A lot of people didnt like the exposition in this episode but I thought it was a perfect way to setup the hsow and get all the information out of the way, Keeping track of so many players in this game is not an easy feat to do and I think they did an admirable job so you know who is who and what their motives seem to be. Not everything is quite obvious at first and some hidden motives and ideals will be revealed later on but you have a solid idea of where this is all going. As for Rin, yes shes completely adorable and Cnet is going to love episode 10 so much.
I can see how people might find this episode overwhelming if they weren't already familiar with the Fate series. It's a lot of lore to take in all at once, and a ton of characters to keep track of.
But coming off Fate/stay night, already knowing about the Grail War and the three families and being to a greater or lesser extent already familiar with a number of the major players, it really felt like the perfect introduction. There was a really good balance between elements that were very familiar, elements that had only been lightly touched upon in FSN, and elements that were entirely new. It did a great job of building up a tantalising sense of anticipation for the main event.