LANCEL LANNISTER’S IDENTITY ARC

[INCBlackbird]

Author’s note: I’m aware I’m making a lot of assumptions in this essay, mainly because we have very little information on Lancel’s psyche to base this on. But I tried to make assumptions that are as accurate as possible according to both his experiences and his behavior.

Lancel is a minor character but he’s got his own little arc, and like many other characters in the ‘a song of ice and fire’ books, it’s very focused on the formation of his identity. Lancel is the oldest son of Ser Kevan Lannister. He has two brothers, Martyn and Willem, and a sister, Janei. But most of his interactions are with his cousins Jaime, Tyrion and Cersei. Sansa Stark also plays an important role in his arc, and he in hers.

A short description of Lancels arc:

We are first introduced to Lancel as the 15 year old squire to King Robert Baratheon, who appears to consider squires to be more a source of amusement than people who are supposed to learn from him. After the king’s death he enters a sexual relationship with his cousin Cersei and becomes entangled in a manipulative game between Cersei and her brother Tyrion, neither party caring about possible consequences to Lancels wellbeing. It is only after getting wounded during the battle of Blackwater that Lancel starts to see the truth behind his family situation, his recovery is a hard one as the physical pain intertwines with the emotional pain. He grows from it but there are lasting effects: in an attempt to let go of his family, he focusses on the religion of the Seven to draw strength and support and find a substitute family there.

The king’s Squire

Lancel’s childhood:

We know practically nothing about Lancel’s childhood but based on what we know about Kevan and his relationship with his son, I think it’s safe to assume that it was rather average. Kevan doesn’t appear to be much of an ambitious man, he’s comfortable living in his brother’s shadow so he probably wouldn’t be as demanding as his brother is of his children. I imagine him to have nothing more than the general expectations (general in the world they live in) for his children. In addiction Lancel probably grew up noticing how his father lived in the shadow of his older brother while also hearing his father praise Tywin relentlessly. As a child this would be what he was used to so he would take the appreciation for Tywin for granted. This could be one of the reasons Lancel focused his attention on his own idol: Jaime. And he does develop a desire to step out of his shadow.

Learned helplessness:

In our very first introduction to Lancel we learn that Cersei has demanded of King Robert Baratheon to take 15 year old Lancel and his cousin Tyrek on as his personal squires. An honor, one would think. But unfortunately the king enjoys bullying his squires to the point of tears.

“They found Robert drinking beer from a polished horn and roaring his displeasure at two young squires who were trying to buckle him into his armor. ‘Your Grace,’ one was saying, almost in tears, ‘it’s made too small, it won’t go.’ He fumbled, and the gorget he was trying to fit around Robert’s thick neck tumbled to the ground. ‘Seven hells!’ Robert swore. ‘Do I have to do it myself? Piss on the both of you. Pick it up. Don’t just stand there gaping, Lancel, pick it up!’ The lad jumped, and the king noticed his company. ‘Look at these oafs, Ned. My wife insisted I take these two to squire for me, and they’re worse than useless. Can’t even put a man’s armor on him properly. Squires, they say. I say they’re swineherds dressed up in silk.’ Ned only needed a glance to understand the difficulty. ‘The boys are not at fault,’ he told the king. ‘You’re too fat for your armor, Robert.’ Robert Baratheon took a long swallow of beer, tossed the empty horn onto his sleeping furs, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and said darkly, ‘Fat? Fat, is it? Is that how you speak to your king?’ He let go his laughter, sudden as a storm. ‘Ah, damn you, Ned, why are you always right?’ The squires smiled nervously until the king turned on them. ‘You. Yes, both of you. You heard the Hand. The king is too fat for his armor. Go find Ser Aron Santagar. Tell him I need the breastplate stretcher. Now! What are you waiting for?’ The boys tripped over each other in their haste to be quit of the tent. Robert managed to keep a stern face until they were gone. Then he dropped back into a chair, shaking with laughter.”

It’s safe to assume that Lancel had to deal with this kind of demeanor on a regular basis. Robert took out his frustration on him and his cousin. Even when it wasn’t their fault, they were his punching bag and at the same time a source of amusement for him. And Robert shows complete disregard of how much he is hurting them. Bullying can have severe effects on one’s self esteem. Being the repetitive target of verbal and/or physical abuse damages your ability to view yourself as a desirable, capable and effective individual.

