I think the point is reasonable, but there is no "agile done wrong"; it's simply "not agile development". If a team claims to follow well-defined principles then it's everyone's responsibility to know them and identify any deviations. In this case, treating a date as more important than any other goal should have been a red flag. The team should never have allowed it to reach the point of longer hours over holiday breaks.
Dates are always important. It doesn't matter who is in charge, that show, or holiday opportunity, or funding drop-dead date is real. Agile cannot fix that.