I think I read that it definitely takes place after the blip but that the first four (at least) episodes don't really reference the MCU much. But that's based off screeners people were sent, I don't think anyone has seen the final two episodes to comment on them.
Second episode was good, but I do have a few little issues
1) I don't like what they did the Mr. Knight persona. I was never a big fan of Mr. Knight in the comics, so it didn't bug me too much, but Mr. Knight isn't an altar ego, it's still Mark, but he's just playing more of a detective/cop role instead. Making it Steven in a suit was a bit silly, but I can easily get past that.
2) The fight against the invisible Jackel thing felt just a bit more silly than it should've been.
But overall, it's a really fantastic show so far.
Does anyone have any idea what accent Layla is going for? It felt like it was a weird mix of American and Irish, but then I looked at the actress is Egyptian/Palestinian and studied in America. So is she putting on a partial Irish accent? Felt odd.