Not an excuse, because it's still just bad writing and OOC, but it goes back to watching an action hero get stabbed 27 times and not flinching, but wincing when they walk on broken glass barefoot. The player cannot imagine interacting with violent murderers in that capacity, as viewers have no 'that time I got violently stabbed over and over' tab in their memories to reference, but they are familiar with people who smoke and drink and have lectures ready, just as they're familiar with stepping on pointy things.