Payback?

We learned in Rabbi Sarna's article a unique approach to Yaakov's morally ambiguous actions regarding the Bechora. Instead of justifying Yaakov's actions in order to make it seem like Yaakov did nothing wrong, Rabbi Sarna explains that Yaakov in fact did not do the right thing and was punished for the rest of his life because of his deceit with Esev and with his father when he tricked him into giving him the Bechora. Although I really liked this article because it seems more realistic to me and does not try to stretch the events of the words of the Torah, it is a little concerning. Yaakov was punished for the rest of his life because of these actions he did when he was younger. First, he is forced to work 7 years for Lavan in order to marry his daughter. But he is tricked at his wedding by his soon to be father-in-law and has to work another 7 years. His favorite wife died during childbirth, he was tricked into thinking he lost his favorite child, and then he suffered again when he almost lost Binyamin (I guess his second favorite child?) All in all, he did not have the best luck. But is it fair to say that this was midah ceneged midah? Or is it just a form of payback? Is Yaakov tricked by Lavan because of the way he tricked his own father? Although we have learned about the concept of midah caneged midah many times since we were little, it seems to me like it is a bit unfair. Furthermore, did Yaakov ever try to do teshuvah or even recognize that he was wrong in tricking his father and taking advantage of his brother? There are so many questions we can ask about the morally ambiguous actions of Yaakov when dealing with his father and brother. This part of Bereishit is truly baffling!