A very solid season premiere. Possibly the best of the series.
I'm glad they didn't drag the mystery out. I hope this continues for the rest of the season.
Love the various nods... especially the fact the season is using TNG's "The Chase" as the jumping off point. Always loved that one. (And self-sealing stem bolts! My DS9 heart is happy for the reference.)
I really like that the stakes don't seem to be galaxy ending. Dangerous, yes... but not the end of everything as we know it. It really appears to be STAR TREK meets INDIANA JONES, and that is essentially what "The Chase" was, so I am very happy with the choice.
And I'm going to call it now... the technology is going to be something like the device on Dakara in STARGATE SG-1's 8th season... a device by the Ancients that created life itself AND can be used to destroy it at the same time. (It was how they finally destroyed the Replicators.)
Interestingly enough, it would be a version of the Genesis device from TWOK. So if this does happen, it would be a nice nod to there.
Doug Jones, as always, brings it as Saru. From the start of this series, he has been one of THE best aspects. I really like him and T'Rina together.
Burnham... I'm actually glad that Rayner and Kovich let her know that she screwed up at the beginning, because it sure has felt like she's never wrong too often. And I do find the rift between her and Book... odd for some reason. Perhaps it's been too long since seeing season 4, but I didn't get the impression that there was that great a falling out between them at the end of that season. So this feels somewhat forced for the sake of drama, rather than being organic.
Having said those things, I really do love the fact that she reminded, vehemently, to Rayner that the mission of Starfleet is the people, and not just the current assignment. (There is a difference between the two things.) Rayner is going to be an interesting character this season... not surprising considering who is cast as him. (Since he's in the title credits, it looks like he'll be around for most, if not all, of the season. Yes!)
While I get why they brought TWO starships to basically crash into a planet (which was a pretty impressive sight)... I find the reasoning a bit hard to swallow. We've seen shields extended across much greater distances with 24th century ships, so why couldn't Discovery just hover in front of the settlement for a brief time to stop the avalanche? I know it's a 23rd century ship, but it's been VASTLY upgraded. (Plus, we've seen Kirk extend shields before, like in "MUDD'S WOMEN".)
Moll and La'k are really interesting... looking forward to seeing them more.
I also love Admiral Vance... he has been a true highlight of the 32nd century.
Overall, a surprisingly good episode. This one is an 8 for me.