How did you feel about Season 9?

[Belle]

Jeez, Binkie, this is a hard one!
I hope I understand your question right, if not excuse me and elaborate, please.
In the meantime, here are my thoughts.

I get what you mean on the suitability: 'quote'how much of what you do is who you are, and how far does what you are render you suitable for what you do. 'unquote'.
(I think it's pretty amazing that you compute these great insights just by looking at a series!)

As far of what I think about it: No, you are not dim at all, the whole storyline just does not add up!
You are right when you question who's suitability it was that got John/Lucas through the years of hardship in Russia, who it was that got through the tests and who kept London safe.
I fear the answer to these questions is that there is no right answer, just because none of it makes sense!

It starts already messed up at the begining of this story.
If we are ment to believe that Lucas passed the background checks and John got through the interview(s), than we must assume that John took the whole identity of Lucas over: his maners, his way of speaking, his way of living, etc... but that must mean that
a) John would be a master impersonator to fool everyone at the Service(there must be a lot of psycological tests, i think, not so easy to be someone else), or,
b) the Service is crap! (I know Harry told the HS that he(John) was a natural, but, c'mon, how silly do they take us to be! To fool a whole secret service agency!?)
So, whose suitability got him in the service? I have no idea what so ever.

The time spend in prison is the next thing that doesn't make sense, i said elsewere that John would NEVER give up 8 years of his life, so it had to be Lucas in there.
Whose suitability played here? I think Lucas'.
But that would be in conflict with the John story arc!
So, again, I do not know.

The same goes for saving London, John would never risk his life for strangers, so again, it had to be Lucas, but in conflict with the story again!
So suitability: Lucas for sure, but since Lucas does not really exists (according to the story)?????

Unless John/Lucas suffered from split personality disorder non of this makes sense, because they are are not the same person!
And we have no reason to assume that he was suffering from it.

Identity IS what you make of it, i firmly believe that you are what you do.
I don't really think the sub-theme had a purpose, maybe in Harry and Ruth's story(Harry becoming softer and in doubt of his abbilities and Ruth hardening up but also in doubt), but certainly not in Lucas' case, because the 'Lucas didn't know he really was John' makes no sense at all. They are two different people who the writers melted together to get their story. And we all know how we feel about that!

Hope I'm not the dim one now!