Eleanor, dominated by Envy, must be a Heart Type. Our early impression of Eleanor is that she’s selfish; it seems she will always use other people. However, her innate desire to connect with her neighbors leads her beyond her uglier personality traits.
I feel certain Eleanor is no Two, lol. Do we go with Four or Three? On Earth, Eleanor was an accomplished jerk. That’s not how I think of a Three — their successes are usually admirable — but I won’t rule out that Enneagram. Dark Threes make good villains. It’s possible that Eleanor taps into and subverts this quality by becoming our protagonist.
Also, because of her vivacity, Eleanor could be a Four. Her emotions don’t fluctuate between high and low, but she brings a constant energy that other Enneagram numbers wouldn’t be able to sustain.
Whoa, this is a tough one.
I’m going to say Three because of Chidi. He’s so clearly a Six, a Three’s strength number. In every iteration of the Good Place, Chidi persuades Eleanor to be a better person. He models a moral personality that Eleanor has never considered. I don’t think Chidi would succeed as often if she were a Four.
I mean, right? No questions, no doubt. Chidi must be a Six.
He approaches the world as a Head Type: solutions will be found by thinking and analyzing. He constantly worries, which is a distinctive Six trait when it becomes persistent. He weighs everything from a black vs. white perspective, with no room for gray.
Although he’s morally resolute, he will go to battle for his friends. Chidi’s Sixness, the conflict within him when faced with the Good Place, is what makes him such a great character. Should he help Eleanor, who’s (unwittingly at first) breaking the rules? Once he’s decided on his choice, he won’t quit. The writing, the directing, and the acting have all nailed a beautiful portrayal of a Six.
I just wish his wardrobe displayed more eccentricity. Men Sixes have a strange sense of fashion, no matter how sophisticated their profession. The tweed-and-turtleneck makes for a great joke, but his pants should’ve clashed. Heh.
Wearing a turtleneck and a tweed jacket (lol) Chidi teaches Eleanor from the blackboard.
However, she’s more focused on the “You don’t belong here” note tucked in her binder.
Chidi notices and calls her on it. As they argue, a knock at the door sends them scurrying to flip the chalkboard and hide the books.
TWO
It’s Tahani with a flowering houseplant. After she leaves, Eleanor puts on a posh British accent and mocks her. Chidi’s confused that a neighborly visit gets Eleanor so worked up.
“I’m supposed to treat her with mutual respect?” Eleanor accuses. “That’s exactly what she wants!”
After an amused pause, Chidi responds, “Er . . . that’s what everyone wants.”
Professor Fig has heard about the troll attack in Hogsmeade. We both know that Ranrok must be after the locket we found in Gringotts. Fig has discovered an inscription on the locket. When he reads it aloud, a map appears.
In Fig’s office, I look at the map. It’s a plain floor plan of Hogwarts, but I can see blue glows over the Library’s Restricted Section. We’re both eager to go investigate. Into his office walks Headmaster Black, though. Black wants him now, no excuses. Our trip will have to wait.
However, I have an idea. Sebastian once bragged that he could sneak into the Restricted Section. I find him in the hallway. When he asks for more information, I tell him about Ranrock.
My secret’s safe with him. It’s off to the Library tonight for adventure.
I meet Sebastian on a staircase overlooking the Library entrance. We’ll need to sneak in. Using the Disillusionment spell, we get past the Librarian and some ghosts. Peeves the Poltergeist catches us, though, in the basement.
Sebastian volunteers to chase after Peeves. I don’t want him to get in trouble on my account. He “likes to have friends in his debt”, he says, and goes back upstairs to distract the Librarian. I head down further, until a blue glow at the bottom reveals a hidden doorway.
Through the secret arch is the Athenaeum, a room of puzzles to solve and statue knights to fight.
At the end of it all is another pensieve, this one with a book floating over it. The book opens, revealing a section of torn-out pages. Liquid flows from the spine and the memory drops into the basin.
I see Rackham and Charles Rookwood, as well as two other people. (These four are The Keepers.) They stand on an overlook. Down below is a blighted hamlet suffering a drought. With a nod at each other, The Keepers intervene. Rackham sends ancient magic into the sky, bringing rain. The other three wield his ancient magic, turning the grey village into a blooming, green place. A father hugs his son, who uses a crutch and looks sickly. The little girl looks straight up at The Keepers on the hillside.
Later in the memory, the girl, Isidora, is now a student at Hogwarts. Like Rackham, she is the only person to enter as a fifth-year and to see the blue traces of ancient magic. She seems very excited. Rackham insists she train and study before she can learn how to wield it. In the wrong hands it could be very dangerous.
