A lot of people want instant gratification, but I'm personally okay with a slow burn (I said as much on page one of this topic lol). I actually think the end of season 1 was too rushed, they could have probably spread out everything that was happening so rapidly into another episode or 2. The pace felt "off" and rushed, compared the the previous episodes, but maybe that was due to budget, or being uncertain of being renewed.
From my vague understanding, season 1 was based off a short story: "based on a short story called "Wool" by Hugh Howey, which later expanded into a trilogy of novels titled "Wool," "Shift," and "Dust" that the show is adapted from; essentially, the "Silo" series originated as a single short story"