There was a lot left to explain in that dimensional prison
Agree.
using it as a finale to neatly wrap a lot of different plot threads was great
Sort of?
IMO it felt very hamfisted in the way it tried to wrap those plot threads. And it felt like it should have been the culmination of a large number of episodes scattered across multiple seasons. Not a follow-up to a single episode earlier this same season. But if they had spent more time laying the groundwork to explain how the gorn Alien impregnation relates to the Great Cosmic Evil (and why the Great Cosmic Evil is even a relevant theme to explore in this world), then choosing to wrap that all up in a dramatic finale could perhaps have been awesome.
there’s two massive red lasers with the same power as a star beaming in through the balcony and none of the natives there were bothered by it enough to get out of their seats
All the scenes on the planet gave me that sense. It really felt obvious they were acting in front of the Volume. When the main characters just walk up and assault the portal guards, nobody reacts. When they discuss what to do next right there, nobody reacts. When the giant lasers shoot down, nobody reacts.
The planet design was really cool
Agree! I wish we could have explored more about them and their culture, and how it links to the culture of the previous planet the Great Cosmic Evil was on.
It’s interesting that the planet has no warp travel but still makes contact with alien races
I got the sense (sadly, the episode wasn't interested in exploring these aspects at all) that it's because they were contacted by the Orions, who don't follow the Prime Directive.
I've gotta be honest, I'm not completely sure what actually happened here. What was actually happening to allow that time-skipping future? It felt like a cross between The Inner Light and All Good Things, but in both of those the cause was pretty clear. Here, it felt like just something that they wanted to insert, so they did.
Which, tbh, is how the whole premise of the episode felt. Why is Batel suddenly magically connected to this Cosmic Evil? The last episode we had with them didn't really feel like she was especially key to it. Not to mention that using what seemed like a one-off villain to return in the season finale in a way that felt like it would be more appropriate for an established recurring big bad really dragged the episode down.
Pelia's Dr Who joke was funny, I'll grant her that. But I really don't like the idea that Dr Who and Star Trek could be in the same universe. Both have explored far too much of space for me to accept that, for example, The Federation has never encountered the Daleks, and Dr Who himself has never before encountered the Borg. The fact that the joke came from the most insanely irritating character the franchise has ever introduced (and I already hated Neelix enough that I would have thought nobody could take that role off him) certainly didn't help there. Seriously, wtf are the writers and actor even doing with that character? She might have been ok as a one-off comic guest appearance...which is what she seemed like when she first showed up. Then they just...made her a member of the core cast?
that goes onto a separate device only for those purposes
Or in a VM if you don't have any spare devices available. VM escapes exist, but they're a pretty rare and severe type of vulnerability that's unlikely to be casually utilised by proctoring software.
I've found out people have no problem logging into their Google or Microsoft account on public PCs.
I brought the PDF on a CD
With 2FA I probably wouldn't have too much of a problem with doing this. Especially if I then change password afterwards.
Another option would be to host it somewhere that you can remember the URL. If you don't care for the privacy of the document itself, just using a URL shortener and Google Drive's public sharing would work fine, or hosting at your own domain.
Personally though, I'm glad that on the rare occasion I need to get something printed (I have my own black and white laser printer at home for 99% of my needs), my local company for that sort of thing lets you upload it from home and pick up.
Would they do that? No idea. But could they? Yes, without a doubt. I don't know that browser in particular, but if you've installed some software on your machine, that software can do anything any other software could do.
edit: this page (which seems like it might be from the developers of that browser) indicates it can monitor your screen and restrict your Internet access.
Did they require you to install any desktop software or browser extensions? Did they request permissions like camera access or screen recording? If the answer to all those questions is No, then I can't think of any way they could possibly know what you were doing.
find it condescending and insulting to have the reason for something explained to them, if [they already understand the reason]
can apply just as well to neuro-atypical people as to neurotypicals.
I don't think this has to be too complicated though. Don't explain the reason unless it's super unobvious, or unless they ask for a reason. If they do ask for the reason, give it in full and without judgment.
Except that arming yourself overwhelmingly increases your chance of being the victim of gun violence, far more than the miniscule (and mostly fanciful) idea you might successfully use it to protect yourself.
I think it's fine in any type of game...as long as they're actually not developed in time to be included in the original release. The closest thing in games that I play is civs in RTS games. A civ in an RTS is basically a "character" in a fighting game. New characters in a MOBA would probably be the same. And turn-based strategy civs.
These all require extra dev time to implement new mechanical features. Extra balance work to make sure they're well-balanced (both on release, and later with future balance patches). Extra design work to make sure they look good and unique. It's completely reasonable to charge for them. Just not if they're there, ready to go, day one.
In Queensland, Australia, we passed a Voluntary Assisted Dying law a few years ago. But it's worth noting that it probably would not apply to OP's condition. One of the eligibility criteria is "expected to cause death within 12 months", and another is "Have decision-making capacity" which means that long-term progressive diseases which take away mental faculties long before they cause death, as Alzheimer's does, are unfortunately not eligible.
If it weren't for the fact that it's set in the mediaeval era, this sounds like it might have been more like the successor to Bloodlines that fans wanted than Bloodlines 2 is going to be.
That is definitely a very fun fact. But the joke in my comment was that I can't hunt or forage for any sort of food. I was referencing the guideline that a person can survive 3 days without water or 3 weeks without food.
Really feels like 10-15 minutes of the episode is missing
Jessie Gender's review pointed out that it's by far the shortest episode of the season, probably because it got re-edited to remove all context with the underlying conflict, to avoid making any commentary on Israel/Palestine.
Agree.
Sort of?
IMO it felt very hamfisted in the way it tried to wrap those plot threads. And it felt like it should have been the culmination of a large number of episodes scattered across multiple seasons. Not a follow-up to a single episode earlier this same season. But if they had spent more time laying the groundwork to explain how the gorn Alien impregnation relates to the Great Cosmic Evil (and why the Great Cosmic Evil is even a relevant theme to explore in this world), then choosing to wrap that all up in a dramatic finale could perhaps have been awesome.
All the scenes on the planet gave me that sense. It really felt obvious they were acting in front of the Volume. When the main characters just walk up and assault the portal guards, nobody reacts. When they discuss what to do next right there, nobody reacts. When the giant lasers shoot down, nobody reacts.
Agree! I wish we could have explored more about them and their culture, and how it links to the culture of the previous planet the Great Cosmic Evil was on.
I got the sense (sadly, the episode wasn't interested in exploring these aspects at all) that it's because they were contacted by the Orions, who don't follow the Prime Directive.