And then I’m bumped back to reality, sneaking out of the Library. Sebastian, caught by Peeves and the Librarian, insists that he’s alone and no one else was here with him.
He’s so impulsive and angry; is Lt. Dan an Eight? An Eight, a Body Type, who loses part of his physical ability would have a difficult recovery.
What if Dan is a Heart Type, though? It’s a joke in the movie that Dan’s every ancestor has died in war, and Dan expects the same fate. A Four would feel pretty pissed off at getting cheated out of a glorious death.
Dan is more emotionally volatile than an Eight would be. “You call this a storm?!” He loves this conflict, this fight between his will and nature’s. It’s not about physical power, though. An Eight would ask for his body to be changed; for Dan, his heart needs to change. Until this moment he’s dominated by depression and can’t move forward with his life.
I also like him as a Four because he is another Heart Type companion for Forrest Gump. It’s consistent.
Who doesn’t love Bubba? Of course, like Jenny, he’s kinda fridged so that Forrest Gump can have feelings.
Is Bubba, like Jenny, also a Two?
I mean, he has a collection, which is a Man Two trait. He collects shrimp recipes!
It’s interesting that Forrest would surround himself with the same Enneagram. (Or, the showrunners would stick to writing the same kind of character who befriends Forrest and then dies.)
Bubba is a complete character, though. He’s written for laughs, but Mykelti Williamson gives us more than comedy (or pathos). We believe that he and Forrest have a connection strong enough to last beyond Bubba’s death. Making Bubba a Two is a wise choice.
She is a sexually-abused child who grows up to become a wounded woman. Drugs, hurtful boyfriends, rash choices, and suicidal moments are what we see of her. She wants to be a folk singer, like Joan Baez, but she performs nude (with her guitar as her modesty shield) in a strip club. She’s a character who breaks our hearts, but she’s also a plot device to break Forrest’s heart. Is Jenny actually a complete person, or is she only an archetype of pain?
At the end of the movie, Jenny is a real character. She’s grown, she has an arc, and she’s exorcised her demons.
But she’s also fridged, lol.
Okay, let’s dig. I immediately jump to Heart Type because she carries so much emotion. She’s not strong enough to be a Four — she would need power moments and not just trodden moments. She’s clearly not a Three. Maybe a Two? An abused Two can break into pieces like Jenny does.
I’ll take it. I like that her damaged Two is supported by Forrest’s Eight-to-Two confidence. It’s a good match beyond plot shenanigans. Also, when Jenny finds her strength, it’s in the healthcare field. A genuine Two at peace could choose that career.
As I said in my review of the protagonist in The Accountant, any Enneagram choice must be about the character beyond their neurodiversity. Showrunners just can’t present a hero with no specific defining traits.
What are the possibilities for Forrest?
He’s a “running fool”. My first thought is about a Body Type. Someone who needs that physical expression — running across the country — could be a Nine, Eight, or One. However, he doesn’t seem like a Nine. “Sorry I ruined your Black Panther party” is not spoken by someone who avoids conflict. He’ll mix it up with anyone if he thinks he’s defending Jenny. Is he an Eight?
Yes. Think of his bravery during the war. He goes back for everyone, tirelessly. That leadership, that instinctual heroism, is Eight-like.
He’s so connected to his friends — Bubba, Lt. Dan — that I thought he might be a Heart Type. I prefer to think of him as an Eight moving toward his strength number, Two. Perhaps his mental challenge lets him discard the darker side of his Enneagram. He’s never stingy, which would be his weak number (Five) reaction. He’s always compassionate and generous. I really like the idea that Forrest leans heavily into the Two aspect of his Enneagram.
But he’s still an Eight. I only need remember his table tennis prowess to feel certain of that.
In Charms class I learn accio, the spell that pulls objects (and enemies) to me. One of my classmates is Natty, a girl from Uganda whose mother is the new Divination Professor. Natty, in Griffindor, is kind and adventurous.
We learn levioso, the spell that floats objects (and enemies), in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I duel another classmate, Sebastian, in front of everyone. From Slytherin, Sebastian is a rule-breaker who’s also helpful and curious.
Using accio to play Summoner’s Court, a rare and delightful mini-game.
The houses don’t segregate as they do in the Potter books. Students mingle without making favorites. None of the rivalry exists (possibly because the game decided to avoid quidditch). Playing as a moustache-twirling Slytherin isn’t possible. Our student character can do a few selfish things, but nothing that would count as going to the dark side. (It’s one of the game’s weaknesses.) However, the game does use our perception of Slytherin as evil. We keep waiting for Sebastian to do something nasty. He’s not completely nice — he’s the person who teaches us the Unforgivable Curses — but he never stabs us in the back.
