See, I disagree on that.
If someone has watched the show from the beginning, and has no other experience with the greater Star Wars universe, then I think that enough was added to the story to keep up the intrigue.
What are the things we have learned from the previous season?
1) This is the way
2) Mandalorians never take their helmets off because of their creed
3) Moff Gideon has an awesome lightsaber that is a different style compared to what everyone is familiar with
For those familiar with Star Wars lore, there are a lot of gaps missing that didn't make sense at the end of season one. We had The Clone Wars and Rebels showing us plenty of Mandalorians with their helmets off, so why this new fascination with helmets that came out of no where? For those unfamiliar with the lore, that is covered by "This is the way."
Now, enter Bo-Katan and her posse, and we find out that not only are there multiple sects of Mandalorians, but that Dinn Djarin is part of a breakaway sect. Yeah, those that know can make the connection that the "Children of the Watch" are the remnants of the Deathwatch, but it's an added layer to Mandalorian society that wasn't explored before.
As for them hunting for the Darksaber, I don't think you give the general populace enough credit. Bo-Katan explains that she was part of the ruling family of Mandalore / was the ruler of Mandalore during the Purge; and that she needs something the Empire took from her to reclaim control of Mandalore. When she's interrogating the guy about the Darksaber, it's clear that a) this is the thing that the Empire took from her, and b) that is clearly the Lightsaber that Gideon has.
We are too early in the season, and possibly even the show, to say that this scene was paying lip service to fans. It set Dinn on a path to bring the child to Ashoka, which is something that likely won't pan out until the end of the season; but it also set up that the Mandalorians are fighting to return to their home and regain control of their planet. This could be the episode that is establishing story arcs for future seasons when they opt to pursue the retaking of Mandalore.
Frankly, when you consider that Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises in existence, it makes sense that they are paying some lip service. Where I see things is that they are acknowledging that not everything is it's own entity. It all folds into the overarching Star Wars umbrella, but the stories are connected within the universe. If you look at Clone Wars and Rebels, they really spent the first season being different branches of a story. When they brought Ashoka and Maul back into the story, it became clear that Rebels was a continuation of the story being told in Clone Wars; just from a different perspective. The same thing is happening here. It's still the story that was told from Clone Wars to Rebels, but now it is being told through the eyes of the Mandalorian(s).