https://web.archive.org/web/20030601174711/http://nationalreview.com/comment/comment-hibbs052203.asp

"The shallow, 'liberating' storyline had more the feel of the romantic world of Dawson than the noir world of Buffy," says Thomas S. Hibbs, a Boston College professor and "Buffy" expert. "Joss Whedon, the creative brains behind 'BtVS,' has repeatedly said that his ideas for the show come from a dark place. With predictably disastrous results, Whedon tried to visit a happy place for the finale. The entire episode was flat. It had the feel of an early episode in a series, perhaps even a pilot, before writers and actors have developed chemistry and a sense of what the show is really about. The show lacked both memorable dialogue and the pacing characteristic of the great battle episodes in the series."

Relive the "Buffy" finale (with commentary) (https://web.archive.org/web/20030601174711/http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/story.html?id=C7077BE5-A21A-48A9-A25C-B7153D63AEAF)
Finale showed a potent mixture of nightmares (Sept. 11, Columbine) (https://web.archive.org/web/20030601174711/http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030521-033308-5372r)
Writer: I'll miss "Buffy's" anti-realism, Web site spoilers (https://web.archive.org/web/20030601174711/http://www.sfbg.com/37/34/x_techsploitation.html)
"Buffy" expert predicts long "Trek"-like afterlife (https://web.archive.org/web/20030601174711/http://www.canoe.ca/Television/may23_buffy-sun.html)
Writer: "Buffy's world was dangerous long before Sept. 11" (https://web.archive.org/web/20030601174711/http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/03/37/tv-infante.php)