User blog comment:ThatGuy456/A Guy's Thoughts: "The Rival" and "The Lady" - Season Six's Solid Start?/@comment-31194372-20180114080007/@comment-30307603-20180114210724

Yeah, I get that feel-good endings are often hard to execute. However, when executed properly, they tend to be far more rewarding than the typical joke ending (hence why they are harder to execute). Despite that these endings being hard to write, I thought "The Rival" nearly had it down. Perhaps the hug scene would have to be slightly modified with a line of dialogue or two to address the bigger issue, but the last minute rib feels unnecessary to an already good ending, especially given that the ending was not a humorous note to end on, let alone a humorous note relative to the episode. I suppose my bias for my cute and heartwarming moments has something to do with my stance, but the ending is just a mediocre way to end what was otherwise a solid episode.

The fact that "The Lady" molds itself to match the American sitcom archetype (down to much of the plot's structure) helps to make it less of a jarring experience for those who are not as invested in The Golden Girls. Everything about it feels natural, which strengthens the episode.

Heh heh. A two-to-nine-month time-frame may be a bit of an underestimation for that Nicole article.