Michael deserved better
He genuinely wanted to be legitimate and make up for everything. He got tricked by the Vatican people into this deal.
shareThat's arguable and controversial, if you see and look at his past and what he did. All the wrongs he committed, maybe he deserved to die alone and miserably with nobody. Maybe he deserved to lose his wife and daughter as a price for all the murders he ordered. Very controversial
shareIn the dog-eat-dog world of gangsters (which he never wanted to be a part of) you have to kill to survive, and protect your family. What would you have done in his position?
The only time he goes too far is killing Fredo, but even that was justifiable given Fredo’s involvement in a hit on him and his family. If you had a sibling who was involved in a plot to kill you, your spouse and your kids, how would you react?
Why does Michael get all the grief and not any of the truly villainous characters in the series? There are plenty of slimy Dons and psychotic thugs who are surely far more deserving of Kay’s endless finger-wagging and shaming sessions.