Writer's Fallout Shelter

Exactly. Perfect characters are so tiresome. It's frightening to see a villain we can so easily relate to (even cheer on, at times); it's a little comforting to see a hero who is human and flawed, so that we CAN relate and believe for a time that we, too, have it in us to be heroes.

I'm just cynical enough to disagree with you on the notion that everyone's redeemable (happy thought that it is), but that's what will make our writings different. I'm still a sucker for a happy ending - at least for some of the characters. (I still think Hannibal, the book, was better than the silly movie. They chickened out in the film, and if you've read the novel and seen the film you know what I mean. But the most recent one - that was excellent because it gave you the back story, made you care, and helped you understand WHY you were drawn to the psychopath in the first place. You could almost feel good about that - I mean, he's human, he's been traumatized, he's suffered guilt, he needs to get revenge - we can all understand and sympathize, regardless of whether we agree.)