by crownofsimba » April 28th, 2015, 8:37 pm
I think he was very good at getting what he wanted, which was the throne, which he did through a combination of cunning and abusing Mufasa's trust in him.
The problems came with the fact that he didn't realize that being on the throne meant that he'd have to DO things, so when the drought happened apparently the whole thing spiraled out of control, both from his laziness and also probably from the fact that he was likely never taught how to actually manage the kingdom, since he was not the actual heir.
On whether he is as smart as he thinks he is, which is mainly that he thinks he's smarter than Mufasa, I think there is evidence for and against it. Mufasa is probably intelligent enough that he kept the Pridelands running so well and was well respected, but on the other hand he still trusted Scar?
And Scar's plans honestly had lots of ways they could have gone wrong. If Simba had mentioned to Mufasa that he'd mentioned the elephant graveyard, he would have gotten into trouble (although he had framed it as being an accident, Mufasa might very well see through it). If Simba had ever thought to look back on what happened he would have seen the obvious clues that Scar was in on things he shouldn't have been, but I imagine he blotted out the day at the gorge because it was so traumatic. Then of course we see that he can't rule worth anything, and honestly the hyenas and/or lionesses would have eventually turned on him anyhow.
His plot was very clever, but he's not as master a manipulator as people often frame him as being, he was too haughty and proud to mask his true feelings as much as it would require.