Enneagram – Page 36 – Enneagram and Encaustic

CERSEI LANNISTER (BOOK), EIGHT

She’s insightful, but is it a natural diplomacy or is it keen self-preservation? She sends Joffrey to a frightened Sansa (on the trip south), which is exactly the right thing to do at that moment. It’s a kind and attentive act. It also stops a potential scene. It stills the waters. Impressive, but what underlies it?

When Arya is held to account for her attack on Joffrey, Cersei is determined. She knows all the angles to get some kind of justice, or revenge, for the sake of her son. It’s as if she’s followed all the branchings in her mind, all the permutations of reactions, and decided what to do in response. Either that, or she’s incredibly quick-witted. She has an iron discipline.

Ned confronts her in the godswood. She’s so calm, so straightforward! She doesn’t flinch or dissemble. Whoa! She had an abortion rather than bear Robert’s child. That’s different from the story TV Cersei tells Catelyn. She hates Baratheon. Quite a choice by the showrunners to make Cersei . . . more likable? Weird. Robert called her Lyanna on their wedding night. Another moment when the ghost changed his life and he didn’t even know it.

And Cersei makes a pass at Ned! An orgasm for a favor, for forgetting who fathered the children. When he tells her to flee, that Robert will chase her with his wrath, she asks, “And what of my wrath?” To underestimate Cersei, to not see her as a power broker, is a fatal mistake.

Only Tyrion can annoy her enough to make stupid mistakes. Or is Tyrion the only one who looks closely enough to see them? What is she?

She acts from her gut. Her heart and her head don’t hold sway. She’s too manipulative to be a Nine and too dull to be a One. An Eight, then. Hmm. It would explain why she and Tyrion rub each other wrong: they are each other’s strength and weakness number. As much as I love Lena Headey I wouldn’t have cast her as this Cersei. She’s playing (and is written to be), probably, a Four. A true Eight portrayal would’ve been magnificent.

THE CHAPERONE

ONE

The Krusty Krab. Spongebob is in the kitchen, sniffing patty meat. Mustard check mark — perfect!

TWO

Crying is heard. Spongebob peeks his head out the order window and then hides. Pearl, tears streaming, runs through the dining area and into the office. Spongebob follows the trail of moisture and listens at the door.

Haha! Mr. Krabs’ voice tells her to calm down and the office door slams to the ground from the tsunami of tears. Spongebob fights the wave to put the door back. A stream of water knocks down the door and ejects Mr. Krabs across the restaurant, tears filling the room. (Yay, finally. Water flooding a building that is already underwater. I’ve been waiting for that reality check!)

THREE

What’s wrong with Pearl? Her scurvy prom date stood her up.

Episode 2

ONE

A car with luggage passes a horse-drawn carriage through the village. Ah, the Crawleys, mother and son, are inside.

TWO

They arrive at Crawley House. Interesting: there’s a house waiting. Feel the weight of the legacy. Matthew wants to turn down the inheritance; his mother makes clear that is a legal impossibility. This is all good storymaking. Characters must accept the thing they want least.

Molesley, butler and valet, greets them. Of course Matthew balks. He’s a middle-class man who doesn’t want to be changed by a title.

THREE

Now we get Cora’s and Robert’s perspective. The former heir, Patrick, was raised to understand his role. Again, reinforcing the fish out of water trope for Matthew.

The Fortune-Teller

ONE

Typical One: where is our team camping? We have a lake with fish.

TWO

However, Sokka can catch nothing because Aang has taken the fishing line and used it to weave a necklace for Katara. The lack of line is not the Two; survival is not the point of this episode. It’s the lovey gift, unasked for.

THREE

And here we have a stylized vision of a glowing Katara wearing the necklace. Sokka says, “Smoochy, smoochy,” and Katara says they’re just good friends. Each of these elements is not the Three (they’re more part of the Trouble). It’s the notion that one of the team cares in a way that isn’t reciprocated.

THE HOUND (BOOK), NINE

He’s Joffrey’s dog. Mean and biddable. At the beginning he’s just a tool, and that’s how he sees himself. His will is not his own. Just because he’s a servant, though, he’s not a simpleton. He sees The Game around him and understands it. It amuses him. Killing and laughing, really, are the breadth of his range. He’s quite interesting as a character study.

Ah, he’s the first person to challenge Sansa, to point out that she’s a puppet. She has not begun to discover herself but only behaves as she’s been trained. Why does he care enough to confront her with this?

And the story of Sandor’s burning is told to Sansa by him, not by Littlefinger’s gossip, here in the book. Why diminish such a powerful story, such a powerful moment between these characters, by giving this speech away? He threatens her to secrecy later, not that she would tell anyway, afraid possibly at the vulnerability he’s shown. His behavior is a wonderful mystery that makes him very interesting.

When he jumps in at the tournament to rescue Loras from the Mountain he’s magnificent. Brave, obviously, but he’s also a kind of watchman on his brother, who’s a truly evil creature. Stop Gregor from hurting anyone else might be Sandor’s only motto.

Now he’s part of the Kingsguard, standing watch over Joffrey. At the “gnat’s” tournament he takes Sansa’s part, although with a stone face. He won’t hit Sansa, the only guard who isn’t challenged to do so. He doesn’t care about anything, it seems, yet he interjects himself so effortlessly at key moments.

The ironic detachment, the physical competency, the lack of will to create his own destiny — what number? Nine, of course. He avoids conflict by not caring about anything. Only Sansa, through innocence, vulnerability, or naivete, can get him to engage.

