I'm pretty sure Nicky was written out because Natasha Lyonne didn't want to be in OITNB anymore. A shame, but her exit fits in with the narrative of prison life.

I thought it was quite a cute episode about Ronaldo, and genuinely funny. I love the riffs on the magic of the town.
I do find Ronaldo quite irking in some episodes, like the one where he kidnaps Steven, but in this episode I thought they balanced some of the more potentially negative aspects of the character, such as…