i don't think i was around the fandom enough to have a good idea of what the general consensus was...

but i DO distinctly remember that a lot of undeadP and 2winkP felt hurt and confused by it! they didn't understand why 2wink would betray undead, given they've always had a such close bond. undeadPs felt that undead was unfairly wronged, and 2winkPs were confused why 2wink would bite the hand that fed them.

on top of that a lot of people felt that those not in the sandstorm area (koga, adonis, especially rei) weren't given a proper role in the story. i know kogaPs were especially unhappy with how koga was bitter and angry at rei treating him coldly during the story, and felt that koga wouldn't have reacted so unreasonably.

definitely a lot of mixed feelings. it took me a little bit to warm up to the event too, since i had to analyze why 2wink acted that way. sandstorm was essentially 2wink's !! era breaking point, so there was a lot of unpredictable behavior here and there. gatekeeper wanted to find a way to suppress the dangerous and rebellious undead and sakuma rei, so he took advantage of 2winks volatility for that.

this is just about me but i personally think positively of the event now, since it's led to a LOT of really interesting development between specifically koga & adonis and the twins. and of course yuuta... i always really like this quote from MIRAGE;

Koga: It’s too late for me to approach him now, though.
Koga: No… I didn’t even have to approach him. I should have already been beside Yuuta, but I couldn’t even see his face.
Koga: I should’ve been able to understand what had been hurtin’ him and makin’ him angry more than anyone else.
Koga: It wasn’t until my hind legs got stuck in the sand did I realize that he was hurtin’.
Koga: I hurt him a lot, puttin’ on airs actin’ like some guardian there to protect him.
Koga: Even if I did try gettin’ close now, he’s not gonna like it. He’ll just run away.

and it helped break down the misunderstandings between undead and 2wink, since as pointed out in even Learning from the Past, it's foundation began as somewhat disordered; a unit desperately clinging onto something stronger than them to stay afloat, and a leader who couldn't help but see them as followers/believers rather than friends

and i also just plain adore kaoru int he story but... thats just because kaoru always make me very happy lmfao i love seein that guy. i love what he says in the epilogue. but that's just my own take on the story