Gave it a 9. It was 7-8ish until the last 15 minutes. After that magic in Saru's quarters, I would've given it a 10 if it weren't for my quibbles during the first half hour.
To all DISCO haters, I give you Doug Jones. His performance blew me out of the water. I was prepared to walk away from the show if Saru... I kept saying "this Trek hasn't earned it yet!" because something about it reminded me of losing other key characters from other series during much later seasons. My gut said they wouldn't Culber him, but after they Culbered Culber, I couldn't be sure.
And wow. What a twist!
Doug Jones is a gift and Saru and the Kelpiens are wonderful additions to Memory Alpha and the franchise. He'd better get his turn in the Captain's chair.
Other stuff: I hope the sphere is connected to the Red Angels, but somehow, I don't think so. Throughout the episode, I kept thinking "here are clues for the RAs being Iconians" but the dates don't line up (100K years old vs the destruction of Iconia 200K years ago).
Tig's Jett Reno also deserves special note. I hope she and Stamets are the frenemies of the ship. A little weary of the mycelial network stuff, but will sit through it so we can get Culber back. And unlike many, I don't mind Tilly. I wince because I love, and I love because I see so much of my (overeager, nerdy, annoying) younger self in her.
SMG seems to be starting to relax into the lead role. Love Michael best when she's most intuitive and human.
Loving seeing more of the bridge crew, but I still think they could do more with them. Keyla Detmer and Joann Owosekun are starting to stand out (although I'm confused about what Owo's role as ops officer is since this is the TOS period and I assumed she was the navigator). Not sure about the others... and by 2x04, this is stuff we should be picking up from the eps.
I wish they'd make each episode 60 minutes long since there are only 15 of them. This way, the storylines could breathe a bit more, and more character moments could be added.