Yes, you're right on with Holly. Not only does her character stand up to scrutiny, but she and Elliot's kids give Toby and Elliot substance and challenges that they would not otherwise have (although Elliot has the extra defining and evolving framework of his work, which Toby is missing due to unsubstantiated nature of his work life. Had there been more room for it, I would have liked to see some challenges in Toby's work life that could have fleshed him out a little more, post Oz, even if were no more than just coping with being a disbarred attorney version of a rent-a-cop. That was a great line, Squid!). As you have noted, in the more typical stories of this genre, adults are little more than children themselves, which becomes very tedious after a few iterations. But Holly is more than a foil or just a kid. She is definitely a player.