I find the snark response more "non sequitur" than the grantparent's comment, which at least makes a point.

(The point of the phrase "It was 12 years ago" being that:

(a) people change with time

(b) we should not hold things people did long ago against them forever

And thus, that a reaction "but he did X bad thing" to the suggestion of bringing Brendan back is not relevant anymore...