of course the problem with "redemption arcs" is that "redemption" is a pure construct of the narrative. It's a conceit of the story where a "bad guy" gets to join the "good guys" and be a part of their group, or narratively be allowed to move past their crimes. The discourse around it is consistently shallow because it prioritizes the feelings of the audience as paramount - a redemption arc is "bad" when the person watching it feels unconvinced and unfulfilled and "good" when they like and appreciate the character and feel that they "faced up" to their crimes, whatever that means. Cater to the feelings and preoccupations of the audience or face scorn and accusations of Bad Writing! Force the shallow narrative conceit upon your characters!
Because of course in real life redemption does not exist. It's made up and relies on an outside force (God, the author, the audience). You cannot "make up" for what you have done. It's always there. Most people who improve themselves don't apologize and make everything right, they just move on and stop doing shitty things and enter a new environment. In many ways people complaining about "redemption arcs" are simply mad that this is the case.
