Similarly, critics were ambivalent towards the alternate finale. Jenna Mullins from E! praised Conrad's return as being "shocking and glorious at the same time", and felt that "clearly should all prefer the ending with Lauren Conrad". Kaitlin Reilly from Bustle described the suggestion of another love triangle involving Conrad and Cavallari to "[feel vaguely like the ending to a horror movie" in that "it's starting again", but nonetheless appreciated the ending as "a wink to loyal fans". Billy Niles from Zap2It noted that there was "no winking nod to a soundstage", and opined that "nothing that freaking awesome happened". Sonya Sorich of the "Ledger-Enquirer" preferred the original conclusion, commenting that the revised clip was not as "startling" as the first. Lindsey Weber from Vulture suggested that the footage felt like a "total soap opera" in that it seemingly acknowledged that portions of the series were fabricated.