Same here, aplied METV in Canada last year. Showed only ticket in and out of Thai after 5 months. Was asked for an written timetable of my plans but was not asked for a ticket out of Thai after 60 days.
Have done it , was at immigration after midnight and was stemped the day be4. Its not only the time at immigration but ur plane arrival time that matters....another issue at what time the official changes the date on the stemp so high chance it will be the date be4 midnight...
you apply 3 months in advance imho, it took 33 days for me, but it can take longer if u dont answer back promptly...btw its very time consuming...it took me over 10 hours preparing the docs and their additional requests...i heard that recently they reduced the number of questions/requirements..
I got my METV mid yr last yr from Ottawa, did not need a extra throw away ticket, but got it for the airlines at depurture but did not have to show it...in 2022 had to show it for airline when had no visa...