I'm loving this series, and for all my delvings into fandom and speculation, I don't *really* know where everything is going. There are lots of threads of things from which I can extrapolate...stuff, but the full arc is not predictable entirely in itself, which is great. I love that the character development from last year has continued, also. I don't want hard scifi. I don't want drippy Saint Rose wuv to the exclusion of all else and all other companions past/present/future, either, but still.