Being bullied teaches you that you are unsatisfactory, that you have failed in being a competent individual. In addition it leads you to believe that you are not safe in the world, and (when it is dished out by forces that are superior to yourself) that you are relatively powerless to defend yourself. When you are forced, again and again, to contemplate your relative lack of control over the bullying process, you are being set up for Learned Helplessness (when you come to believe that you can't do anything to change your situation even if that isn't true).

You are also learning how you are seen by bullies, which is to say, you are learning that you are seen by others as weak, pathetic, and a loser. And, by virtue of the way that self-conciousness tends to work, you are being set up to believe that these things the bullies are saying about you are true.

Identity is a social process. Other people contribute to it. Particularly when people are young and have not yet survived a few of life's trials, it is difficult for people to know who they are and what they are made of. Much of what passes for identity in young people (and in older, too) is actually a kind of other-confidence, which is to say that many people's self-confidence is continually shored up by those around them telling them in both overt and subtle ways that they are good, worthy people. It takes an exceptionally confident (or otherwise well-supported) person to not internalize bullies' negative messages and begin bullying themselves by holding themselves to the same standards that bullies are applying to them and finding themselves a failure. In other words, it is rather easy for bullying victims to note that they have been beaten up and then to start thinking of themselves as weak, no-good, worthless, pathetic, and incompetent.

And according to what we see of Lancel Robert’s bullying certainly did have such an effect on him. Robert stated, in his presence, that he is “useless”. And then proceeded to prove exactly how useless, incompetent and naïve Lancel really is by sending him to get a “breastplate stretcher” and Robert finds it very amusing to let him find out on his own that such a thing doesn’t exist and let him think about how he’s totally fallen for the joke and now Robert is laughing about it with his friends. “The king had told everyone the tale that night at the feast, laughing until he shook.“ By the end of it, Lancel must have been convinced that he was exactly what Robert said he was and any self-confidence he ever had went down the drain.

Lancel and Jaime:

In addition to the bullying damaging Lancel’s self-confidence, he has the romantic image of Jaime’s shadow hanging over him. Much like his father looks up to Tywin, Lancel is in awe of Jaime and aspires to be like him. It’s only natural that Lancel would want to be like his successful older cousin. And let’s not forget that he was a naïve 15 year old who, much like Sansa, strongly romanticized the world he lived in and the people around him. Jaime was the knight in shining armor and Lancel only saw the positive sides of this, which were strongly encouraged by his father’s own source of admiration. To children this age, especially children who haven’t known a lot of hardship, the world is a fairy tale. Lancel wouldn’t have considered the traumas Jaime has endured, he probably wouldn’t see how bitter Jaime has become due to those traumas either. All he saw was the glory. And he wanted to be just like him, a person who deserves to be admired (according to his romanticized view…)

The fact that Lancel physically resembles Jaime only adds to this. “Look at him. Not quite so tall, his features not so fine, and his hair is sand instead of spun gold, yet still … even a poor copy of Jaime is sweeter than an empty bed, I suppose.” (Tyrion VII, ACOK) but also that, at the age of 15 Jaime had won a tourney, fought against the Kingswood Brotherhood, was knighted for heroics, and was soon to be part of the elite Kingsguard. In contrast to his cousin, Lancel is only the cowering squire of Robert Baratheon, jumping at his commands. This is just more proof that that nagging little inner voice that tells Lancel how much of a loser he is, is completely right. And later on, in AFFC when Lancel is doing some self-reflecting, he openly admits to all this to Jaime. “Lancel shuddered. ‘Seven save me, but I wanted to be you.’” In many ways Lancel threads in his cousin’s footsteps:

Lancel begins an affair with Cersei for several reasons: she manipulates him by playing into his insecurities (but more on that later) but it was probably also a way for Lancel to feel like he could be Jaime, if she loves both him and Jaime (which he thought she did) then he could tell himself that meant they were worth just as much. “’Did you force her?’ ‘No! I loved her. I wanted to protect her.’ You wanted to be me.”

Jaime is known as the kingslayer, on account of his murder of Aerys “the mad king” Targaryan. Lancel is also responsible for the death of his king. Prompted by Cersei he gives the king strong wine during his hunting trip, and while drunk he is attacked by a boar he failed to kill.

