Helena Bertinelli, aka "Huntress" returns in this week's "Arrow" to finish off her quest for vengeance against her mob boss father.
After spending the night with Ollie (they had sex, in case the bedsheet scene and constant explication in the dialogue didn't tip you off), Helena tries to assassinate one of the leaders of China White's triad.
Ollie stops her and embarks on a quest to show Helena a less deadly way to dole out justice.
He takes her to Sarah's grave and shows her a few tricks with a bow. He invites her into his secret life, shows her the book with the names, and they select a target-one of her father's lieutenants who's big in the oxycontin trade.
Now armed with her signature crossbow and leather gear (still revealing no flesh and sporting the barest of purple accents), Helena resists her darker impulses and, with Ollie's help, brings the bad guy down without killing him.
But a chance encounter sends the new pair spinning apart.
In an effort to impress Laurel, Tommy gets reservations at an expensive new restaurant, but now that he's broke, they don't get preferential treatment and have to wait with the rest of the plebes.
Ollie and Helena show up, awkward greetings ensue, and everyone decides to share a table. Stephen Amell needs a bit of polishing when it comes to acting like a superhero, but he plays clueless boyfriend really well.
Uncomfortable references to past lives get made, and Helena breaks it off with Ollie after realizing who Laurel is. It seems like an overreaction, but I suppose that's what a slightly unhinged vigilante bent on the destruction of her murdering father's criminal empire would do.
Helena hits the triad hard, making it seem like her father's doing. Of course, the triad retaliates, led by a knife-wielding China White. I wish she'd get more dialogue.
In the fray, Bertinelli escapes with the laptop containing all the evidence against him, but Helena finds him before he gets away and reveals herself. Before she can shoot her father, Ollie intercedes, and Bertinelli has no qualms about using the opportunity to shoot his own daughter with one of her crossbow bolts.
Ollie spirits Helena away to recuperate and Bertinelli gets picked up by the cops, laptop in tow.
Helena, still angry that Ollie has stolen her chance for revenge, leaves, threatening to reveal his secret if he interferes with her again. She'll make a fun guest star, love interest, and occasional foil in future episodes.
In the meantime, Tommy and Laurel are progressing in their relationship, and Tommy gets a job as the general manager of the club Ollie is opening in The Glades as a cover for his activities. Is this how Tommy becomes involved with archery?
And when does Laurel don legless spandex and start beating people up?
As for the overarching plot, Walter and spunky computer expert Felicity Smoak discover an extra copy of Ollie's book that either Moira or Robert kept hidden.
Walter and Felicity are two very bit characters in Green Arrow canon, so the writers have plenty of leeway with their storylines.
Next week's episode is titled "Year's End," so expect a Christmas/New Year's theme and some awkwardness over who kisses whom when the ball drops.
Watch Season 1 Episode 8 "Vendetta" on the CW site.
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