'Arrow' 'The Huntress Returns' recap: The power of leverage

"Arrow" season 1 returned after a short break on Wednesday, March 20, with episode 17, "The Huntress Returns," and she was determined to get what she wanted—and to get Oliver's help in order to get it.

The Huntress is back. As this "Arrow" episode began, Helena went to her father's attorney to find out where he was, and even though she believed him that he didn't know, she still killed him, the video footage of which Diggle showed Oliver. But Oliver didn't have to look far for Helena because she was in his house with Thea. As she revealed to Oliver, Frank had cut a deal and would be in witness protection soon. He refused to help her with murder, but she wasn't above threatening him—and those he cared about.

At the club opening, she found Tommy and brought him down to Oliver's lair to use against him. Oliver tried to talk to her, but she wasn't above hurting Tommy—and anyone in the club—as leverage. He had no choice but to agree to help. He hoped to minimize the damage—and that included keeping Felicity out of it. So while they couldn't find the safe house Frank was in, they did know he was going to a hearing at the Justice Department. There was a decoy van, so Oliver and Helena each took one—but he wasn't in either. The police were waiting to arrest Helena though.

Quentin offered to "make it better" for the vigilante's name, and Helena said Oliver's name, but she continued talking to McKenna, telling her it wouldn't work between them. She suggested she get out of it before she got hurt. Quentin refocused on the vigilante and asked for his name. "The Hood," Helena said before the lights went out. While Quentin and McKenna went into the hall to check on the situation, Oliver got Helena out. He gave her a ticket to Rome and a passport to start a new life because she'd never find Frank. "Get out of my city," he told her.

Despite what Helena said to McKenna, she and Oliver were still in a good place and while they were busy, Felicity left him a message about the theft of a crossbow…before turning around to find Helena standing right there. Oliver found Felicity tied up, and she told him Helena forced her to hack the FBI database to find her father's safe house. Meanwhile, Helena pretty easily took out all the agents at the safe house and took off after Frank, who was running into the woods. Oliver stopped her, but Helena reminded him he wasn't a murderer. He couldn't let her go, but she had been practicing and easily caught the arrow he shot at her. Their fight began as McKenna arrived on scene. But during their standoff, Helena shot McKenna before making her escape.

Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal shot, but she was going to be in rehab for a year for a shattered femur--not in Starling City. She was moving in with her sister. Oliver tried to tell her he'd visit, but she was realistic and didn't want him making it any harder than it already was.

The truth hurts. Oliver and Tommy's friendship was strained with the big secret out, and even as Oliver tried to explain, Tommy didn't care why he kept it secret or any of it. In his eyes, Oliver still killed people and he couldn't believe what he had to say. Speaking of lies, Tommy's relationship with Laurel was strained as she wanted an explanation for his distant behavior and his hurt wrist (courtesy of Helena). As the episode ended, Tommy told Oliver he couldn't understand how he could keep such a huge secret, but he hadn't considered what it did to Oliver. He got it now, lying to Laurel. Oliver had realized he was wrong to think he could still have a normal life with anyone, and while he wouldn't be happy, that wasn't what was important.

Speedy to the rescue…maybe. Thea turned to Oliver to get Roy a job at the club, but he didn't show up for it. He refused to accept charity, but as she left his place, he stepped in to rescue her when she was cornered and got stabbed. At the hospital to distract him from the needle, she kissed him.

Lance family drama. Quentin was happy to hear from Laurel, but she didn't call him to reconcile. She was the mediator for her parents as Dinah told Quentin that she believed Sara could've found her way to another island. Plus, she had a photo from a tourist, and the girl in it looked like Sara. He refused to believe it, and Laurel wasn't so sure either, but she wanted to at least look into it. By the end, Quentin told Dinah he was ready to listen.

Island leverage. Slade told Oliver they needed to figure out what Fyers had planned with the missiles. With the amount he had, it looked like he was planning to start a war. But what could they do? First, they needed to get all the soldiers into one place. So Oliver "brought" Slade into the camp, and Slade took out a few soldiers. While they were setting explosives around the launcher, they began running out of time and Oliver had a better idea: take the circuit board. With their leverage, Oliver called in to Fyers, who warned him his men would kill him when they found him. But if they did, he'd never find the circuit board. Oliver proposed a trade: a way off the island.

"Arrow" season 1 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on the CW. What did you think of "The Huntress Returns"?