In the winter finale of the hit CW series The Flash, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) finds himself face-to-face with his nemesis in the yellow suit, aka Reverse Flash, who killed his mother. When Reverse Flash escapes, Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) come up with a plan to trap him, but Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) ends up in the crossfire.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg talked about how this episode is “the biggest action, the biggest visual effects and the biggest canvas” that they’ve ever painted on, why those extra two minutes were important, getting a couple of big mysteries solved while having a couple of brand new mysteries spring up, the upcoming reunion of Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as Captain Cold and Heat Wave, their future plans for the Rogues, bringing in Mark Hamill as The Trickster, and that they’ll address how the meta-human captives are being taken care of. Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

Collider: What would you say are the big story points that you’re addressing in the winter finale, and why you needed two extra minutes?

ANDREW KREISBERG: As much as this episode is the biggest action, the biggest visual effects and the biggest canvas that we’ve ever painted on, in these first nine episodes, there’s also so much heart and humor and emotion. Invariably, some of that great stuff ends up on the cutting room floor, just simply for time’s sake. We really credit Mark Pedowitz and everyone at The CW for being so supportive of us. They didn’t want a single minute to get lost, so they gave us the extra time. It really benefits the episode because there really is not a wasted moment in it. It would have been a real shame for one of these great moments to wind up in the dust bin and not be a part of making this episode as amazing as it is.

Was this always the point that you wanted to address the Reverse Flash, or had you planned to do it sooner or later than now?

KREISBERG: We always knew that we were building up to this episode. We’re very firm believers in having a plan, but some things change along the way. Having Barry have his first confrontation with the Reverse Flash in this episode was always part of the plan. We love mysteries and we love the audience being intrigued, but at the same time, we also feel that it’s incumbent upon us to reward the faithful fans enough in the show by providing some answers, every once in awhile. So, you’re going to get a couple of big mysteries solved, in this episode, but at the same time, a couple of brand new mysteries spring up. Hopefully, people will find this a satisfying conclusion to the first nine episodes while also feeling like a springboard for the rest of the season.

Since it wouldn’t be an episode of The Flash without big moments, what can you say to hold fans over until new episodes return in 2015?

KREISBERG: When the show comes back, we have a really exciting run. We’ve got Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell for our Prison Break reunion. It’s going to be the first team up of Captain Cold and Heat Wave in an episode called “Revenge of the Rogues.” There are a lot of big revelations in Episode 9, and you’ll see how that plays out in Episode 10. Hopefully, we’ll continue to build on all of the stuff that people have been excited about in these first nine episodes. We’ve got more romance. Grant Gustin sings on camera. Cisco goes on the world’s worst date. We’ve got more Firestorm and Victor Garber and Clancy Brown. We’re having so much fun making the show. We’re so proud of it, and we are so excited that fans are as excited about watching the show as we are making it.

What are your plans for the Rogues? Are you planning to introduce more members this season, or are you holding some back for future seasons?

KREISBERG: There are one or two big ones that we’re going to save for down the road. But we’ll already have had Heat Wave and Captain Cold, and we’re introducing and re-introducing The Trickster, played by Mark Hamill in Episode 17. We’ll have a good portion of the Rogues already on the show, by the time the season ends. Our hope is to build up to the full Rogues Gallery. Aside from Batman and Spider-Man, The Flash has the best villains, hands down. They’re fun and funny and distinct. We’ve been blessed, so far. When you have people like Wentworth, Dominic and Mark inhabiting these characters, you just want to use them as much as possible.

When you decided you wanted Mark Hamill on the show, was it always to bring him on to reprise his role as The Trickster? And how long has that all been in the works?

KREISBERG: We’ve had it in our minds since the day we said we were going to make the show. Greg [Berlanti] and Geoff [Johns] and I were such huge fans of the original show. We got John Wesley Shipp to play Henry Allen. Amanda Pays is returning in tomorrow night’s episode, playing the part of Tina McGee. Obviously, John is playing a new part, but with Amanda and Mark, they’re not exactly playing the same Tina McGee and Trickster that were on the original series. They’re playing what I like to call an echo of those characters. So, there’s glimpses of those characters, but for the characters on our show, there wasn’t a Flash 20 years ago. They’re just getting introduced to The Flash on this series. Both shows are about The Flash, but they’re very different tonally and characterization wise. It’s not a question of having the same old characters pop in on our show. It’s a question of taking those characters and making them fit tonally into the show that we’re producing today.

Just out of curiosity, how do the meta-humans that Team Flash keep locking up get food, and who’s feeding them?

KREISBERG: We’re actually going to address that in an upcoming episode. I know a bunch of people have asked how they get bathroom breaks, and whatnot. So, if that is one of the burning questions people have, the answer to that will be coming in 2015.

The Flash airs on Tuesday nights on The CW.