It was a good finish. They have conveniently tried to wrap up the continuity that doesn't bother you, but obviously bothers a lot of people they are trying to please. I knew that Spock was staying once he went into the shuttle, just as I knew that the Admiral would be the one to die once she looked way too long at the manual door closer.
So, we were correct about the identity of the Red Angel after all.
I have a few observations/questions. Maybe it is just that I missed something myself. First, I thought that this would have made one of the best endings to a Star Trek series ever, if there was to be no Season 3. Secondly, Season 3 will be very different indeed, and I can now see why some fans are saying that they would rather see a Captain Pike series instead, or as well.
3. With "Control dead and Leland neutralised," why did Discovery still need to go to the future? I understand that history said that it did, but then does history say that Vulcan is destroyed, or does it say that Spock reunifies Vulcan and Romulus? History in Star Trek is not a fixed thing. Now maybe, they were still unsure if Control was completely dead and Leland was totally neutralised, or maybe they thought that the mere presence of the Sphere data in the present day would effect the same problem to arise all over again. In other words, the existence of the Sphere data is just too dangerous to exist in itself, and therefore Discovery must be taken out of the equation. In that case, why make the "Red signal" drawing them to the asteroid, why not leave it undiscovered? Much easier not to do something, than correct all of the problems caused by doing it. There is a complex time paradox there, and I don't think they got it logically correct.
4. Discovery is going to the future with only a skeleton crew aboard. If no one knows about her in the future then she is going to be a big surprise. The Spore Drive and the Sphere Data are all going to be interesting, but the ship itself will go to a museum. if it needs a certain number of people to operate it, then they can't go off themselves without taking aboard more personnel. I'm interested to know how that is going to work out. However, I'm also unclear how none of the Discovery crew that left her never talked about her, or wrote secret memoirs, or a bestselling tell-all book later in their lives. That takes some discipline, but no missed records exist at all? Totally wiped clean from the history books and Michael Burnham never existed? This part, I cannot believe. The Section 31 being toned down, I can.
5. Michael Burnham never existing is interesting because now, the animated episode where Spock returns to the past (Yesteryear TAS) to help his young self from being attacked in the Vulcan desert, now actually makes more sense too.
