I think it changed some people's minds about her. I think she's always been unfairly judged on so many levels by fans. And in AAH she showed the awesome that I know she's made of in a way that just couldn't be interpreted as anything other than hero-quality self sacrifice and bravery. So people have gone back and looked at her with new eyes.
I don't think everyone has changed their mind about her but I do think some fans have.

I totally agree.

Oh for sure! There was much more positive sentiment for the Harvelles after that episode. ::nods::

I mean, I think most of the negative sentiment came from fans who still rejected the Dean/Jo ship and thought Jo's character was kinda whiny. But after the changes in her character we saw in S5, that was mostly extinguished. And no one ever hated Ellen. Actually, I think she was one of the most successful female characters for the show. I hate that the writers killed them off. :(

I've read some of the comments where people are saying, "I hated her before, but I love her now."

I've seen a lot of similar comments too