I loved the first season. What was not to love? Guillermo del Toro was giving us a vampire lord devouring a plane full of people, a CDC crew investigating viruses, Nazi vampires…It had a feel like it was the bastard lovechild of The Andromeda Strain, Dawn of the Dead and Blade (Granted, that feeling didn’t last very long).
It featured some of the old vampire lore we all know so well, but with just the right amount of twists and changes to keep us intrigued and interested. Parasitic worms and crazy feeding tubes gave vampirism a delicious twist and the scene where Gabriel Bolivar’s junk drops off into the toilet will always make me cringe. The acting and casting were good and the plot seemed strong, with Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durant) easily my favorite character with his cheesy grin and snarky wit. The pace was good and we were quickly heading towards a glorious, vampiric apocalypse.
So what went wrong? We are half way through the second season and the show seems to be limping along. We keep getting more sub-plots and weird twists that just seem incredibly unnecessary. Vampire militias serving elder ones, Setrakian’s eyeball wormjuice addiction. Kelly Goodweather and her bizarre sensory vamplings, Gus’ pointless romance….The list goes on and on. I’d even forgotten that Roger R. Cross (Reggie Fitzwilliam) was even in the show.
I want to believe. I want it to start surprising me in a good way again. I want to be thrilled and entertained. At the moment though, it just seems to be a strain.
