Unpopular opinion, but I actually feel really sorry for Sarah.
Yes, she gets enraged and slips into blaccent so its easy to hate her, but Michael LOVES to gaslight her and push her buttons.
I've seen times where she kinda wants to disengage and leave, and he will just follow her around and needle her and needle her until she blows up.
That argument enraged me. Michael is somehow arguing a) that he is a good father when he doesn't even know what his children are named, hasn't bothered to financially support them or live in the same state as them and b) that Sarah is at fault for painting him out to be a bad father when the reason he is a shitty father who doesn't spend time with his kids is her and c) that he has really done the "best he can" and that d) he deserves all sorts of respect from her and should be immediately granted access to his kids no matter what he has done to her or how long he has abandoned them.
I disagree with him on all counts. Yeah, her kids are going to suffer not having a father figure in their lives, but they are going to suffer as much, if not more, by having an inconsistent father figure who treats their mother like shit. What is that going to teach his daughters?
I would be outraged if I were Sarah, and I were raising those kids alone and Michael tried to paint himself as a good or equal parent. She may not be the best parent, but she is the ONLY parent as far as I'm concerned. Sarah is right, Michael traipses about, shows up whenever he feels like it, contributes nothing, demands to see his kids, calls them generic nicknames and takes off again. He isnt a good dad....hell, he wouldn't even qualify as a good babysitter.
But, he just pushes and pushes and pushes. I think she is wants to disengage, she just doesn't know how, because his arguments are such bullshit and he is so insulting and outrageous.
Those poor little girls. The best thing Michael can do is just leave. Sarah wouldn't get her hopes up just to have them crushed, and then she wouldn't take out that disappointment on her children. Her kids wouldn't see her in these rages.
He must have a soul that looks like a funhouse mirror if he can delude himself into thinking that any of this makes him look like a good father.