Interesting way to look at it - I actually would envy someone watching Rings of Power with no prior LotR knowledge, because you could watch it for itself without having so many "OMG I know who that is!" moments. I really enjoy the show and can't wait for more, and I think someone can enjoy it without other Middle-Earth knowledge.

It works well enough on its own, but you have to give it a little grace in s1, because it's a lot of worldbuilding and character set up. Very tolkienish, but not great if you're not willing to be patient (which I think is a factor in the online hate for the show).

There are a lot of people that seem to be watching it as it's own thing. And then going back and learning all of the legendarium stuff and it seems to work whether you watch it first or you, like me, were raised on LOTR. Yes, there are things that a long term Tolkien fan knows that are... contradicted, ignored or glossed over for the show but ultimately I think for what they were trying to accomplish they're doing well. And because of the changes, it's more accessible to the non-Tolkienite