She’s similar to Lotso: a kind of mafia don ruling a little fiefdom. She reverses, though, and becomes Woody’s friend with a happy ending, rather than a backstabbing enemy tied to the grill of a garbage truck. I don’t like the choice, lol. As a viewer it’s hard to switch from fear to empathy. And the one thing she does to Woody, even though he ends up a willing participant, is arguably too disturbing for a children’s movie. She’s creepy, and I can’t get past that.
So, does her character stay true to its Enneagram through these changes?
Unlike Lotso, Gabby’s motivation is quite clear: “I want to love a child and be loved in return.” She’s consistent. In order to achieve this she’ll do anything, from psychological manipulation to violence.
She’s not physical. At best we see her walk in that stiff-legged doll waddle. She’s done a lot of planning and thinking. In order to get to point D, a child’s love, she needs to accomplish A, B, and C. Is she a Head Type? Would a Heart Type need a storybook instruction manual in how to have a tea party?
Not a Seven. She’s too timid. She’s kind of sturdy for a Five or Six, though, and the series has always been good about an intuitive sense of body sizes. Also, a true Six would be more idiosyncratic. They might baffle or seem weird, but they’re not creepy. A Five wouldn’t be that ruthless; they’re too socially cautious to pull it off.
Ah. She’s a Four, a Heart Type after all. It’s the self-interest, which sways with her whim. First she’s villainous, then she’s a teammate. A Four can hit all those points in one arc. The storybook isn’t a primer for her! It’s a mirror in which she can admire herself.
What the showrunners have missed, and what they got so right with Woody and Jessie, is the moment when a Four breaks your heart and you love them. Gabby is never lovable. A well-written Four is exasperating but also endearing. Their pain is on their sleeve. Whatever sympathy I have for her quest for a child is undercut by the memory of her glassy-eyed brutality toward Woody. This character needed another trip through the writer’s room in order to balance out her tone.