I avoid those kinds of storylines too, but they pop up from time to time in TV series without warning (case in point: it happened in a show I was watching — in around episode 7 of 10 — without any indication until that episode that this character's neglectful dad even existed).

I find that a lot of people in real life push 'forgiveness' and 'closure' because they find the situation in which a person doesn't want to forgive and feels messy emotions uncomfortable to deal with. It's more about their own comfort than concern for the individual.