On a normal television show, four episodes before you air your series finale is probably not the time you would choose to start introducing new characters; but CBS' The Good Wife is not a normal show. For seven years it has deftly juggled a superb cast, topical storylines, impeccable camerawork, and an embarrassingly talented roster of guest stars all to critically-acclaimed results… and it's showing no signs of slowing down even as it nears the finish line, since TVLine reported that this week, Megan Hilty is joining The Good Wife as Holly Westfall, a brand new character who may potentially cause trouble for one of the show's main players.
Hilty is arguably most famous for her work on Broadway, including Wicked (as Glinda, natch), 9 To 5 (in the Dolly Parton role, natch), and the current revival of Noises Off. On the small screen, she has also guest starred on the likes of Desperate Housewives, Bones, and Louie and was briefly a series regular on the short-lived 2013 NBC sitcom Sean Saves The World. But TV aficionados will likely remember Hilty the best as Ivy Lynn, one of the two dueling Marilyn Monroes in NBC's song-and-dance drama Smash. Her performance in Season 2 of the song "They Just Keep Moving The Line" from the fictional Broadway show Bombshell was arguably the musical — and emotional — peak of that series:
So who is this Holly Westfall person that Hilty will be portraying? Let's look to the press release for this week's Episode 19, titled "Landing," for answers:
Alicia and Lucca travel to Toronto to represent NSA Agent Jeff Delinger, who was detained by customs officers while attempting to re-enter the United States. Also, Diane grows concerned when her husband, Kurt McVeigh, decides to retire and sell his business to Holly Westfall, a rival business owner, and Peter contemplates an uncertain future when he faces possible arrest.
We haven't seen Diane's husband, he of the incredibly unfortunate last name, since about two-thirds of the way through Season 6 — an absence of 25 episodes, to be exact. So on the one hand, it's nice to know that we'll get a chance to see him again before the show wraps up for good; on the other, it feels a bit late in the game to introduce a random one-off story about Kurt selling his ballistics business. What gives?
(Ironically enough, Matthew Morrison also continues his recurring stint as AUSA Connor Fox in this week's episode, which means that the stars of both Smash and Glee will be occupying the same space at the same time, as teased by this Instagram post by Morrison; however, it remains to be seen if they'll actually share a scene.)
As it turns out, Hilty's appearance won't be just a random one-off story. A quick look at the press releases for the next couple of weeks reveals that both Kurt and Holly will be back for Episode 21, The Good Wife's penultimate hour, titled "Verdict." So whatever Hilty is about to get up to as Holly, it seems like it's going to have an impact in some way on Diane's endgame. That can't be a good sign, right?
However Holly impacts the final chapter of Diane's story, Hilty is just the latest in a long line of impressive guest stars the writers have roped into making memorable appearances. Here's hoping that if that rumored Good Wife spinoff becomes a reality, we might be seeing even more of Holly Westfall in the not-too-distant future.
