Lucio refers twice in Scene 2 to a common theme: the universality of the crime for which Claudio is condemned. The vice, he says, "is of a great kindred, it is well allied: but it is impossible to extirp it quite, friar, till eating and drinking be put down" (108-11). Angelo's strict enforcement of the law will, according to Lucio, "unpeople the province with continency" (184-85).
Lucio enjoys some amusement at Angelo's expense, claiming that a man so cold and so harsh against sexual crimes could not have been conceived and born in the usual fashion. His remarks to Pompey tend to condemn him rather than aid him, as Pompey had hoped. Lucio is revealed to be a man who enjoys a few witty remarks at the expense of a friend before he lifts a finger to assist him. He has even informed against Mistress Overdone. She, however, retaliates by providing the duke with the information that he will use against Lucio in the final scene. He has gotten a whore with child and failed to keep his promise of marriage. While enjoying the plight of those around him, he is headed toward his own downfall. He is amusing but certainly no friend. Only his actions on Claudio's behalf speak in his favor.
In his last words to Escalus in Scene 2, the duke foreshadows events to come when he comments on Angelo's severity: "If his own life answer the straitness of his proceeding, it shall become him well; wherein if he chance to fail, he hath sentenced himself" (269-71). This obvious reference to Angelo's assault upon Isabella is topped off with an entirely unnecessary soliloquy of rhymed couplets on the subject of false virtue. It is commonly speculated that this rather trite speech, jarringly out of step with the rest of the scene, was appended to it by some hand other than Shakespeare's.
The duke promises that "disguise shall, by the disguised, / Pay with falsehood false exacting" (294-95). In other words, the duke will punish Angelo's deceit with deceit of his own. The deputy's lust, disguised by counterfeit virtue, and his false promise to save Claudio's life are paid back with the duke's own tricks: the substitute bed partner and Ragozine's head for Claudio's. Angelo gets measure for measure.
