Archie Bunker sure got more likable in later episodes. A good example of this is "Archie Finds A Friend". Archie's bigotry seems to resemble ignorance on a harmless scale that the outright hatred he had expressed in earlier seasons. This episode also contains a great inconsistency as Archie refers to himself as an "only child" even though he's had a brother in an earlier episode and would have a brother in later episodes.

I agree that Archie really mellowed out. This was one of my favorite episodes, funny all the way until the end when Archie's new friend passed away. I also noticed Archie "forgetting" his brother. You'd think the writers could've remembered that detail, but still a great episode.