I dont see anyone else within the charah fandom talking about this but what are your thoughts on the michael situation? i think its sad for michael obviously but no one is talking about how brutal sarah was an i dont think she intended to be it just happened and thats what made it even funnier. anytime they were on a date she would mention charlie but what gets me is the dog situation her telling him she thinks getting s dog is too big of a step when their not sure were things are headed like girl how is a dog a bigger commitment than telling your coworker you like him then michael tells her its hard adujsuting to a work relatioship and all she says is "well get there" girl what not to mention she broke up with him and met charlie at signal hill the same day. sorry for the long post but i didnt see anyone talking about sarah's unhinged brutality towrads michael no complaits but i wanted to know your thoughts on that situation ?
Hi, thanks for the ask!
I do think that Sarah did treat Michael a bit unfairly, and her going directly from Michael to Charlie, generally isn't a good look. However, I do think it's important to remember that Michael was brought on as a mere plot device (a very common trope when the writers don't have a justifiable reason to keep two characters apart anymore). And he wasn't meant to be anything more, alas their relationship was never going to last for that reason.
But inside the story-verse, it wasn't going to last in the long run, for the simple fact that a relationship doesn't work when the people in it aren't on the same page. And especially not when one person is already in love with someone else.
By season 4, Charlie and Sarah had been dancing around their feelings for each other for a while already, and while it's hard to know where Sarah's head were at (because we don't get to see her POV since she's not the protagonist), I think she wanted to try and give Michael an honest chance. Because she didn't think Charlie would come around, or was even sure he felt anything for her (because the loving fool couldn't find the words to tell her soon enough). And because she had to try and move on, she couldn't just wait around for Charlie to get his shit together forever... However, the moment Charlie finally confessed, the decision was easy for her and she dropped Michael like a hot potato lol.
Now (just like you mentioned) I don't think Sarah intentionally meant to use Michael or mislead him, but from the get go, it's pretty clear that he was more into her than she was into him (she barley talked about him, didn't introduce her to her coworkers, she answered Charlie's call in the middled of their date etc). He also went farther ahead than she did in imagining a future together and was ready to take steps she wasn't. And I think him springing the idea of adopting a dog together, after such a short time, was a bit of much, considering they'd only been together a few months, and getting a dog is a huge commitment. Sarah was right to be hesitant about that.
Also, Michael saying "when you know, you know" (or something along those lines) in that scene in the bullpen, is kind of ironic. Because Sarah said the same thing to Charlie in S02E12, and while Michael thought he had that with her, Sarah instead realized Charlie was the one for her.
Realistically though, she should have been kind of angry at Charlie for not telling her he had feelings for her before she was in a relationship with someone else. But since they didn't show what happened on Signal Hill, we don't know how their talk went or how it led to them getting together (I have ideas for that scene in my head, but I've yet to write them).
Ultimately, I think Michael and Sarah just weren't compatible and was just wasn't going to work (for the reasons I mentioned above). I mean, the fact that Sarah dropped him so quickly, is a good indicator that she can't have been that sure about Michael to begin with, or she would've been more conflicted in her choice.
As for the episode where Michael admits it's been hard for him to move on to a professional relationship, and Sarah says "we'll get there", I don't think she intended to be dismissive. But at that point it had been a couple of months since they broke up, and while it might have been harder for Michael to process it; Sarah had already fully moved on and was happy with Charlie.