Why is my driver's door latch no longer working?

This is a 2011 Subaru Impreza hatchback driver’s door.

The other day when opening to door it sounded like something basically fell apart inside the door (you could hear rattling parts) and the door wouldn’t open.

We removed the door panel and put the latch mechanism back together as best as we could, but it still doesn’t work right. You can’t open it from the outside. There don’t appear to be any missing parts (ie lost down in the door cavity), we think.

But we’re misunderstanding something because it still doesn’t operate properly, nor is it clear what went wrong in the first place.

Video of latch mechanism inside door:
https://youtu.be/lmOOleOglLs

In the video you can see the following:

1. Connecting rod has been inserted into the latch where it appears to belong
2. Exterior door handle is actuated; rod starts to push downwards and initially is effective.
3. Rod slips through the yellow opening, so the latch doesn’t open.
4. Handle is released
5. Handle is actuated again, now the rod slips immediately

Here’s the rod itself – is it bent?

What seems strange is that there is no clip or pin or something to hold the rod in place where it passes through the yellow plastic. But as I said, we don’t think any parts are missing.