That final cameo had me seriously rolling my eyes. I wish the writers didn't feel the need to do it, as I think it's a crutch they should be avoiding as much as possible. It looked nice, though.
As for the season as a whole... I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. But I will be back for season two.
Things I hope they do in season two:
- flesh out the rest of the bridge crew more
- let Burnham loosen up a little
- do NOT bring in Kirk or any of the rest of the classic crew (except, I guess, for the one we're obviously going to get)
- break the season into multiple, smaller arcs
- stay away from time travel
- do some more sciencey or exploratory type missions (are there any Trek races we know are first contacted during this period?)
- do not lose the essential Tillyness of Tilly now that she has gotten some recognition and (presumably) more responsibilities
- just make Saru the damn permanent captain already
- do not update us on L'Rell and Voq/Tyler
- in fact, just avoid Klingons altogether for at least a full season
- no more Mirror Universe episodes
I'm sure I'll think of more things later, but that'll do.
And, oh yeah... ****** Clint Howard! Now, that is someone I'm always glad to see no matter what show it is. And what is this, his third or fourth Trek series to appear in? Nice.