These are two of the most important aspects of Jaime’s character, his love for Cersei and the murder of Aerys, and they define who he is now. And it’s these specifically these two things that Lancel replicates, intentionally or not. It’s however important to note though, that these acts are still overshadowed by his older cousin. Jaime stabbed Aerys to death, while Lancel’s part in Robert’s death was giving him the wine, the boar did the rest. (“The brave man slays with a sword, the craven with a wineskin. We are both kingslayers, ser.” – Lancel to Jaime) Lancel and Cersei did have sex and Lancel believed they had a bond, but Cersei certainly didn’t. She didn’t care for him one bit. While her relationship with Jaime was messed up it was certainly a deep bond she very strongly believed in. and I’m sure that on some level Lancel knew Cersei didn’t really care for him, but he liked to believe she did.

Superiority complex:

Superiority complex is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person's feelings of superiority counter or conceal his or her feelings of inferiority. In the case of superiority complex, the individual would deny any feelings of inferiority, any attempt to uncover it would likely be met with resistance, or violence.

Now that Lancel is no longer bound to do the king’s bidding and has gained a higher position there is room for him to make a name for himself. But Robert’s treatment has done a number on him. He suffers from some serious confidence issues and as a counter reaction Lancel creates a superiority complex. It’s especially obvious in his conversations with Tyrion. He acts arrogantly but ultimately his feigned confidence is very fragile.

“Knighthood had made the boy bolder, Tyrion reflected-that, and the sorry part he had played in murdering King Robert.”

Lancel’s responsibility in Robert’s death was a source of power he could draw on to feel in control again. But ultimately if Lancel needs such a source that means this feeling of control is unstable, it is not there unless he forces the feeling on himself by reflecting back to that moment and telling himself “see, I AM in control. Now believe it”:

“A hint of a sneer played about the lad’s lips; he was enjoying this.”

Yes, Lancel is indeed enjoying this. He’s enjoying feeling powerful because it makes him feel good about himself and it feeds his confidence. But Tyrion only has to threaten Lancel to take him down a peg. Because by threatening him, Tyrion is easily taking away that power and his nerves crumble. Because he has no real confidence to support his display of arrogance.

“The defiance went from Lancel all at once. The young knight fell to his knees a frightened boy. ‘Mercy, my lord, I beg you.’”

On top of the inferiority complex Lancel has also come to assume that people are laughing at him.

Lancel is apparently a good singer, but being told by Tyrion that he has a good voice made him “sulky”. Tyrion thinks that perhaps he thought he was being mocked. Which is probably true. It wouldn’t be above Tyrion to mock his cousin. But It’s more than that, when you have been ridiculed multiple times over, it becomes a natural thing to assume people are doing so again.

And now that Robert is gone and Lancel became a knight he thought that perhaps people wouldn’t laugh at him anymore but instead treat him with respect. Tyrion has just proven this is not the case, Lancel’s improved position has changed nothing and all the confidence he thought he had gained is taken away in an instant.

Knight aka the queen’s pawn

As a result of Lancel’s relationship with Cercei, he gets caught up in the fight between her and Tyrion. Both of them use him as nothing but a tool, not caring how the situation will end for Lancel.

Lancel and Cersei

Cersei Lannister: narcissistic manipulator

Before going into Lancel’s relationship with his cousin, it’s important to understand what kind of person Cersei is. And what she is, is an unprincipled narcissist. Unprincipled narcissists are skilled in the ways of social influence but have few internalized moral prohibitions. Due to a lack of empathy they are indifferent to the welfare of others and have no problem sacrificing them for their own personal gain. They are amoral, deceptive, disloyal, exploitive and dominant.

In many ways Cersei is like a child. Children are narcissistic because they haven’t developed enough empathy yet to realize that other people have emotions and a personality just like them. The world revolves around them and them alone, everyone else is just a cardboard figure in their world, and their only purpose is how they can contribute to the narcissists’ life. Children outgrow this phase when they develop empathy but narcissists got stuck and never developed these much needed skills.

When looking at Cersei she clearly is one of those people who’s never outgrown this particular phase. She considers the people around her pretty much like tools, furthermore she sees them in black and white. Either they are completely perfect and indestructible or they are a dangerous nuisance that should be destroyed at all cost. To give two examples of this line of thinking:

Tywin: “If Tywin Lannister was truly dead, no one was safe... least of all her son upon his throne. When the lion falls the lesser beasts move in: the jackals and the vultures and the feral dogs. They would try to push her aside, as they always had.”

She’s built her father up to be this perfect, invincible man. Which is how little kids often feel about their parents. They’re there to protect them, to keep them safe, as long as the parents are their nothing can hurt them, as if they are some indestructible force.

