One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest (Parts I & II)

One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest was the twenty-fifth & twenty-sixth episode of Season 7 of The Golden Girls TV series, also the 9th overall series episode. Directed by Peter D. Beyt and written by producers Jamie Wooten and Marc Cherry, it originally aired on NBC-TV on May 9, 1992. It was also the final two episodes of The Golden Girls.

Summary
Blanche's Uncle Lucas arrives in Miami and she dumps him with Dorothy, they decide to play a joke on her by pretending to be in love and wanting to marry, once the joke has gone far enough it's clear that Dorothy and Lucas are in love and will marry, but what does this mean for Rose and Sophia?

Part One
Blanche gets the news that her Uncle Lucas is arriving at Miami, but she has planned a date with someone, so she sets him up with Dorothy. At the restaurant, Dorothy and Lucas start off unsure but, they realise that Blanche has told them some untrue things about each other and so they plan a little revenge. The next day Dorothy and Lucas pretend to be all loved up and Lucas proposes to Dorothy much to the shock of Blanche and the surprise of Rose and Sophia.

Blanche is going crazy by the idea that Dorothy could be her aunt and the idea that Dorothy will make Hollingsworth Manor more Yankee, Rose has revealed she'll move back to St. Olaf to family, however by this point both Dorothy and Lucas realise that they have fallen in love and Dorothy can't hurt Blanche anymore, Lucas admits he has enjoyed the time together. Just as Blanche gives them her blessing admitting that she was selfish, Lucas really does propose to Dorothy.

Part Two
Two months have passed the wedding has been planned, Dorothy and Lucas will live in Atlanta, with Sophia joining them. Dorothy admits that everything fits with Lucas to the point the Sex is amazing that they named it. Unable to sleep Blanche and Rose and Sophia talk and Rose decides to stay together in Miami as Rose might not be needed by her real family. Sophia is happy for them, then sadly looks at a photo she took of the two.

The day of the wedding, Dorothy is dressed, she has a limo, but then the driver stops at the side, it's Stan. Dorothy thinks he's going to kidnap her but he just wanted to do this as a gift. The wedding begins, Dorothy is given away by Sophia who couldn't be happier, Blanche and Rose are bridesmaids and Blanche is amazed at Dorothy's radiance. The ceremony goes without a hitch on the whole, Stan was there and did want to stop the wedding but held his tongue seeing that he had to move on. Dorothy and Lucas are ready to go but Sophia tells her, she will stay with Blanche and Rose. Dorothy says her goodbyes to the three, twice running back into the room, through different doors too upset to part, but in the end she goes reminding them that they will remain her family. Blanche, Rose and Sophia then wait for the next time but upon realising Dorothy has truly left embrace in tears.

Guest Stars

 * Leslie Nielsen as Lucas
 * Earl Boen as Reverend
 * Herb Edelman as Stan Zbornak

Trivia

 * Bea Arthur had wanted to leave a series before.
 * Bea knew Leslie Nielsen from The Actor's Studio.
 * Earl Boen appears in the season 6 episode Ebbtide's Revenge and in an episode of The Golden Palace, both as a priest.
 * The plot was partly based on the true story of Susan Harris and her husband Paul Junger Witt, they tried to prank writer Mitchell Hurwitz on a trip to Italy only for him to say that it would happen, by the end they really did marry.
 * Dorothy's wedding dress has been negatively ripped to shreds online and Bea Arthur admitted that she hated it.
 * The reading and rehearsals for the final scene were difficult the cast kept breaking down and the director spoke so fast during the filming Estelle Getty had to guided by the others.
 * This Episode won the Emmy for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series.