In regards to 1, eh... I actually kinda wish he'd fully committed to the subversion and had Kylo turn to the Light Side as a kind of "poetic" bookend to Anakin (making the third film one about his redemption; this would also allow us either to learn more about Snoke OR turn Hux into the villain, which I would prefer over what Abrams did to him).

As for 2, when Rose goes "are those...?" I was on the edge of my seat, tapping my friend's shoulder thinking we were about to see podracers (which is funny because I still really hated The Phantom Menace at that time) and was definitely disappointed when it turned out to be giant cats.

The Last Jedi is my favorite Star Wars film. I also happen to think it's the best of the entire series. But I dare not speak of this much on the interwebz because Star Wars fans are, as we all know, tame and not given to strong opinions.