James Poniewozik, writing for The New York Times about the finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (gift link):

He didn’t land the pope, but he got a Beatle. He didn’t have a new project to announce, but he left us with a song (in fact two). He didn’t choose to end his show, but he ended it his own weird, wonderful way.

Stephen Colbert hosted his final “Late Show” on Thursday night, completing the story of the TV year’s most notorious and rancorous cancellation. But his final hour-plus — an emotional and delightfully bizarre wake for a comedy institution — turned it into a cancellebration.

One of the great challenges of episodic television is ending a long-running series in a satisfying way. A bad finale retroactively destroys years of emotional commitment, leaving us betrayed. A good one rewards us in ways both expected and not. The rare great finale creates television immortality. Colbert’s Late Show finale stays true to its core formula (topical jokes, celebrity guests, deep nerdery), with a healthy dose of surrealism (a Colbert staple) and joy. It lands just shy of “great,” with a terrific final guest, a perfect song to close out the show, and a nod to another memorable and controversial series ender in the final frames. It was The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.