I'm worried about where this is all going.
First, a caveat: I have not read any of the books, nor any on-line commentary. I'm trying to allow this show to be it's 'own animal', as it were.
I thought the first season held promise. There were issues, to be sure, but not any deal-breakers. This second season, however, is about to lose me.
Aside from the fact that no one outside of New York is remotely concerned with the 'plague' that's spreading like wildfire, no one INSIDE of the city seems to be aware, let alone concerned. As others have said, this is patently ridiculous.
I'm troubled by how our main characters are responding to the storyline. Eph was a dick to begin with, but has not changed in the face of danger, which should have morphed him into a likeable, if still flawed, lead character. He's still a dick, and now a drunk one, at that. Nora, his love interest, has the acting chops of Charo. Both kids are horrible, but in different ways. Vasily and his sexually confused girlfriend decide to go skinny-dipping, leaving weapons over 20 yards away in an impossible-to-secure open area. (remember, he broke the door's plexiglass, AND the master should've known where they were before they cleaned house, and sent more disposable vamps to kill them) Eldritch's smarmy attitude makes me want to slap him, and the new reveal of how long he's been in the game says to me that he can't possibly be underestimating the Master and Eichorst the way he's being portrayed. There had better be a strong character twist soon. Speaking of Eichorst, (and Setrakian) they're the only characters worth watching, especially during flashbacks. Gus is cool, too, in spite of the stereotypes he fights against. I am holding out new-found hope for the Kelly Goodwin character. She's making a solid comeback so far.
Don't get me talking on the ESU vamps not having the common sense to zip their frigging hoodies up..... or the lead ESU vamp being able to hold a conversation with Gus while he was cooking. As others have said: This. Is. Stoopid.
A roof assault in the middle of the night would've made more sense than that elevator G.I.Joe crap. Why bother spraying the camera AFTER you punch the guard? Speaking of the security, why decide to follow Gus via camera, then somehow MISS his punching the guard?
Finding these plotholes is like throwing rocks in the ocean.....
Regarding Granpa Setrakian discovering what part of the vampire plasma would extend life, I choose to take the most obvious route: I'll just assume that he watched what the Master did for Palmer, but with another person. It's the only logical thing I can come up with, plus Setrakian referenced killing one of Eichorst's cronies back in episode one or two of the first season.
Yeah, it's a wild guess, but it's all I got.