In Episode 15 of the hit CW series The Flash, called “Out of Time,” Joe West’s (Jesse L. Martin) life is in danger when Mark Mardon, aka The Weather Wizard (Liam McIntyre), appears in Central City with the singular focus of avenging his brother Clyde’s death, and Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) does everything he can to protect him. Meanwhile, Cisco (Carlos Valdes) looks into the night the team captured the Reverse Flash and begins to wonder whether Joe was right about Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh), and Iris (Candice Patton) starts to dig deeper with her own investigation.

After a screening of the jaw-dropping episode, held at The CW, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, along with co-stars Tom Cavanagh and Candice Patton, talked about how this episode is the best possible version of this show, the approach to this Weather Wizard and his motivations, that Iris’ interest in Dr. Wells will make up a large part of her arc for the rest of the season, what’s in store for Iris and Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), that we’ll get a flashback story from Tom Cavanagh’s point of view, and that an upcoming episode will flashback to the time when Barry Allen was in his coma. Be aware that there are some spoilers.

Question:  How would you preview this episode for fans?

TOM CAVANAGH:  #GameChanger

ANDREW KREISBERG:  With no disrespect to any of the other directors or episodes that we’ve produced, I think this is the best episode we’ve done. It’s everything that The Flash can do. And I don’t mean Barry Allen, as the hero, I mean as a TV show. I feel this episode delivers in spades. It’s got amazing visual effects that you just don’t see on television, it’s full of heart, it’s full of romance, it’s full of genuine scares. It’s the best version of the show. Between this and Arrow, there’s only a handful of episodes that, amongst ourselves, we say that about, and I feel like this is it.

What can you say about this approach to the Weather Wizard?

KREISBERG:  When we were doing the pilot, we wanted to have one of the Rogues ‘cause we just felt like it was important to say upfront that we were doing The Flash show. Fortunately, in the comics, Mark Mardon has a brother, Clyde, so we were able to devise it with one, and then the next one. Liam [McIntyre] is so great as Spartacus, but he’s so great as the villain in this. I think people will probably be surprised at how good he is playing the dark evil character. We wanted a Weather Wizard who is more in control of his abilities and less beset by them. We love the way Chad [Rook] played it. He was always shaking, and he couldn’t quite control it. It was fresher and newer for him. Mark has obviously had a little bit more time to control it. We were just so excited to get Liam. He’s coming back this season. He’s in Episode 16, as well, but he’s also coming back, later in the season. We’ve been really blessed with the Rogues and the people that we’ve found [to play them]. Hopefully, we’re building up to one day having a real Rogues episode, the way we would all love to see it.

What is this Weather Wizard’s motivations?

KREISBERG:  It’s pretty simple. It’s revenge for his brother, which is always really compelling. The scene where he’s talking to Joe and Joe says, “Your brother was a murderer and a thief,” he says, “Yeah, but he was my brother.” That speaks to what Wells is going through. You can be bad and do bad things, but still care about people and still have relationships and still have love for other people. This episode feels so primal because everybody is acting out of love, in their own way. Everybody is hit at the heart, and that includes Mark. It just makes for a much more compelling villain than somebody who just wants to rob a bank or knock over another unfortunate Black Hawk armored car.

As the investigation into Dr. Wells intensifies, will Iris feel trapped between her mentor and her best friend?

CANDICE PATTON:  I think the wheels are turning for Barry, as far as what’s going on with Dr. Wells, and Iris is going to continue to go after that story because Mason has piqued her interest. Barry wants to keep her out of harm’s way, and this directly puts her back into harm’s way, by going into a situation with Dr. Wells that he’s not even quite clear about.

KREISBERG:  Iris’ interest in this article and in Wells makes up a large part of Iris’ arc for the rest of the season.

With Iris’ investigation, will Iris and Dr. Wells get to share more scenes together?

CAVANAGH:  I enjoy it when we have scenes together. It felt like we went a half season with almost none of them. We do have a pretty significant one, I think in the next episode. We’re in the same scene, finally.

KREISBERG:  The trajectory of the season is obviously all of these characters coming into each other’s orbits.

What can you say about what’s in store for Iris and Eddie, and their relationship?

PATTON:  I think their relationship continues to be complicated. Eddie will always see that there’s a relationship between Barry and Iris that he can’t compete with, to some degree, and that’s unfortunate. Eddie is strong-willed, in keeping Iris in his life. He loves her. He’s a good mate for her. He’s kind and loving. He’s everything that I think a woman would want in a man, and I think Iris knows that. We’ll continue to see their relationship blossom, and also have typical relationship falters.

KREISBERG:  It’s always interesting ‘cause people forget that Eddie and Iris dated for nine months without Barry being around. They’ve been together for a long time, in terms of when people date and when they decide to move in together. For Eddie, all of a sudden, this guy appeared, back in her life, and it’s caused all these problems. I don’t think Eddie gets enough credit for being, in some ways, the most emotionally stable one. He sees the two of them together and he’s like, “Yeah, I’m not good with this.” He sees it, even if she doesn’t. We always thought it was so interesting that he’s the one who’s like, “Did you ever suspect that Barry might have feelings for you?” And she’s like, “No!” I just think it’s fun that the tough, gruff cop is the one that’s most in touch with everybody else’s feelings.

But then, he shoots two cops, point blank, in the PaleyFest trailer.

KREISBERG:  Well, you don’t know why he’s doing that yet. Maybe that’s because he’s so in touch with his feelings.

When will we get some backstory on Dr. Wells, and will there be some flashbacks with some of the other characters coming up?

KREISBERG:  In Episode 17, we’re going to get a flashback story from Tom’s point of view, which we’re really excited about. And then, in a future upcoming episode, everyone is going to flashback to the time when Barry was in a coma. You’ll see that time from Wells’ point of view, Caitlin’s point of view, and Joe and Iris’ point of view, and you’ll get to fill in a little bit more of the backstory. It’s things we’ve always had in our heads, but you’ll get to see it on camera. We leave it all on the table, every season. Towards the end of the season, a whole bunch of new questions will pop up, and that will drive the series forward. But most of the questions we proffered at the beginning of the season will be paid off.

After seeing him in the PaleyFest trailer, what can you say about the return of Grodd?

KREISBERG:  He’s coming back. And he’s mad. He’s really mad.

The Flash airs on Tuesday nights on The CW.