Irrespective of whether you are an MCU fan or not, I think its become a pretty good show on its own. But you'll find it even better if you've seen the movies till last year, especially the Avengers and the Winter soldier. The first 6-7 episodes are OK, not bad not above average. However, they pick it up after that and the ending with the tie in of Winter Soldier made it really good. From 2nd season, it has become good on its own and doesn't need to make use of MCU movies anymore.