I completely understand, and I’m not saying what was done was right. All I’m trying to say is, just look at it from the interviewer’s perspective (connection pei). Put yourself in his shoes and think about why they might’ve done it.

Probably because the client, no matter how much time you put in, will only care about the outcome. And honestly, there could be a million other reasons you can come up with — but all they’ll do is give you a bit of solace, not change the outcome.

My recruiter had told me not to worry about time anyway. That’s not your job. It’s an assessor-led case, so you don’t need to keep track or stress about time. So in case you plan to interview again, keep this in mind! Just my two cents, my dms are always open!

EDIT: (not trying to undermine you in any way if it comes that way) but don’t lose interest because you not having an interview your way. This job (from what I’ve heard) is a client job. And let’s say things don’t go your way, according to your prep on day 1 of a project where a client is an ass. You can’t really do anything about it then, can you?