Richie Unterberger of Allmusic said that "The End" was to be "the group's take on the improvised jamming common to heavy rock of the late '60s, though as usual the Beatles did it with far more economic precision than anyone else." John Mendelsohn of "Rolling Stone" said it was "a perfect epitaph for our visit to the world of Beatle daydreams: "The love you take is equal to the love you make.".