KA Byrnes – Page 53 – Enneagram and Encaustic

In the Castle

We’ve finished the Wyrm Hunt quests and are now invited to enter the castle and meet the Duke. Well, I’m invited. Pawns aren’t allowed.

At the door to the entrance chamber a little jester man in the full bell cap outfit stops me. He’s deeply unpleasant, over-animated and suspicious. (Another unfortunate trope deployed, this time of a dwarf or Little Person who plays the backstabbing Fool.) He puts something on my head.

When I enter, everyone in audience turns and scowls. Reverse angle and I can now see I wear a clown hat with pom-pom topper. The Duke frowns at first, then responds.

He thought about removing my party cap by taking my head, I swear, but ended up making his courtiers laugh instead.

I’m welcomed to continue to assist the Duke. More missions to come! As I leave the castle, a cut scene takes over. Someone is in the garden.

Gender is immaterial. Whatever toon I play, they swoon at this Aelinore meeting. She’s blonde, she’s tender, and she’s innocent. She’s also new to the castle and in over her head. More plot to come for our prototypical Damsel in Distress.

Two more points dropped randomly about the mysterious Duke:

“His Grace is unwell,” Aldous the Chamberlain says to me. He looks hale, but I guess I’m supposed to notice that the Duke is failing in some way.

“He must be a wizened old man by now. He’s of an age with me, if not older,” Iola the hometown shopkeep says. Well, I have a photo and he doesn’t look anywhere near as ancient as Iola does.

CATWOMAN (1992), SEVEN

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina in Batman Returns is one of the great moments in the Burton years of directing the Bat. Is she quintessential Catwoman? I don’t think so. My impressions are colored by the years of Eartha Kitt and Julie Newmar, when Catwoman was uber-sexy. Why did I think Diana Rigg was also Catwoman? Emma Peel, I guess. The leather, the long legs, the sultry tone.

Anyway, Pfeiffer is something else. Her Selina is scattered and marginal, book smart but not street smart. Miss Kitty is on the edge of sanity. She ends up with the leather and the sultry, but she barely holds it all together. Like her home sewn costume, the stitching shows.

Someone mauled by cats in a near-death experience should be walking a thin line.

Pfeiffer herself may not have the Enneagram body for it, but her Catwoman is a Seven. The competency in every day life, the mousy exterior that hides so much passion, and the weird breakout she goes through, are the indicators. She doesn’t have highs and lows as a Four would; everything is a low for her. Even the rush of being a superhero/villain is painful. This is a Seven sliding down into the weakness number, One. Wit is dark, physicality is driven, and pleasure is ascetic. It’s a beautiful portrayal.

Pressed Yellow Bell

Officially posting the piece I youtubed on Feb. 10, 2021. Remember, I want to know if pressing a flower, including ironing it, causes the color to sustain better. Stay tuned.

SOLD

SQUEAKY BOOTS

ONE

We have a fairly substantial One this time. A large anchor is Mr. Krabs’ house. Inside, he sings robustly that “Pearl’s me daughter.” And there she is! Our first time seeing and hearing Pearl! (It is, isn’t it?) It’s her birthday, she’s excited, and daddy is cheap. Instead of the Flipper Slippers everyone’s wearing, he gets her wellies as a present.

Not only is the story introduced, but the Krabs locale and family are established for the series.

TWO

The fishing boots are the Trouble. They were, of course, a bargain. Krabs’ penny pinching and its results drive this episode.

THREE

Cut to the exterior where the anchor house shakes as Pearl scream-cries.

The Shadow Fort

Swarming with goblin and cyclops monsters, the Fort is a bastion the military wants to retake. We’re here to help!

Of the four Wyrm Hunt missions, I saved this for last as it can be tricky. Ballista fireballs rain down and vermin come from a tunnel system under the fort. At the end we face a Goblin VIP who taunts us, saying “Humans want destruction, too!”

The Salvation cult has a far reach, apparently.

I swear I’ve managed to kill him before, but he escapes underground this time. Good game. We didn’t lose the troop commander, which is actually hard to do. He’s a bit of a dolt who insists on standing in the fire.

CATWOMAN (1992-1995), FOUR

As I mentioned in my Batman study, the Catwoman from Batman: the Animated Series is a Four. It’s the interaction between the two characters, how they’re drawn to each other in spite of the potential for a toxic relationship, that defines their Enneagram numbers.

Selina Kyle reacts so vehemently to the news that her plans for a large cat refuge are in danger. Another developer has beat her to the land. In front of Bruce she has a loud meltdown. Her willingness to expose so much emotion, and Bruce’s reaction (her passion entices him), show who they are.

She’s at peace with pretty much everything about herself. Vitality, sensuality, greed, comfort (this Catwoman is wealthy) — dark and light — are all welcome traits to her. Her only surprise is when Batman puts police cuffs on her. His sense of justice outweighs his feelings, something a Four doesn’t expect.

Winter Solstice

Remember, this is the name of the two-part episode that includes The Spirit World and Avatar Roku. I assume that, although each separate episode has a Story Enneagram, that the overarching story will also follow one. Let’s see.

ONE

Spirit’s One is also this section of the One. The gang travels north until something interrupts them.

TWO

As I guessed in my Spirit review, the overarching Two is Aang’s sadness and need to talk to Avatar Roku. We already know from the Roku review that the Eight is indeed that meeting. Finding Roku — how do you talk to a spirit? — is the Trouble of the story resolved at the climax.

You’ll remember, though, that this moment in Spirit felt extremely awkward and forced. You’ll also notice, looking back, that the beginning of that story has a lot of padding that isn’t part of the overarching plot. The Two section is sloppy in both overviews.

BATMAN (1992-1995), NINE

Don’t underestimate this Batman just because he’s a cartoon. Batman: The Animated Series is arguably the best version made of the character.

The credits intro, with Shirley Walker’s powerful orchestrations and the Film Noir shading, is very binge-worthy.

When I complained that the Bale Batman had no humor, I was thinking of this series. Our Batman here is no camp comedy, like the old TV show was, but he has a subtle tongue-in-cheek humor. He’s not as stoic, either. He’s moved by more than his own sense of mission.

But is he an Eight?

He’s a tougher nut to crack because we’re looking at a series. A movie with a two hour arc must give us its Batman right away. Something that rolls out over weeks, even years, can be more coy.

This Bruce Wayne is very much an inhabitant of his city. We see him with friends and at charitable events. His Batman is more compassionate, more involved with citizens, than any other iteration.

It’s the episode with Catwoman that shows us who this Batman is. He’s a Nine. Her volatility is irresistible to him. That dynamic, the Four/Nine attraction, is the key. Of course he’s a Body Type still. This Batman, though, is more about judgment than anger. And his community interactions are also the social diplomacy of a Nine.

A Nine superhero fits more smoothly into our expectations for the genre. It makes sense that this iteration is so beloved. He has all the troubled heartbreak we expect from Batman with none of the explosive surprise an Eight brings.

Chimera!

Finding a chimera in the world is always fun when travelling with pawns who know what to do.

Cleave the poison-spewing snake tail, silence the magic-casting goat head, and kill the lion. It’s fast, satisfying work with plenty of climbing, clinging, and hacking.

When we popped by the Abbey to check on Quina, she said she’s still seeking information about our wound.

Paint It Red

Track Three is now available at bandcamp.