Charmed by One Murderer, Disgusted by Another

Exhale! He survived...thank god. Through the years, I became quite fond of him. This murderer charmed me, while another we met this week makes me want to snap his neck. Edwin Hall, arrested for Kelsey Smith's killing, just looks like a bad man. I look at his mug shot and I see nothing I can relate to. Tony Soprano, on the other hand, why he's an old friend.

Don't worry, I know Tony Soprano didn't really kill anyone; he's fictional for heaven's sake. Just humor me for a moment. In theory, Tony was likable. His quirks and fallacies, worries and insecurities made him familiar. Is that the difference? Familiarity? I look at Hall's photo and I feel nothing but contempt. I think, how could he have a wife and young child? How could someone like that attract love?


Isn't that a common reaction when we see the faces belonging to those who offend horribly? You say, ugh, how could you live with someone like that? How could you not know? Well, everyone must have someone who relates to them, or to parts of them. I can't imagine being Hall's wife, trying to separate the husband from the murderer. The familiar from the unknown. Perhaps even good from bad.

Of course I have much more sympathy for Kelsey's family than Hall's wife. Just pondering the complexities of the human condition. Depending on your era of choice, wasn't it Manfred Mann or The Divinyls who said it's a fine line between pleasure and pain? A fine line, indeed.
Sopranos