I liked the updates to 30, they were nuanced but made it gel with the overall story. Now as for the alpha of 31. If it'd been a meal, I would have sent it back to the kitchen. It is likely the worst chapter I've read in this series---correction half chapter. Up to Sarah being back at the hospital the chapter was on a good trajectory (except for Dan), but then you spend the back half the chapter telling us that Sarah is willing to put up with Mary and not bitch slap the smug look off her face because she needed the job, and yet turn around and have sex in a public conference room, one in which others had been invited to.
Sarah isn't that fucking stupid, or at least the character development up this point has shown us she wasn't. Yes I get she's under a lot of stress, but she wasn't under the amount of stress necessary to make that dump a decision. She could have invited him to her office and locked the door, the janitor's basement, etc.
I also get the scene was necessary for Sarah to get fired, all according to Lester's plan. To spend 8k words on something that should have been a short scene with a throwaway character, it felt... Pointless.
I agree with you King, we had some major development to Dan's character in 30 and now we get wishy-washy Dan back. After the events of 30 he should have been outraged or broken, but no we get the "Oh that's Sarah being Sarah" Dan again.
I hate to say this, as I've had a lot of respect for DS's writing, but I'm starting to agree with others, that this story has no ending.