Superb second episode too. I love the fun this is having, and discovering the musical language was particularly enjoyable. Uhura came into her own here, and the new engineer (who I mistook for Andorian at first) seems cool. Pike's hair is something to behold at the moment.
I really liked the look of the Shepherd alien race, and I felt that he looked kind of familiar. Eventually it clicked that the design reminded me of Space Precinct!
The moment at the start where the camera flew through the comet's tail was obviously a little nod to DS9's intro. But I SWEAR I heard the music play the first few notes of the DS9 opening fanfare too, just really subtly before stepping away from it. Was I just imagining things?