Even though I don't agree with the way Dante went about telling everyone that Michael killed Claudia, I can sort of understand his reasons for doing it. After all no one has ever really taught Michael the concept of taking responsibility for his actions. Moreover, the guilt over killing Claudia has been making Michael act out in such self-destructive ways that a life in the mob seemed inevitable. And if Carly and Sonny were really honest with themselves they would realize that Michael has been wanting to confess for months, not just to protect Sonny, but because of all the guilt.
On the other hand I can understand Carly, Sonny, and Jason's impulse to cover up what happened to Claudia because Michael had already lost a year of his life and was still dealing with the repercussions of that when he killed her. And if they had gone to the police at that time it is reasonable to assume that because Michael is Sonny's son someone would have taken the opportunity to make an example out of him, taking even more years off his life.
While everyone may have had Michael's best interests at heart, no one is without blame for his predicament. First of all Sonny should have never been so foolish as to marry Claudia. It blinded him to what she was capable of, so much so that Jason couldn't even convince him that she had a part in Michael's shooting until he found the audio recording of her ordering the hit on Sonny.
Sonny also should never have confronted Claudia in the middle of a crowded room. He knew she wasn't stable and could have easily killed any number of people before Max and Milo had a chance to drag her off. If he handled all of his enemies that way he wouldn't have a business.
Jax and Olivia hid the truth about Claudia for months because of Carly's high risk pregnancy. Well, at least that's why Olivia did it. I still maintain that Jax was just trying to protect Jerry, but if one of them had spoken up sooner, Sonny never would have been able to create a situation that resulted in Claudia taking Carly hostage and trying to steal her baby.
No one should have hidden Michael on the island. I know this was necessary to ensure that the cover-up stayed intact, but with Michael's confession it gives the impression that he acted in malice, not self-defense. For this reason Dante should have known that Michael would probably not receive as light of a punishment as he believed he should. And that should have somehow factored into his decision to turn Michael in. At the very least it should have given him enough pause to handle the situation in a more delicate manner, especially since Michael escaped his custody, making him look even more guilty.
Lulu should have never hidden the fact that Michael escaped Dante's custody, and Dante should not have expected her to. This put her at odds with the rest of her family and served no real purpose. Dante still had the evidence that Michael killed Claudia, but finding him before anyone else was out of his hands at that point. After all Dante never found Michael anyway, Lucky did. And of course Lucky never would have known to look for Michael in the first place if Alexis hadn't called Mac to let him know that Michael was in her living room. I know Alexis is already in a lot of trouble after running over Kiefer, but it wasn't as if she was going to be charged with harboring a fugitive. Michael wasn't planning on staying there and it wasn't like there was an arrest warrant out for him at that time. She could have just looked the other way while Michael left.
Ultimately everyone let Michael down, so there is really no need for anyone to be casting aspersions at anyone else. Michael is a victim of the life he was brought up in and no one can undo the damage he has suffered. And although it might have been risky to let him confess to killing Claudia right after it happened, that presented his best chance at having a normal life. Obviously Michael is not going to be found guilty on the grounds of self-defense. Clearly the judge is making an example out of him given the fact that many of his rights appear to have been violated in securing his confession. This will inevitably make Sonny appear justified for operating outside the law and Dante foolish for believing in it. Moreover, this will effectively villainize Dante for turning Michael in, just in case there are any viewers out there who haven't quite forgiven Sonny for shooting him.
On the other hand I can understand Carly, Sonny, and Jason's impulse to cover up what happened to Claudia because Michael had already lost a year of his life and was still dealing with the repercussions of that when he killed her. And if they had gone to the police at that time it is reasonable to assume that because Michael is Sonny's son someone would have taken the opportunity to make an example out of him, taking even more years off his life.
While everyone may have had Michael's best interests at heart, no one is without blame for his predicament. First of all Sonny should have never been so foolish as to marry Claudia. It blinded him to what she was capable of, so much so that Jason couldn't even convince him that she had a part in Michael's shooting until he found the audio recording of her ordering the hit on Sonny.
Sonny also should never have confronted Claudia in the middle of a crowded room. He knew she wasn't stable and could have easily killed any number of people before Max and Milo had a chance to drag her off. If he handled all of his enemies that way he wouldn't have a business.
Jax and Olivia hid the truth about Claudia for months because of Carly's high risk pregnancy. Well, at least that's why Olivia did it. I still maintain that Jax was just trying to protect Jerry, but if one of them had spoken up sooner, Sonny never would have been able to create a situation that resulted in Claudia taking Carly hostage and trying to steal her baby.
No one should have hidden Michael on the island. I know this was necessary to ensure that the cover-up stayed intact, but with Michael's confession it gives the impression that he acted in malice, not self-defense. For this reason Dante should have known that Michael would probably not receive as light of a punishment as he believed he should. And that should have somehow factored into his decision to turn Michael in. At the very least it should have given him enough pause to handle the situation in a more delicate manner, especially since Michael escaped his custody, making him look even more guilty.
Lulu should have never hidden the fact that Michael escaped Dante's custody, and Dante should not have expected her to. This put her at odds with the rest of her family and served no real purpose. Dante still had the evidence that Michael killed Claudia, but finding him before anyone else was out of his hands at that point. After all Dante never found Michael anyway, Lucky did. And of course Lucky never would have known to look for Michael in the first place if Alexis hadn't called Mac to let him know that Michael was in her living room. I know Alexis is already in a lot of trouble after running over Kiefer, but it wasn't as if she was going to be charged with harboring a fugitive. Michael wasn't planning on staying there and it wasn't like there was an arrest warrant out for him at that time. She could have just looked the other way while Michael left.
Ultimately everyone let Michael down, so there is really no need for anyone to be casting aspersions at anyone else. Michael is a victim of the life he was brought up in and no one can undo the damage he has suffered. And although it might have been risky to let him confess to killing Claudia right after it happened, that presented his best chance at having a normal life. Obviously Michael is not going to be found guilty on the grounds of self-defense. Clearly the judge is making an example out of him given the fact that many of his rights appear to have been violated in securing his confession. This will inevitably make Sonny appear justified for operating outside the law and Dante foolish for believing in it. Moreover, this will effectively villainize Dante for turning Michael in, just in case there are any viewers out there who haven't quite forgiven Sonny for shooting him.
Paula,
ReplyDeleteI could tell by carefully listening to what Michael was saying that he inadvertently described the conditions for manslaughter. It's too bad that it looks like Michael will be doing a little jail time; a competent judge would take the other conditions into effect and realize that Michael needs help, not punishment. Unfortunately, there have numerous examples of this judge running his courtroom like his own private domain so, as we know, it doesn't look like it will end well.
I'm still upset at Carly and if she'd just shut up and look at herself in the mirror, she'd realize she should share in the blame, and stop blaming everybody else.
Peggy