The "Handsome Young Man" (Show Spoilers)

[The Knight of Flours]

Not sure even why the sparrows would base the entire prosecution on the testimony of a 'squire' (aka pimp and willing participant in buggery)..

[bravosi42]

Oliver testified with the birthmark description in the "pretrial". If we are ignoring the "a squire may see him naked and would know about it without sex" argument, then someone confirming the mark is all that is needed. Oliver doesn't have to be at the trial and they can't just say he lied.

do the faith have affidavits?

[bravosi42]

Thought about it, the only way Olyvar can be of use is if they "convinced" him to say he was lying and it was all Cersei making him say those things.

olyvar will remember that he saw the birth mark when loras was doing something rampantly hetro in LFs premises. olyvar will then do one out of KL on the next LF jetpack to avoid enhanced iinterrogation techniques.

[Beorn Snow]

After thinking a bit about this, yeah, I see how this might be Olyvar... but I´m inclining towards Sweetrobin. Remember Olenna didn´t want her daughter made queen, that was her son´s idea. She may want to annul the marriage, get her daughter out of KL, and maybe broker a new marriage, one that aligns the Reach and the Vale.

[Mandzipop]

I've noticed a pattern in the TV series regarding Littlefinger and the boy might be part of his plot.

He gains the trust of the of the family (usually via the matriarch). Finds the family weaknesses/secrets through that person. Somehow gets the right people into place to infiltrate them. Manages to cause the downfall of that house.

Lysa Arryn, Catelyn Stark. Looks like he's having a hand in Cersei's downfall which would be the Lannisters (or the ruling part of the Lannisters). I also wonder if he had a hand in sending the necklace to Cersei, just to split her and Jamie. That could start a chain reaction with the Martell's. He is working on the Bolton's, he has placed his matriarch in there. I think he genuinely didn't know about Ramsey. He needs Sansa to help him bring down the Bolton's. I'm also beginning to wonder if he sent the doll to Shireen to start to bring down that part of the Baratheon family.

So back to the boy. It must be (if my theory is correct) someone who will look like their hope but will trigger the downfall of the Tyrell's.

As I say that is my current theory of how the show is progressing.

[Ser Knute]

On the one hand, both Olyvar and Lancel could represent a bit of hypocrisy on the HS's part. People assume that they've already been punished. My problem with Lancel (even in the books) is that even though he's allegedly confessed all, we're not really provided with his punishment for those sins, neither are we in the show either. It seems awfully convenient that Lancel as partly culpable in the death of Robert seems to have gotten off with punishment lighter than what the previous HS was given on the show, we see ZERO punishment for Lancel on the show.

Now while this may be a bit off-base, I find that odd, especially so for GRRM, I nearly expect D&D to forget it or ignore it. Of course it could happen off screen but the reader/viewer should be made aware of what it was. Surely as mitigating circumstances, Cersei is the more culpable, but nonetheless Lancel is still guilty of some serious crimes himself.

Now if they're not using that as an angle to allude to any hypocrisy on the HS part, then yea, I'd agree it's probably easiest to have Olyvar recant. However, even Olyvar looked pretty good in his appearance at the inquest, did they rough him up and then let him freshen up, or did he not receive the same treatment as the other sinners?

[The hairy bear]

The whole conversation was:

BAELISH: Cersei summoned me to King’s Landing. I dared not refuse her.
OLENNA: And what did she want?
BAELISH: A piece of info that she know that I had. Neither silence nor lies were an option. But I have other information of which she is unaware. And as you say, our interests are aligned. I have a gift for you

OLENNA: What kind of gift?

BAELISH: The same kind I gave Cersei. A handsome young man.

I'm a little confused about "the same king I gave Cersei" part. Does that mean that the gift is not the young man itself, but "information". That would point towards being, as some of you suggest, Lancel.

If that's the case, this would be an atrocious piece of writing. Littlefinger should have no influence at all over Lancel, who would have confessed his crimes long ago at his own initiative. And again, it wouldn't benefit at all Littlefinger to empower even more the religious fanatics that have destroyed his business. Everything Littlefinger does this season is one random iunjustified act to anther.

[Hiram McDrogon]

Thanks for quoting the dialogue in full. I guess the gift he gave Cersei was information about Olyvar and Lancel - that's been kind of implied already this season, and it'd be nice if there was some kind of yet-unrevealed reason for Littlefinger's rapid trip to the capital. (If it was merely Cersei asking, "Will the Vale fight for the crown?", then that's just weird and a plot contrivance that makes me even more annoyed at the contortions the writers put themselves into to get Sansa in her current position.) But for Littlefinger to even hint to Olenna that his information is behind the Tyrells' current plight seems insanely foolhardy.

Another possibility is that the handsome young man is Loras, and Littlefinger is letting Olenna have the Tyrell heir back as a gift.

To be honest it's the kind of nebulous dialogue that was written to sound cool, but may never make sense. I do enjoy the show, really I do, but whereas Martin's books usually just get richer with close reading, the show lines often fall apart.

