Spoilers ahead from the March 17 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles.
Great news! Hetty Lange didn't just return to NCIS: Los Angeles to crash then officiate Kensi and Deeks' wedding. Actress Linda Hunt was very much missed through most of Season 10 when she was recovering from a car accident last summer. It would be understandable if she returned just for that wedding episode and then left again to continue focusing on her health. But it sounds like that's not the case, at least according to showrunner R. Scott Gemmill:
Moving forward, she’s raring to go.
Excellent! As long as Linda Hunt is feeling up to it, fans would be more than happy to see more of Hetty. The big Kensi and Densi wedding episode was Episode 17. Season 10 will reportedly have the usual 24 episodes. So hopefully that means we see a lot more of Hetty this season, as opposed to just seeing more of her in Season 11 -- if CBS even renews the show for Season 11. (It will, won't it?)
NCIS: LA kept Hetty's return a big surprise for the wedding episode. R. Scott Gemmill shared more with TV Insider on how they got Linda Hunt to come back for the big event:
We were waiting for her to feel well enough where she was comfortable [returning]. Linda knew we were going to do the wedding and she really wanted to be the officiant. That was a real incentive for her. Even though she was maybe still on the road to recovery, she did not want to miss that wedding — for our show family it was pretty special and everybody wanted to be there. She soldiered on and came.
The NCIS: Los Angeles stars were all thrilled to see Linda Hunt again, as they told TV Insider, and fans were also excited for Hetty's dramatic return:
In November 2018, Linda Hunt had issued a statement explaining her absence and promising to return:
I first want to say how much I appreciate the outpouring of support from the NCIS: Los Angeles fans following my car accident this summer. Though I had hoped to return to playing Hetty at the start of the season, I had to take some additional time to recover. I look forward to returning later this season.
The Densi wedding episode was the perfect time for her Season 10 return. In addition to Hetty, the wedding had an emotional reveal for what was in that box. Now Kensi and Deeks are headed out on their honeymoon, which apparently they each view very differently.
It's not exactly clear how much we'll see of Hetty for the rest of the season, but we do know the next episode is Episode 18 of 24 and it's called "Born to Run." Watch it play out Sunday, March 24 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, as NCIS: Los Angeles continues to air for a few more weeks in midseason 2019.
