Category: Character Enneagrams

EDDARD STARK (TV), SIX

He’s honest and doomed. He gets all the best scenes: with Baratheon he mysteriously reflects on his dead sister and his own past, with Jon he mysteriously hints at the truth about Jon’s mother, with Cat he parts from her in King’s Landing in a sincere way that breaks your heart if you know what’s coming.

Of course he’s lovable. He brings Arya the dancing master. He takes responsibility with honor when trouble comes, executing Sansa’s direwolf himself as a creature of the North, of his people. And his insistence, regardless of the obvious danger, in pursuing the truth, in investigating Arryn’s death, is admirable. He’s so honest he doesn’t stand a chance.

He’s such a Six, the ultimate trooper. He takes honor and rides it into the ground. In prison Varys visits, trying to persuade him to bend the knee. What about the realm? What about your children? He says he must stick to what’s right. Joffrey is not the blood heir. The one thing Ned’s good at, being Robert’s friend, is ruined when he changes the king’s last official declaration.

Ned’s final moment is an awkward confession. I don’t believe his character would do this and we aren’t shown his decision moment that would explain this. It seems a manipulation, a heart pull on the audience, to trick us into thinking that Ned could eke out survival. Clumsy writing, though.

I’ll have more complete thoughts about Book Ned. During this re-watch/re-read I’ve grown to despise a character I used to admire. It’s been quite interesting.

ROBERT BARATHEON (BOOK), EIGHT

Robert carries all his grief over Lyanna, all his sense of hurt and injustice, as an excuse to do as he pleases. If she had lived, he could have been a better man, or at least so he tells himself. But because he’s been harmed he has license to live freely.

The Sellsword King. That’s his dream. He loves the fight and hates the crown he won with it. Only the thought of Joffrey as king stops him from haring off.

“Defiance was not a dish he tasted often.” Why is Robert so insistent on killing Daenerys, even against the counsel of his friend and Hand? He hates being king, yet he’ll fight to stay. He hates the Targaryens even more. What a tragic figure. Lyanna’s death, and his understanding of their relationship, drives him in unconscious ways. Ned, sworn to secrecy, never feels responsible for letting his friend continue on like this. However, Ned also knows that Lyanna never seriously considered Robert as a true prospective husband. She says that love “can never change a man’s nature”, and Robert’s nature is to sleep around. Denial, if not defiance, was something he rarely experienced even before he was king.

As in the show, Robert backhands Cersei and regrets it after. He uses the oldest excuse — “you see what she does to me” — of blaming the struck for getting hit. It’s funny, I always liked Robert but he’s quite despicable. If he can’t beat on something he has no idea what to do. Fighting, winning the kingdom, were his destiny. He’s a terrible king, though, and a rotten husband. Sometimes he’s Ned’s good friend and sometimes he’s confused by his role as king and leaves Ned to twist. This is a character written to die. His conflict can’t be resolved.

Before becoming king Robert was like a warrior god: tall, muscled, wielding the warhammer and wearing an antlered helm that made him tower over others. Robert’s last act, his stand against the boar, is described as another physical feat. His custom is to plant himself and curse at the boar, thrusting for the kill at the last moment. These are the actions of a Body Type. He’s too imposing to be a One, so we’re looking at an Eight or Nine.

He loves the fight too much to be a Nine. As an Eight, he would impress people that he could be their leader, that he would make a good king. They would be wrong.

ROBERT BARATHEON (TV), SEVEN

In a way, he’s just waiting to die. Stories about killing fill the space around drinking, eating, and wenching. His family is unimportant, the realm is uninteresting. His loss of Lyanna took a lot of caring out of him. It’s ironic that she loved someone else (as we learn later) while he pines. If she hadn’t died, he may have learned the truth about her and moved on.

And his character doesn’t arc. We, the plot watchers, are also waiting for him to die. Motivations swirl about, on hold until he steps out of the way. Credit to Mark Addy for making a placeholder interesting. 

What does Robert Baratheon want? What motivation is Addy playing? “I want to die” isn’t right. He’s not even marvelously tragic. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. This is no way to treat a character.

This Robert is a Seven. Life is dull and he doesn’t care. Without luster, without fire and challenge, a Seven will wither. Only the hedonism is left.

JAIME LANNISTER (TV), NINE

I’ve just begun rewatching Game of Thrones so that I can refresh my memory on these characters and what Enneagram numbers they might be. I don’t need to dig too deeply, though, to know that Jaime’s a Nine. It’s pretty classic.

