Quote Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf View Post
At no point in the story was Lyse arrogant or deluded about her abilities.
The parallel I draw with Alphinaud is not because of any perceived arrogance on Lyse's behalf. It's because that they both show inability to put themselves in the shoes of people who have had vastly different life experiences than them, something a leader ought to be able to do.

Alphinaud in his naivety assumed that all the people who rallied under his banner were doing it for the sake of some lofty idea of a better world like he did. He grew up without wanting for anything and the thought that someone would try to subvert his great plans for the sake of money didn't even cross his mind before it was too late. Anyone who wanted to put on the blue coat was invited to join with open arms and we know how that ended.

Lyse on the other hand is constantly deriding people who have lived their entire lives under Garlean rule who simply want to get by or even try to work with the system in place. We're never shown that she genuinely understands why they chose to do what they did. Even after Hien's pep talk the only thing she does when we confront Fordola in Castrum Abania is to scream her lungs out about what a bad terrible person she is.

It's her failure to understand people like Fordola that I see is going to become her undoing. And not just the kind people who are too young to remember the time before the Garleans but also those who are old enough to remember who it was that let them in.