Tyrion: “Cersei closed her eyes, and saw the dwarf grinning at her. No, she thought, no, I was almost rid of you. But his fingers had closed around her neck, and she could feel them beginning to tighten.”

Tyrion on the other hand is the monster in the dark who’s out to get her.

In Cersei’s mind both of these people, are simply flat characters in the story that is her life. Despite them being her family, she’s been around them for years and years, she lacks the ability to think of them as real people.

And when it comes to Lancel, he is nothing more but a tool to Cersei. She doesn’t feel anything towards him like she does with Tywin and Tyrion, all she cares about is how she can use him to her own advantage.

Lancel’s vulnerability (manipulating Lancel)

Lancel’s lack of self-confidence has made him very vulnerable to manipulation because he is desperate for any kind of love/appreciation to restore it. Cersei gives him this appreciation, but tragically as we all know it’s just a manipulation trick and in the long run this only damages Lancel’s self-image more.

Cersei definitely had Lancel under her control. It appears he’s quite the sappy romantic, Cersei often reflects how he professed his love to her. He also acts upon her every wish “Cersei gave a curt nod, and Ser Lancel unsheathed his sword.” And he even anticipates what she desires. When Tyrion openly insults Joffrey after the riot, Lancel “needs to be restrained.” Because he knew Cersei would want Tyrion punished for daring to “attack” her son.

Lancel probably wanted to be fooled, it was simply easier for him to believe someone loved him. He’s young, naïve and has a blurry sense of identity. The idea that Cercei loved him is very appealing. Especially because it brings him one step closer to being Jaime.

And Cersei’s abilities as a manipulator cannot be underestimated. Since she lacks empathy she is ruthless. Tyrion is convinced she’ll have Lancel killed before the end of the year. She hides her intensions well and is aware of Lancel’s weaknesses (it’s not like he’s doing a very good job at hiding them). Tyrion often remarks how she was “charming” Lancel or laughing at a joke he made, which is exactly what Lancel would like, it would make him believe he is valued, he is funny, he is loved. She has him wrapped around her finger and when Lancel finally realizes this, it has a pretty big impact on him.

To compare the different ways Lancel behaves:

With Tyrion

When he is with Tyrion, Lancel acts arrogant and attempts to put Tyrion down as much as possible (a behavior he probably learned from Cersei and is also a way to please her, even when she’s not there) though, of course this changes when Tyrion starts blackmailing him. Then Lancel turns into a begging mess, truly scared of the consequences of his actions. Consequences he hadn’t anticipated Tyrion until pointed them out.

With Cersei

When Lancel is with Cersei, he is constantly focused on what she wants, anticipating her every need. All he really wants it to please her so he can continue to feel valued.

Pious Lancel

Things change after Lancel gets severely wounded during the battle of Blackwater. He goes through a long and particularly hard recovery. And with nothing but time to think about his life, his choices and his relationship with his family the physical illness starts to intermingle with mental illness. His history of being bullied increase the possibility of getting depressed because of the previous discussed issues it caused, add to that his realization that Cersei was actually just using him (although his denial about that remains) which can easily lead to more thoughts of being useless and unloved. And then there’s also all the things he did to initially “keep” Cersei’s love: killing the king, his behavior towards Sansa… all of this leads to a pretty serious depression and by the end of it he looks like an old man. Eventually Lancel only wants to repent for his sins and belong to a community. He finds all this in the Faith of the Seven.

Lancel and Sansa: mercy and redemption

Sansa is an important part of Lancel’s character development. The first time Sansa spares him a thought is when he is doing Joffrey’s bidding in humiliating her in front of an entire court.

“Sansa had always thought Lancel Lannister comely and well spoken, but there was neither pity nor kindness in the look he gave her.”

There is one thing that Lancel and Sansa have in common: youthful idealism. But both of them had it crushed in a very different way: Sansa became a prisoner in King’s Landing and Joffrey who was meant to be her knight in shining amour ends up being her tormentor. Whereas Lancel who was supposed to be a knight in shining amour (like Jaime) ends up being a “cowardly” kingslayer, liar and Cersei’s pawn. She drags him into the world of deceit. But Lancel thinks that he can be Cersei’s knight in shining amour and therefor has to protect her (do everything she says/wants him to do) and by the time he notices that it’s all one big manipulative lie, he’s in way over his head. It’s rather ironic that in this moment Lancel in his youthful idealism is trying to be this knight in shining amour but ends up being the exact opposite and it is none other than Sansa who helps him realize this.

