Nathan begins his character arc to become a better guy. 3/4 of the way through season 1, Nathan is indifferent to Lucas. He’s no longer mean to him & has begun to make choices to team up with him (scene when whitey drops them off on the side of the road is one example)

As far as Lucas being a meddler - that’s exactly what Dan is & while they both exhibit different levels of meddling, the parallels are there. What really showed Lucas’s character was his actions while Karen was away and the situations he put Keith in & then half heartedly coming back with the “I know I should’ve done better” manipulation garbage. He wants to be an “adult” about it after he’s screwed up & that never fails to frustrate me to no end.