In the first episode he’s an incestuous child-killer. (Remember that?!) He comes a long way throughout the show’s run, though.

He’s physically gifted. Being a knight comes easy to him. When his hand is taken in a later season he falls apart. His physical prowess, but also his physical ability to communicate, are integral to his character.

His relationship with his sister is a dark Nine trait. He is so intent on avoiding conflict with her that he agrees to something dangerously disordered.

Near the end of the seasons Jaime becomes heroic. A Nine’s sense of justice and fair play moves him into relationships that strengthen him, such as with Brienne.

I’ll continue watching, and perhaps I’ll feel I need to add more to Jaime TV later (I’m also rereading the novels), but for now, going by memory, this seems accurate.

CATWOMAN (2012), NINE

Anne Hathaway physically hearkens back to the TV series casting: leather, long legs, sultry. Her Catwoman is in an obvious trajectory from the Newmar typing.

This Catwoman isn’t a thief for the thrill. She’s poor and hustling. When she hits a certain level of monetary comfort, she’s done. And, if we pay attention to the ending of The Dark Knight Rises, she lives contentedly in Italy with Bruce Wayne after the ultimate villain is defeated. Both of them walk away from the costume business. 

She’s built like a Four, which could be casting coincidence, and Catwoman has that emotional engagement that could indicate a Four. Is she?

No. She’s a Nine. One clue: the Batcycle. Batman rides a physically complicated bike. You don’t just get on and balance. Catwoman jumps on and is instantly competent. This is probably for story concerns; no one wants to watch Bruce tutor Selina on the motorcycle details. However, we’ll take it as an Enneagram indicator. This Catwoman is a Body Type.

Another clue: Selina begins the movie primarily concerned with herself. She’s not heartless about the downtrodden, but her own needs motivate her. This changes. She helps Batman because it’s fair. Justice, that Nine balancing of diplomacy, moves her to participate in the Eight.

And then we have the finale. The piazza trattoria with Bruce. They’re almost companions, war survivors. Although romance is implied, it’s not the driving motivation. They’re just comfortable together. That lack of drama says Nine.

The long legs? The sultry? Nines don’t usually deploy those tools, but they can if they want, and when they do it’s a knockout.

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.

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.

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.

DARBY O’GILL, TWO

The man who has truck with the wee folk. Don’t be puttin’ the come-hither on me, now. Who doesn’t want to watch this Disney classic and speak in fake Irish?

Darby is no con man. He genuinely can see and negotiate with the King of the Leprechauns. However, Darby is so intrigued by the fairy world that he seems like a flake. He doesn’t do much work, he’s too busy scheming for his three wishes. He procrastinates and socializes. The only time he jumps is when the priest needs someone to retrieve the church bell.

Ah, Darby is such a Two. His collection — an identifying feature of a Man Two — is leprechaun lore. His knowledge and sharing of it are what make him so beloved at the pub.

He has a kind heart but he’s no businessman. He putters, trimming the hedge here, poaching a rabbit there. Service to the Church, though, moves him. The notion that the music of the bell belongs to him makes him tear up. 

A fixture of the community, both human and fairy. Two.

BATMAN (2012), EIGHT

The Dark Knight Rises is the third part of the Nolan trilogy. This Batman character has an arc, so we will find an Enneagram here (as opposed to part two).

At the beginning of the movie Batman is retired, hobbled, and reclusive. He’s just Bruce Wayne. The plot draws him out. He seeks prosthetic support for his knee and returns to training. He is initially defeated by Bane and must triumphantly overcome. 

It’s fairly cliche.

Is Batman still an Eight?

Physically, he’s dogged. He takes a beating and comes back for more. His sense of justice is also unflagging. Batman’s one consistency in the Nolan years is his insistence on saving Gotham. The city is his child and he is its protector.

His anger and how it fuels him is Eight-ish. I’m concerned, though, that he never shows that irreverent humor an Eight has. He never shows any humor. Eights have a sardonic wit and a brutal honesty that I’m just not seeing.

I think they’ve kept Batman an Eight, but only half an Eight. He’s physical and indestructible, a gamer’s tank. However, Batman’s cynicism, melancholy, and loneliness, and how they manifest in his dark humor, are also canon. The Nolan years have lost this side of him. My rewatch of these three movies has surprised me. I’m not a fan anymore. Half a Batman makes for a stodgy, ponderous slog.