Battle of blackwater: Sansa vs Cersei

The battle of Blackwater is a very important event in Lancel’s arc. In Lancel’s youthful black and white mind Sansa is the enemy, and Cersei is the woman who loves him. But in such a state of desperation it’s easier to lose control and when Lancel gets wounded during the Battle of Blackwater Sansa and Cersei’s treatment of him show their true colors.

• Cersei:
  

When Cersei demands Lancel to bring Joffrey inside he promptly refuses.

“’Bring him inside Maegor’s now’ ‘No!’ Lancel was so angry he forgot to keep his voice down. Heads turned toward them as he shouted, ‘We’ll have the Mud Gate all over again. Let him stay where he is, he’s the king-‘ ‘He’s my son.’ Cersei Lannister rose to her feet. ‘You claim to be a Lannister as well, cousin, prove it.’”

This is the first time Lancel disobeys Cercei, he even gets angry at her.

“’Cersei,’ Ser Lancel pleaded, ‘if we lose the castle, Joffrey will be killed in any case, you know that. Let him stay, I’ll keep him by me, I swear-‘ ‘Get out of my way.’ Cersei slammed her open palm into his wound. Ser Lancel cried out in pain and almost fainted as the queen swept from the room.”

In this moment Cersei shows Lancel how cruel she can be, and how little she cares about him. She could have killed him and cares nothing for his pain because he’s no longer doing her bidding. It’s undeniable, even to Lancel, that he is nothing but a pawn to her.

• Sansa:
  

“Sansa went to Ser Lancel and knelt beside him. His wound was bleeding afresh where the queen had struck him. ‘Madness,’ he gasped. ‘Gods, the Imp was right, was right...’ ‘Help him,’ Sansa commanded two of the serving men. One just looked at her and ran, flagon and all. Other servants were leaving the hall as well, but she could not help that. Together, Sansa and the serving man got the wounded knight back on his feet. ‘Take him to Maester Frenken.’ Lancel was one of them, yet somehow she still could not bring herself to wish him dead.”

Sansa has no reason to help Lancel, and yet she showed him mercy (and possibly saved his life). And instantly, Lancel’s youthful black and white way of looking at the world (enemy vs ally) is shattered.

And it is through this event that Lancel realizes that humanity is more complex than the lies he’s been spoon-fed by his family. And it is a difficult realization to bear, also because recovering from his wounds takes exceptionally long: in addition to the purely physical wounds, Lancel is now dealing with emotional wounds.

Depression

Considering the length of Lancel’s recovery after Blackwater and the way he looks after finally getting out of bed, I am inclined to believe Lancel suffered from depression. This is unsurprising with his history of bullying and the abrupt realization of Cersei’s betrayal.

After the death of his son Willem and with Martyn only recently released from his captivity by Robb Stark, Kevan focusses all his attention of his wounded son, insisting that “Lancel needs his help”. During Lancel’s recovery Kevan can be found at his son’s bed side almost 24/7 caring for him.

Lancel seems to completely turn around his attitude, telling his father about how bravely Tyrion fought. Quite a change from the way he used to mock Tyrion on account of Cersei. Blackwater brought on an abrupt change in Lancel. He went from being a naïve kid completely under the influence of his older cousin to a young man who realized that the world is cruel and the people who can use him probably will. At least, that’s what he thinks he has become. And to some extend this is probably true. Blackwater made him realize that Cersei never cared for him and suddenly he’s free of her influence, he wants to better himself and becomes honest. Tyrion was fighting while he didn’t have to and despite what Tyrion’s done to him, Lancel admires his courage so he will be honest about it and not refuse to admire him out of bitterness, like Cersei does and like he used to do to please her.

All of this is hard to take in though. Lancel had based all his choices upon the idea that his family would admire him, that his father would be proud, that Cersei loved him. And in an instant all of this is taken away and he’s got a ton of guilt from the past choices that he already caries. Lancel wants to better himself, but for a while there he probably didn’t know where to even start on that.

Lancel’s depression makes his recovery really difficult and when Tyrion asks Kevan whether or not Lancel is fit for marriage, Kevan responds with: “If we bring the girl to his bedside, he could say the words... but to consummate, no...” Quickly the rumor that Lancel can’t get it up anymore spreads.

