what the examiners are looking for
One theory ... what the examiner is looking for is the answer to this question:
"If this guy's next flight was with my kid as passenger, would I be happy?"
If the answer is "no" then the examiner will find some reason to fail you, no matter that you didn't actually seriously screw up any of the individual test items. If the answer is "yes" then you're likely to get a pass, even if you made mistakes.