So, what gives?
It is knowing that Romeo and Juliet are (400-year-old-spoiler alert!)
both going to die before they even meet.
Not because everyone knows the story ofRomeo and Juliet, but because Shakespeare puts it right in the prologue.
Dude knew how to rock some dramatic irony.
And so doesThe Flash…
The success of dramatic irony in The Flash.
Iris admits she has feelings for Barry, and finds out he isThe Flash.
First, it bonded the viewer to Barrys character in structural ways.
Like the viewers, Barry was reliving this day knowing how it was different in the alternate reality.
It engendered further empathy, affection, and connection to Barrys already hugely likeable character.
We were in a similar narrative position as Barry, and that made us allies.
Our dramatic irony didnt just end with shared knowledge with Barry, however.
It trusts that we are paying attention.
It must be built on solid characterization and the fleshing out of consistent character motivation.
Which leads us to…
The failure of dramatic irony in Arrow season 3.
We didnt know the alpha-omega virus was in present-day play until the penultimate episode of the season.
Arguably worst of all, we were asked to believe that Oliver had been brainwashed into being Al Sah-him.
All of these events were explained after-the-fact in lazily-rendered exposition.
This wasnt necessarily a failure in what happened, so much as a failure in how it happened.
We didnt get to see Maseo deliver the virus via flashback to Ras.
This was a great chance for dramatic irony, andArrowtotally missed it.
Avoiding dramatic irony isnt inherently a bad storytelling choice.
Sometimes, being an out-of-the-loop viewer can be just as compelling.
It creates its own kind of suspense.
Unfortunately, this was not one of those times.
At least, not with the way the show told the story: i.e.
This is the dude who spent years fighting for his life on a remote island.
We were never going to believe that Oliver had been turned, at least not through a one-episode storyline.
If youre going this not-letting-us-know-what-is-happening route,Arrow, then youre going to have to commit.
It expected so little of its viewers.
This decision also served to alienate the viewers even further from Oliver.
To be clear: its not that Oliver made a bad choice.
Sure, Oliver is terrible at communicating, but he isnt usually so terrible at being a vigilante martyr.
Not to get tooThe Flashon you, but go with me for a moment to anotherArrowalternate season three timeline.
(And dont even get me started on the potential for and failure of dramatic irony in the flashbacks.
As forThe Flash, keep up the good dramatic irony work, friend.
