The Huntress is back! After the big showdown in Season 1, where Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) stopped Helena Bertinelli (Jessica de Gouw) from killing her father, fans have wondered if and when the Huntress would return. Well, this is it. All of Oliver’s worst fears are realized when Helena returns and she will literally stop at nothing to get her prey – even if it means taking out someone Oliver loves in the process.
This week’s episode “Birds of Prey,” puts both Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and her sister Sara (Caity Lotz) right in the crosshairs of the Huntress. This was absolutely the worst time for Laurel to decide to go back to work, the same week that Frank Bertinelli is caught and Helena catches wind of his arrest; and Laurel being Laurel is way too stubborn to know when she is over her head. Fortunately, stubbornness runs in the Lance family as both Lance (Paul Blackthorne) and Sara race to keep Laurel from harm while Oliver continues to chase his own prey, the elusive Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett).
During last week’s press conference, special guest star Jessica de Gouw and executive producer Marc Guggenheim shared a few insights about “Birds of Prey”:
Why did you want to bring back the Huntress now when Oliver has so much going on with Slade?
MARC: We love Jessica and we love the character of Helena Bertonelli and we had been talking about bringing the Huntress back under a variety of different scenarios. . . Episode 217 is the episode we called “Laurel gets her groove back.” We knew that we wanted Laurel back in the D.A.’s office and we knew that Laurel had to be in a good emotional place. So we wanted to professional and emotional reestablish her. Obviously, when you talk about bringing her back to the D.A.’s office you start talking about what case is she prosecuting. . . and that led to: what if Frank Bertonelli is being prosecuted and the Huntress comes back to town? [Helena’s] last episode was 117 and this is 217, so she’s literally been off the show for a year. So what’s Helena been doing for a year? What mental state is she in? What emotional state is she in? We went into this with the thought that we need to wrap up this whole Helena and her father storyline. We wanted to close that chapter of Helena’s life and start a new chapter.
And where has Helena been?
JESSICA: It’s been a year and she’s been chasing her dad to no avail, then comes back to Starling where it all began. She not only has to deal with seeing her father, but also Oliver and Laurel and this town that she once upon a time thrived in, and of course, she’s a little different this time around. . . So there’s an ease to her and the darkness as well. I think she’s let go of a lot. She’s let go of all these complications.
Also Felicity gets a great moment in the episode when she tells Sara to not hesitate to kick the Huntress’ ass. It makes for a nice bonding moment against a common enemy – who just happens to be Oliver’s ex.
Then not to be left out of the action and just as vital to the team, is Roy (Colton Haynes), whose continuing dance with danger poses a risk for Thea (Willa Holland). With Roy having to face the fact that his condition makes him a threat to the one person he loves most, Roy must come up with a fool-proof way to keep her safe – even if the option is not one he likes.
Huge theme of the night: “Once you let the darkness in, it never gets out.” Watch closely for that. Just who says this and under what circumstances is going to be a surprise.
Finally, everyone’s jaws are going to hit the floor once they see who is the ultimate person in jeopardy in tonight’s episode. It’s guaranteed to make fans scream, “Nooooo!” at their television sets. So remember to only throw pillows and not electrical devices.
Another fun reappearance in this episode is made by D.A. Adam Donner aka Hot Paul for ORPHAN BLACK fans (Dylan Bruce). That is sure to get fans’ heart racing. 
So with the Huntress’ return and so many lives hanging in the balance, you are not going to want to miss one second of this episode. So be sure to tune in for an all new ARROW on Wednesday, March 26th at 8:00 p.m. on the CW.
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).