[Drogonthedread]

its just lancel lannister or should i say brother lancel

[Sullen]

On the one hand, both Olyvar and Lancel could represent a bit of hypocrisy on the HS's part. People assume that they've already been punished. My problem with Lancel (even in the books) is that even though he's allegedly confessed all, we're not really provided with his punishment for those sins, neither are we in the show either. It seems awfully convenient that Lancel as partly culpable in the death of Robert seems to have gotten off with punishment lighter than what the previous HS was given on the show, we see ZERO punishment for Lancel on the show.

Now while this may be a bit off-base, I find that odd, especially so for GRRM, I nearly expect D&D to forget it or ignore it. Of course it could happen off screen but the reader/viewer should be made aware of what it was. Surely as mitigating circumstances, Cersei is the more culpable, but nonetheless Lancel is still guilty of some serious crimes himself.

Now if they're not using that as an angle to allude to any hypocrisy on the HS part, then yea, I'd agree it's probably easiest to have Olyvar recant. However, even Olyvar looked pretty good in his appearance at the inquest, did they rough him up and then let him freshen up, or did he not receive the same treatment as the other sinners?

Giving away all of his earthly possessions... his name, his riches, his claims... could be seen as a form of penitence on Lancel's part.

Olyvar is kind of bullshit though, yeah.

[yanmaodao]

Gotta be debunking Olyvar's testimony somehow. But what does LF stand to gain from it?

Cersei is too unpredictable and dangerous for LF. She wants Sansa dead, he wants to help her (kind of), what he said last episode placated her for now, but in the long run he needs a ruler who's indifferent to all that.

Didn't Joe Dempsie say he was appearing in season 5? Can't see in what context unless it's this one...

[Good Guy Garlan]

Why is this even confusing? LF gave Cersei a Handsome Young Man™, Olyvar, and he gave Olenna another HYM™, Lancel.

[Christi84]

Could the handsome young man be Jon? From the look LF gave Sansa about the Rhaegar/Lyanna story, he knows more then he lets on. Perhaps he placed her in WF to be close to Jon so when he comes he'll see Jon himself. He obviously couldnt take her straight to the Wall yet, he wants Stannis and Roose to wipe themselves out.

So maybe hes giving Olenna another handsome young man for her to try to marry Margaery off too and the Tyrells to support

Bit of a stretch I know but LF is one step ahead constantly (with the exception of giving Sansa to sadist Ramsay)

[Mandzipop]

The whole conversation was:

BAELISH: Cersei summoned me to King’s Landing. I dared not refuse her.

OLENNA: And what did she want?

BAELISH: A piece of info that she know that I had. Neither silence nor lies were an option. But I have other information of which she is unaware. And as you say, our interests are aligned. I have a gift for you

OLENNA: What kind of gift?

BAELISH: The same kind I gave Cersei. A handsome young man.

I'm a little confused about "the same king I gave Cersei" part. Does that mean that the gift is not the young man itself, but "information". That would point towards being, as some of you suggest, Lancel.

If that's the case, this would be an atrocious piece of writing. Littlefinger should have no influence at all over Lancel, who would have confessed his crimes long ago at his own initiative. And again, it wouldn't benefit at all Littlefinger to empower even more the religious fanatics that have destroyed his business. Everything Littlefinger does this season is one random iunjustified act to anther.

I stress the bolded part as it is something he didn't tell Cersei. He hinted he knew about her and Jamie, so I'm not sure if it is Lancel or not.

[Hangover of the Morning]

Why is this even confusing? LF gave Cersei a Handsome Young Man™, Olyvar, and he gave Olenna another HYM™, Lancel.

I definitely thought that at first, given that LF and Lancel met in the previous episode but on a close inspection it doesn't make much sense.

That would make sense if Olenna would then go to the High Sparrow and told him that they had a sinner (Lancel) in their midsts but we know from the HS that Lancel had confessed long time ago.

Besides Maragaery and Loras were accused by the High Sparrow himself and thus Cersei cannot be accused of framing them.

[Frumpus]

if the show was clever, it'd be someone other than Lancel.

but the show is not clever, and is pandering to an audience that doesn't think, so it's obviously Lancel, even though it doesn't make sense when people start thinking about it.

[bb1180]

It was Lancel and it served as the catalyst for Cersei's imprisonment later in the episode. And LF all but says he gave Olyvar to Cersei, which is a clear allusion to the fact that he's giving Olenna essentially the same thing for the same purpose.

Now as to whether it makes sense that LF would have that information or that Lancel hadn't already confessed it to the HS, I'm not going to argue. But otherwise, it makes even less sense for Lancel to suddenly and conveniently come forward with this now unless there was some outside impetus for him to do so.

[Alex Storm]

Why is this even confusing? LF gave Cersei a Handsome Young Man, Olyvar, and he gave Olenna another HYM, Lancel.

Because it makes no sense how LF would have any influence over Lancel and because Lance pretty much told Cersei that he confessed everything back in episode 1. But hey....show logic

[barristan-b]

This is either quite obvious or a nice little twist/hanger

[Arkash]

My best guess is that he means Robin Arryn and suggests a Vale - Reach alliance.