The Flash is slowing down.

“Next season we’re not going to have a speedster” as the Big Bad, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg revealed at a PaleyFest panel for the show and fellow CW super series Arrow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow on Saturday.

As for Barry’s current foe Savitar, whom Kreisberg said is part of this season’s “pitfalls” theme for the speedster? “We know who he is under there, and we’ve been planning this for a while,” the EP assured the audience.

Viewers might be getting some hints to the speed god’s identity as early as Episode 18, which introduces Abra Kadabra, “a villain from the future,” Kreisberg shared. “He knows who Savitar is. It becomes a moral conundrum to Barry and the team” as to whether to let Abra Kadabra go in order to obtain answers. The EP added that there’s a “great” Barry/Iris scene that tackles the question: “Can you be a hero if you do one bad thing for the greater good?”

Meanwhile, in Episode 19, titled “The Once and Future Flash,” “Barry decides that the only way he can find out what he needs to know is in the future,” Kreisberg previewed.

Other highlights from the “Heroes and Aliens” panel:

* In talking about next week’s Supergirl/The Flash musical crossover, Kreisberg gave a nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, “who did those kind of episodes the best… They didn’t stop the main, ongoing narrative of the season. Those episodes spoke to what the characters were going through.” Similarly, both Barry and Kara are purposefully at a “romantic crossroads” ahead of the musical and “go on this journey together to either get back the love they think they’ve lost or not.”

* Flash fans, Grant Gustin feels your frustration with the Scarlet Speedster. “I agree most of the time as a viewer and a fan with the backlash that Barry receives,” Gustin admitted, noting that fear has been dictating the character’s decisions more than ever this season.

* Candice Patton would love to put on a leather superhero costume, but at the same time, “I love that she provides this very human quality to this very super show,” the Flash actress shared. “I think she’s extraordinarily important to Barry’s superhero narrative.”

* Reflecting on Arrow‘s 100th episode, star Stephen Amell felt “a much bigger sense of accomplishment than I thought there would be,” the actor said, before (jokingly?) adding, “I feel like the 200th will be easier.”

* Although Supergirl has made creative strides since its move to The CW, exploring issues such as immigration, journalism and LGBT rights, “It’s no disrespect to CBS, who were very gracious hosts to us,” Kreisberg said. “We pitched a lot of what we were going to do in Season 2 to CBS, and they were cool with it.”

* Kreisberg reiterated plans for a “real, true four-way crossover” next season. Amell, meanwhile, recalled CW President Mark Pedowitz’s response when he asked the exec if they’re going to do a crossover event every year: “You’re f–king right we are.”