I love this - thank you so much for this! - you think about the same issues I do, yet you offer a fresh and compelling response. I.e.,

RATHER than attempting to forgive someone for malice or harmful actions done out of apathy who hasn’t really done anything to earn forgiveness...
hold them accountable for their actions every step of the way.

You nail it, with your thoughs on the fictional Dove:

On one hand my lizard brain was telling me to try and make Dove more sympathetic so that she could be absolved of her crimes and finally commit to being a good person. On the other hand reasoning and lived experiences tells me that most people don’t actually change like that...

You remind me of Darth Vader, the classic example of going from the Dark Side to the good side. Only in fiction, right? Or in the New Testament, Saul the killer of Christians becoming the #1 missionary winning converts to Christianity....we have his letters (Epistles), so he must have been real. The part about being blinded by the light and falling off his high horse, maybe an embellishment, but effective, either way.

#Redemption, the big theme of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment."

As a cynic, I figure we are sanctified by death - dying is the only way to rid the world of evil. But then you hear of the Sins of the Fathers and sin that lasts and lasts, through the generations. Original sin, and legacy of sin, and evil imprinted in our lizard brains... well, I could go on all day, but suffice to say, this post is stellar, and worthy of many Resteems and Comments. :)