I thought that song at the end sounded familiar. I can see your complaints, and I'm not in on Vaughn just yet. I think he's got it in him to be alright in this role.
Had no problem with the script though. Contrived? I guess maybe somewhat, but when I tune in to TD, I want some dark characters, with dark philosophies and dialogue, and that makes me happy. Maybe the way everything was delivered was a little contrived, but I still dig it.
And like I said before, I'm in no matter what. If it's half as good as last year, I'll like it. Of shows that I'm watching right now, a mediocre TD is still my 2nd favorite show after Hannibal.