Apparently, writers/showrunners believe that characters making bad decisions are critical elements to entertaining us. A series of ads make fun of this (threatened teens avoid the empty running car to hide behind rows of hanging chainsaws). This device of protagonists poor judgment has reached ludicrous proportions. In “serious dramas,” characters make incredibly stupid decisions to set up tragic events. An armed character confronts a psychologically disturbed person with a history of violence against loved ones who has broken into their home. Two in the center mass and call the cops? No, escort the psycho out of the house at gun point so the s/he remains free to commit violence against others. Of course! You’ve just won a terrible fight with someone intent upon your family’s destruction in which your knee was damaged by a hammer wielded by the attacker. Seek medical attention and report to the authorities so that they detain your attacker? No! Leave the defeated antagonist free and hobble over to coil rope at a boat slip so that the antagonist can recover enough to stab you to death on the dock. Ad infinitum. It’s wearisome.