SQUIDWARD THE UNFRIENDLY GHOST

ONE

The Easter Island head. Inside, Squidward talks to . . . himself. He’s sculpted a wax replica of himself. It’s disturbing. Haha! Hands on hips, it’s just as judgy as the original.

Crash! Outside Spongebob and Patrick play football with a rock. Nope, not football. It’s an undersea Calvinball with chess and bubble blowing. This could also possibly be the Two.

TWO

Squidward opens his window to yell at them. Once he’s disrupted their game he puts on a record and draws a bath. The clash with Squidward, wherever I draw the line, is the Trouble. The lack of a Three makes this Two hard to tack down.

THREE

(There is no Three.)

TYRION LANNISTER (BOOK), FIVE

When Catelyn captures him Tyrion is most offended that he didn’t see it coming. She successfully tricks him and it galls. When Cat is cornered, though, and against his own reason, Tyrion steps forward to fight. After the battle he takes the time to observe their foe. Poor weapons and thin bodies. He’s always gathering information. Afterward, he rides armed and free, with Bronn beside him. He can convince anybody of anything, it seems. Cat takes him to the Vale and claims he’s her prisoner, but that’s not how it looks.

He sees himself as the brains of the Lannisters. Cersei has “low cunning” and Jaime is rash. For all of Tyrion’s smarts, though, justice will not let him shut his mouth to save himself pain. He antagonizes Lysa when he should lay low. His mouth — his wit and his ability to craft an argument — is his strength. He’s stronger when he takes his time rather than reacting in an instant. Planning and the nerve to carry the idea to fruition as he does on trial in the Vale, that’s Tyrion when he’s successful. Risk, gamble, and study.

“A Lannister always pays his debts.” That phrase is particularly poignant when Tyrion uses it as part of his telling of his wife, the maiden who ended up to be a whore Jaime had hired. It’s a great story, moving and character-revealing, and when Bronn says he would’ve made Tywin pay for what he did, Tyrion comes out with the motto, giving it a whole other meaning. Lovely writing.

He might be the greatest player of The Game. His observation skills, his poker face, his ability to think outside the box, his clarity in understanding the greatest threat. As Hand he’s perfectly situated to use his strengths.

So, which Enneagram number is he? Head Type, without a doubt. Everything is about deducement and plotting. Interestingly, we can’t use his build as a clue.

He’s no Six. Rules are more like guidelines to Tyrion. He has a great love of the sensate pleasures of life, suggesting a Seven. I’m going to say Five, though. It’s his attention to detail. He misses nothing and he notices everything. I also kind of love the notion that if he were a full-sized man, he’d be tall. It’s so perfectly Tyrion.

Cockatrice

Here’s the first hint dropped. On the side of the road is a dead monster.

We have yet to fight our first cockatrice. Technically I’m not strong enough, although we could scare one up in Bitterblack’s arena. From a story perspective, this is a boss for later.

No one killed it, it was just found there. And it’s still in good shape! The guard will take it to the castle for the duke to see.

Stay tuned . . .

More so because I’ve recently been hit with gamer’s thumb on both hands. As I incorporate exercises and alternate controller usage I’ll be easing off on my hardcore gaming. I anticipate taking a break from Dogma.

Episode 1

ONE

As the credits roll we see a wireless transmitting a message intercut with a rolling steam locomotive. Immediately we know we’re in an historical period. Whatever is on this ticker tape, the news shocks the clerk.

The house, the grand Downton estate exterior, is established. April 1912.

Inside, the servants awaken. The staff, a lot of people, bustle throughout the house, lighting fires, opening drapes, preparing trays. Different characters get close-ups, and then here come the keys. It’s Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes, our chiefs of staff. I have no idea, but this seems like a huge house of servants for the early 20th century. The sense that Downton is approaching a milestone is evident before we even hear the plot.

TWO

A bicycle messenger approaches the house, meaning the newspapers have finally arrived. “You’ll see why,” he says. The staff all know what the big news is, but we don’t.

Lord Grantham and his dog descend for breakfast. Ah, he knows, too. It’s Titanic. Of course. Someone important to the family was onboard.

O’Brien, Her Ladyship’s maid, gossips with staff and lets us in on what’s important: Mr. Crawley’s dead and Mr. Patrick was his only son. They were heir to the title.

A just-arrived man with a cane is Bates, the new valet. Handshake from maid Anna, stone face from O’Brien (which pretty much tells you what you need to know about each character). Mrs. Hughes wonders how he can manage with his limp. Mr. Carson comes in and smoothes it all, even though he has concerns.

THREE

Grantham again reiterates that his first cousin and the son are dead. Mary, the eldest daughter, will be the most impacted. She was unofficially engaged to Patrick so that the estate could stay in the family, but no romantic feelings were involved.

The Humiliation of Mercedes

Remember, Mercedes is the lady knight with the French accent who escorted the hydra head to the capital. She’s been hanging around court ever since. Now she needs our help.

Daughter to Hearthstone’s lord (a neighboring country, apparently) she will not be “an idle burden on the duke’s hospitality any longer.” Trouble is afoot and she’s off to investigate. We have no choice but to join her.

When we get to the Stone of the North all of the guards fight between themselves. Sedition! The leader of this rebellion is Lord Julien. He has also been hanging around court, looking all manly, and is the Night’s Champion and spy for Salvation. We saw him with Madeleine at her new shop.

He and Mercedes face off while he deeply insults her with misogynistic taunts. They battle.

Big dude with a mace pounds on little woman with a rapier. I could step in — I have in other playthroughs — and kill him during the duel. Instead I let him attack so I can hear his monologuing.