>IMO the only reason the storytelling here works at ALL is
>thanks to the franchise it's nestled in.

I can't disagree more. With very minor tweaks that would otherwise be necessary, this would easily work as a non-Marvel show. If this were
"Hex" or whatever, sans the MCU baggage, but, say, the same or comparable cast, with the same story, this would be a hit.

It trades on Lost-style high strangeness mystery. It's quirky, but the fact remains, even people that don't like it are still watching, regardless of their criticisms.