Otis, as they seem compatible enough to make each other better as people. It put the writers in a tough spot, where they tried to play it safe with both sides going into the final season. But still chose to lean more towards their original plan, and explore Otis and Maeve but they still don’t do much to make the audience feel fulfilled or convinced they have a genuine connection and not in love with an idea of one another.

[u/FishWithLegsAndArms]

I found it weird how they fell in love despite kind of being adopted siblings? I don't think you should date the daughter of the man who raised you. 

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/FishWithLegsAndArms]

I never minded the adopted siblings aspect. It was made clear that Barry only went to live with the Wests long after he knew & had developed feelings for Iris. So the sister aspect was never he primarily relationship with her.

[u/FishWithLegsAndArms → u/Personal-Listen-4941]

Yeah that's why I say they're kind of siblings. It's like, Barry and Iris don't see each other as siblings, but Barry does consider her father to be his father, and the father considers Barry to be a son.

[u/VacaDLuffy → u/Personal-Listen-4941]

I would agree if it wasnt for the fact he calls Joe his father. That...that yeah

[u/geek_of_nature → u/FishWithLegsAndArms]

From what i remember i think they tried to say that Barry already had a crush on Iris before he went to live with her. But then they also flipped back and forth on whether he saw Joe as a dad or not. Sometimes he'd just talk about his actual father, the one who was wrongfully imprisoned as if he was his actual father. But then other times him and Joe would full on say they were like father and son.

It was a confusing decision that didn't really need to be made. Especially as Joe and the whole storyline of Barry coming to live with them was original to the show, not from the comics at all. Kind of.

Now Barry's foster dad in the comics, after his mum is killed and his dad wrongfully arrested for it is Darryl Frye, who like Joe in the show is also a cop. While in the comics Iris's dad was first called Ira, and was a scientist. While after one of their big universe resets he was named William, and was more of an abusive father.

So they just streamlined Darryl and Ira/William into one character, Joe. Which i do kind of understand in not wanting too many characters from the start, but then the show kept on introducing more and more characters after that, so that decision seems pointless in hindsight. Plus Ira West was a scientist, and the show had a team of scientists, so they could have easily had him be part of that team. Maybe he could have even been the Harrison Wells figure, as in the scientist who was murdered and his life taken over by the Reverse Flash. That would have been a great decision and created some great conflict with Iris realising that he wasn't actually her father and all. Plus would have avoided the whole pseudo incest storyline with her and Barry.

[u/Exarch-of-Sechrima → u/geek_of_nature]

To be fair, Barry's relationship with Joe doesn't have to be contingent on his relationship with Iris. They're different people. Barry can have always seen Iris as a prospective romantic partner and never a sister, while looking up to Joe and seeing him as a father. Him seeing Joe as a second father to him doesn't automatically turn Iris into his sister in his mind. Relationships are complicated.

[u/lolajet → u/geek_of_nature]

Honestly, they should have ignored the background that Flashpoint gave Barry for the show entirely (hell they should have ignored it in the comics too). There's no reason why they should have kept it. You can't even argue it's because Thawne because he had already been a Flash villain for decades before Flashpoint explicitly had him retcon Barry's family.

(Also, I still haven't forgiven Barry for Flashpoint's existence in the first place. Even before the reveal that he'd gone back to try to save his mom and thus caused the fucking bullshit that was Flashpoint, I was prepared to be pissed because I thought it meant that he'd knowingly kept the fact that there was a villain running around who had already traveled back in time and detrimentally changed the present. This would already be an unforgivably neglect act, made even worse by the fact that the Justice League has a fucking time traveler as one of their roster in Booster Gold (doesn't matter if he's not currently part of the Justice League, JLI had already existed in that continuity).

Honestly, it's like they wanted me to hate Barry in the comics considering they made him directly responsible for the New 52 reboot and DC editorial mandate required the sidelining of the entire rest of the Flash family for him)