Sansa remarks how, when Kevan finally brings his son down in public “the first time he’d left his sickbed since the battle. He looks ghastly. Lancel’s hair had turned white and brittle, and he was thin as a stick. Without his father beside him holding him up, he would surely have collapsed. ” Even after he’s stronger, the months of recovery clearly had an everlasting effect on poor Lancel.

When Lancel is strong enough Kevan arranges for him to marry Amerei Frey (daughter of Merret Frey and Mariya Darry) in order for him to become the lord of Darry. Lancel clearly doesn’t want to marry, while talking about it with Cersei she describes him as looking miserable. “He reached for her hand. “It is cruel, Cersei. Your Grace knows that I love—” “—House Lannister,” she finished for him.” Clearly, Lancel is not over Cersei yet. It would probably be easy for him to delude himself into believe she loved him again. In a way, it would be easier that way for Lancel and in this moment that’s what he’s trying, he’s hoping Cersei will return his love, deep down realizing that whatever she says it’s probably not even true.

Lancel, however, does his duty, he goes on his way to Darry to marry and become a lord and even then, Kevan accompanies his son, insisting that “Lancel needs his help.” Lancel marries Amerei Frey, but never consummates the marriage, preferring instead to start a life of atonement, in an attempt to better his life and pay for his sins.

Faith of the seven: Lancel’s New familyt

“When it seemed that I might die, my father brought the High Septon to pray for me. He is a good man.” Her cousin’s eyes were wet and shiny, a child’s eyes in an old man’s face. “He says the Mother spared me for some holy purpose, so I might atone for my sins.”

I’m pretty sure the faith actually saved Lancel from his depression. It is mentioned that the High Septon often visited Lancel at his bedside and after his recovery he is almost exclusively seen with at least one septon by his side. This is where he finds a new goal. Lancel simply wanted a place to belong and a goal to guide him. He failed as a Lannister and as a knight (as being Jaime) so now he needs something new to build his life around and the high Septon gives him just that.

Sadly the Faith is probably just manipulating and using Lancel once more. A combination of wanting to belong so badly and having a low self-confidence makes for an easy pawn for people to use to their advantage and as long as Lancel doesn’t realize he’s nothing but a pawn he’ll be happy with it. Lancel shows time and time again to pretty much offer himself as Cersei’s pawn once again, even after the events of the Blackwater because he’d rather live believing a lie of being loved than knowing the truth about being unloved. All of this makes him an easy target for the high septon.

Lancel becomes extremely devoted, he only seems to talk about religion, he spends most his time praying, he fasts (“My faith is all the nourishment I need.”) and even sleeps in the sept, claiming that the seven sent him visions at night.

“’Lancel, you’re a bloody fool.’ ‘You are not wrong,’ said Lancel, ‘but my folly is behind me, ser. I have asked the Father Above to show me the way, and he has. I am renouncing this lordship and this wife. Hardstone is welcome to the both of them, if he likes. On the morrow I will return to King’s Landing and swear my sword to the new High Septon and the Seven. I mean to take vows and join the Warrior’s Sons.’”

Lancel tells Jaime that his father left because they had a fight. But Lancel doesn’t need him anymore, he has another father. But with Lancel’s new found pietry and his talk about how he never wanted Darry and only married Amerei Frey to please his father we can imagine what this fight must have been about. Especially when we hear his thoughts on Lancel’s plans “I could put Lancel in a white cloak, he reflected. There is more honor in that than he will ever find in the Warrior’s Sons.”

[William_Tell]

Very interesting read. Thank you for posting this. Lancel is the only Lannister I can feel some sympathy for, and I really liked the fact that even though he is a secondary character, he has been given a very developed arc.

I especially appreciate the analysis of Robert bullying behaviour and its consequences. As a side note I can point out that it's really in character for the kingto bully him like that. Robert is first and foremost a soldier and bullying behaviour is really common in the military.

The only thing I would add to this analysis ( but here we must rely only on heavy speculation) is his relationship with Tyrek. We actually don't know but maybe he had grown close to him while they were squiring together. I think that after the riot, when Tyrek has disappeared, Lancel may have felt truly alone for the first time. This in turn may have made thing worst for him after the Blackwater. Needless to say I'm probably stretching things a bit.

[Richard Writhen]

*whispers* Lancelbowl... GET HYPE...

[Lord Wraith]

I enjoyed this.  Lancel is almost a big a pawn as Sansa was.  Considering Martin's view on religion I can't help but feel that you are right. The Sparrows are going to be the next group to manipulate poor Lancel.