I entered the map immediately after the event was started and waded through 40 min of mindless sleep-inducing zerging only to lag out during the Scarlet fight. When I tried to log on half a min later (which indicates this was a server problem), it was over and I wasted 40 min for absolutely nothing.
This has to be one of the worst updates ever.
Apologies to those who may find my posts on GW2 forums offensive and hateful.