Lance in season 3.

[kenneth]

During season 3 the character of Lance is wildly inconsistent and borderline ridiculous.

Blackmailing Angela with threats of sabotaging her, then he turns around and gleefully assists her in said cases. Even has himself beat up.

One minute he does not care anymore about her threats to kick him out, then in the next desperately try to stay in her good graces.

Against her one second, loyal to a fault the next and back again.

When you come down to it she needs him every bit as much as he needs Falcon Crest.

 

[Pound68]

They should have done more to develop Lance's character. He starts off as an opposite to Cole. Cole is dependable good boy/ Lance is naughty playboy, bad boy. He shows some growth in his care for Melissa and Dina but he never has a regular goal. He is winery guy/newspaper guy/radio guy. I believe that Angela loves Falcon Crest but I never believe that Lance does. They should have given him a child to fight for.

 

[Count Jockula]

Well there was always something in the water, in the Tuscany Valley. Some characters were influenced by it more than others. Lance could be erratic and would do stuff on a whim. In the end though he would always return to Falcon Crest, sooner or later.


Angela catches up with Lance, in the vineyards and she gives him a telling off, (a scene from season 3, 1983 - '84):

The novice vintner who could one day inherit America's finest wine business just listens.

Angela: "I've told you again and again my grandfather paid for this land, with his sweat and his blood. Now every generation since have sacrificed themselves to keep this legacy alive. You can turn your back on me anytime you like but never let me hear you say anything against Falcon Crest again."

Lance with his sunglasses on, gets into his red Porsche 944 and speeds off. He leaves his grandmother looking at her millions of grapes.

 

[Arlene Halloran]

Sometimes he was in, then he wasn't. Make your mind up Lance, about FC will you.

 

[CryptCreeper72]

I never thought it was about FC for Lance. It was all about Angela. He craved her affection and approval, but never could live up to the standards she set for him. I think that's the reason for his inconsistent behavior. He wanted to rebel, but he wanted his grandmother to love him more.

 

[Pound68]

I never thought it was about FC for Lance. It was all about Angela. He craved her affection and approval, but never could live up to the standards she set for him. I think that's the reason for his inconsistent behavior. He wanted to rebel, but he wanted his grandmother to love him more.

I think it is about getting someone to be proud of him and love him for himself. Sometimes that someone is Angela, sometimes it is a girlfriend, sometimes Tony. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be Julia. Maybe because he loved her more like a sister than a mother.

 

[CryptCreeper72]

I think it is about getting someone to be proud of him and love him for himself. Sometimes that someone is Angela, sometimes it is a girlfriend, sometimes Tony. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be Julia. Maybe because he loved her more like a sister than a mother.

The relationship between Lance and Julia was fascinating, wasn't it?

You're onto something though. Lance did need to be loved. I think that's one of the reasons he kept gravitating back to Melissa, because even though they were toxic to one another, she did love him - in spite of his faults.

Also think that's why Lance had such a soft spot for Emma. Emma's love was pure and unconditional.

 

[kenneth]

I never thought it was about FC for Lance. It was all about Angela. He craved her affection and approval, but never could live up to the standards she set for him. I think that's the reason for his inconsistent behavior. He wanted to rebel, but he wanted his grandmother to love him more.

Sadly, such a concept would never occur to Angela.

 

[Brian Kinney]

I don't remember anything of Lance's childhood. It seemed to be very vague when Tony left them. Was Julia always around when Lance was a kid? She probably always worked in Falcon Crest's winery or did Julia and Tony leave Lance in Angela's care for some time and returned separated? Too many gaps in his backstory that I don't understand (same for Julia). I have a better idea how Richard's or Emma's childhood were which made it easier for me to feel with them.

 

[Werewillie Oleson]

When you come down to it she needs him every bit as much as he needs Falcon Crest

I got the impression that both Julia and Lance had been indoctrinated by Angela, and she would have done the same to Emma if Emma hadn't been so "Emma".
There's the need to rebel every now and then, but they don't have the strength to see it through because that strength has been taken away from them.
Sometimes they take over the aggressor role, because of the poison inside them, but She Who Controls The Grapes also controls the poison. They can't win and they can't break the circle. As the story progresses, Chase is being sucked into that venomous orbit of broken dreams called Falcon Cres-t.

 

[Michael Torrance]

I got the impression that both Julia and Lance had been indoctrinated by Angela, and she would have done the same to Emma if Emma hadn't been so "Emma".
There's the need to rebel every now and then, but they don't have the strength to see it through because that strength has been taken away from them.

Angela did rule FC as a queen rules her kingdom: including getting the youngest generation under her wing and influence and away from his mother.
I think Lorenzo Lamas was hot and a decent enough actor to make Lance worth watching, for the writers sure did not really always cater to that.

 

[Pound68]

I got the impression that both Julia and Lance had been indoctrinated by Angela, and she would have done the same to Emma if Emma hadn't been so "Emma".
There's the need to rebel every now and then, but they don't have the strength to see it through because that strength has been taken away from them.
Sometimes they take over the aggressor role, because of the poison inside them, but She Who Controls The Grapes also controls the poison. They can't win and they can't break the circle. As the story progresses, Chase is being sucked into that venomous orbit of broken dreams called Falcon Cres-t.

Chase is definitely getting sucked in toward the end. I like the idea that he started to develop a love for the vines and the land presumably the way his father had. I think he could and maybe should have wanted FC as much as Angela did. I think Melissa had that kind of love for the Agretti Vineyards and her family legacy. That is why she made a good foil for Angie. No one else seemed as motivated by legacy. It is like Miss Ellie and Southfork or JR and Ewing Oil.

 

[Werewillie Oleson]

I think Melissa had that kind of love for the Agretti Vineyards and her family legacy

I think she was very aware of the power that came with it. She was just as hungy as Lance, but they were young and still had to conquer their position and simultaneously navigate the emotional waters of romance and whatnot, whereas Angela was established power who had to maintain her position of Tuscany's Number One.
But that's only a rough description of course. Lots of plotlines happened and as the OP has pointed out it wasn't always very consistent. The typical Falcon Crest atmosphere, one of it's strongest assets in the early seasons, usually made up for these little mistakes (imho).

 

[Gioberti84]

Some interesting analysis of Lance with his family. If there was one person who best understood Lance it was probably Chao-Li.