User blog comment:EpsilonMk46/Lincoln the Butt Monkey?/@comment-32202721-20170902144500

Lincoln's not a butt monkey on the same level as, say, Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or Meg Griffin from Family Guy, but you can't deny he's a bit of a schlemazel (as we Jews would say). There are several instances of things going wrong for him in bizarre and kind of contrived ways. To cite a few examples off the top of my head:


 * "Kick the Bucket List": A deranged cockatoo manages to stalk Lincoln all the way home based on one bad encounter in a pet shop.


 * "Back Out There": A karate girl sees Lincoln walk into the dojo and assumes he's there to spar, even though he's not dressed in any kind of karate uniform and he explicitly tells her "no" when she asks.


 * "Making the Case": The beginning establishes that everyone in the house, including Lily, has a trophy except for him. Seriously, who gives out trophies for thumbsucking? Why is that a thing?


 * "Come Sale Away": Lincoln makes an offhand remark that he hasn't won a competition against his sisters in "forever".


 * "The Whole Picture": Most of the memories brought up at the end involve Lincoln either messing up or some kind of misfortune befalling him.


 * "Room with a Feud": Lisa's calculated roommate arrangement - which is implied to be the closest thing possible to an ideal one - just so happens to leave Lincoln miserable and everyone else happy.

So, no, I don't think it's unfair to say that the universe isn't very kind to Lincoln. But when the world deals him a bad hand, he either takes it in stride, or he comes up with a plan to work around it. Sometimes his plans work and sometimes they don't, but he never stops trying. That's what makes him a strong character.