With Eddie dead and her relationship with Barry presumably strained by both that death and the revelations that preceded it, Iris West's role in the forthcoming second season of The Flash has been something of a question mark -- but now we have an answers.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Iris will become not just a part of Team Flash (that much we knew) but actually serve as "team leader" in the absence of Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne.

“Iris slides into [the role] very naturally,” said executive producer Andrew Kreisberg. “She’s a born leader. One of the best things in the premiere is Barry decides that he wants to work alone because he doesn’t want to risk anyone else’s lives, and Iris is really the one who gets the band back together again. She’s the only one who can stand up to Barry.”

That should help to differentiate Iris from Felicity Smoak, who was the voice of Team Arrow, yes, but rarely took charge of operations given Oliver's propensity not to listen to anyone else. Bringing Barry's will-they-or-won't-they love interest into the Team Flash fold could have presented a challenge in finding a niche that was different from Felicity's, but it seems so far they're on different paths.

The Flash returns October 6 and airs episodes Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, followed by iZombie.