Category: Character Stories

MAID MARIAN (1991), NULL

In my memory this Marian was pushy and dominating. Funny. In the first half of the movie she’s completely reasonable. As cousin to King Richard, she keeps her head down and provides for her tenants. She’s politically savvy and a good landlord. Robin, apparently, was a lightfoot lad before crusade, and she formed her opinion of him accordingly. He’s not a serious person to her.

Her practicality and efficiency are very Seven.

However, in the second half she changes her character. When Nottingham insists she marry him, she reacts much too emotionally for the era and for a Seven. A noblewoman of this time would’ve expected to marry for expedience, not love. Now, the Sheriff is repugnant and she should object, but not with such surprise and outrage. His request is logical and she would’ve expected it.

And how am I to properly judge her Enneagram when she’s given scenes utterly unreasonable? A woman with her property holdings would certainly know how to birth animals, let alone handle a woman’s breach delivery. That she’s sidelined by the guy is laughable and insulting.

I think I always expect Mastrantonio to be her character from The Abyss. She was so excellent in that part. Surprisingly, I would welcome that style for this Marian. Anything would be better than this hopscotch person we end up with. She’s a Null.

ROBIN HOOD (1991), NINE

My goodness, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is near unwatchable at this point. I don’t remember it being so horrible when it was released, but it has aged very poorly. The tone is all over the place, from Alan Rickman’s broad comedy as Sheriff, to Morgan Freeman’s limiting Magic Negro trope, Azeem. The editor could’ve made three different movies, I think, out of the footage.

Robin himself may be physically gifted. He’s a decent archer. None of his character, though, follows the trope of Hood as a dominant fighter. The focus is more on his leadership skills, although that’s not clearly defined, either. He has some right and respect as a nobleman, and he mouths platitudes about fighting back, but we see none of this as show. We do see a ragtag band living rough in the woods transformed by Robin into a community. This is one arc for Robin that the story puts on film.

So, the tradition of Robin as a Nine might be broken here. Nothing about him says Body Type. This Robin is also not a strategist. There’s no moment when he stands on a tree limb and taunts the rich while his Merry Men hide in all the right places. All he has is a soft heart, but I’m not sure he’s a Heart Type.

He’s brave. He’s ashamed of his youthful behavior and deeply regretful of how he parted from his father. He’s impulsive, mostly in a good way. When an opportunity occurs, he takes it, such as his opening escape from prison.

Really, he just wants a quiet life with family. I’m going to call him a Nine due to this avoidance of conflict. He’ll fight if he must, but he’d rather sit. I really hate to do it, because the other two Robins I’ve reviewed are such clear examples, and he’s not in their league. But he’s consistent throughout, so there it is.

GABBY GABBY, FOUR

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.

BO PEEP, EIGHT

This Bo acts plastic when she’s actually porcelain, and it drives me crazy, lol. In the first movie, the quality of her skin rendering is so lovely. In Toy Story 4, they’ve lost that translucent quality. And don’t get me started about how she throws herself about, even breaking an arm, as if she isn’t basically made of glass.

Before this, Bo doesn’t show enough character to read an Enneagram on her. Now that she’s living free we can figure her out.

She’s very physical, like an action hero doll. (Which is so wrong!) Brave, daring, hard-charging, she’s probably a Body Type, and most likely an Eight. Hollywood has a hard time writing any other number for strong women. She’s got her sheep and her little friend, McGiggles. (Oops, McDimples.) She knows everyone about the neighborhood, but they’re not in her core circle. This is definitely more Body than Head or Heart.

Really, there’s not much else to Bo. She’s a run-of-the-mill Woman Eight, the easiest trope to hit. Her porcelain delicacy is ignored. Her creation as a lamp ornament is disdained. Her inherent feminine fragility is tossed aside with her skirt. She’s just a badass who drives around in an RC skunk, subverting every one of our expectations and giving us nothing interesting in their stead.

Sorry, lol. I strongly disagree with these choices made for Bo. What kills me is that she had so much potential to be one of the great characters if the showrunners had embraced all the things that made her unique.

CLARA CLAYTON, SEVEN

She has less of a role than some of the other repeat characters, but Clara makes an impact. We know Doc well; any woman he would love needs to impress us.

In order to match with Doc, she has to be a science nerd, and she is. It goes beyond a love of Jules Verne, though. Her telescope has an entire backstory, and she has a lifelong relationship with science. Well done.

She’s obviously brave. A lone woman schoolteacher sets off into the Wild West, arriving by train in a town where she knows no one. It’s easy to forget how risky such a move would be back then.

A practical woman who dares to adventure? Seven. It’s her clinical reactions that define her Enneagram. Doc breaks her heart, she’s leaving. New information tells her Doc loves her, she’s returning. Doc has a model train set with a piece labeled “time machine”, she believes him. Doc’s off to travel through time, she follows. She just does the next thing in front of her, no matter how unrealistic and ludicrous. That willingness is very Seven.

BIFF TANNEN, NULL

He’s our villain, or some version of his ancestral line is, throughout the trilogy. It’s only Old Biff in the second movie, the time traveler, who has any brains. Every other version of him is mean or subservient. Does he even have an Enneagram, or is he just a generic antagonist?

Actually, I think that’s our answer. Old Biff has a motivation: I want to change my destiny. He’s the only one who isn’t a cartoon. He has a fatherly patience with his younger self. Obviously he’s pretty smart. In just a few seconds he understands all the ramifications of time travel, as well as the motivations of Marty and Doc. That’s why he warns himself to look out for them in the future. A little too convenient? Do we believe that bully Biff can really become this wiser Biff? But then he leaves the almanac bag and his broken cane handle behind in the car, so how clever is he?

Nope, he’s still just a plot device. No Enneagram.

MARTY McFLY, ONE

He’s not a rule-follower or particularly organized. We know this by the amount of school tardy slips he’s racked up. He’s not chivalrous; he leaves his unconscious beloved unattended on a porch swing in a dicey neighborhood. He’s a loyal friend and well-liked by strangers. He’s fairly athletic, riding multiple iterations of a skateboard with ease. If it weren’t for the tardy thing I’d call him a One. He has a certain can-do attitude and a love of adventure that might indicate a Seven. His ability to charm the past and come out a winner, and his hatred of being unfairly labeled a “chicken”, suggests a Three. So, what have we got?

He’s not interested in how Doc invents things. He doesn’t chime in or brainstorm, or even try to understand. Not a Seven.

Besides being a time traveler, Marty really has no vocational plan. What did he like to do before Doc intervened? Drive a 4×4 is about it. Not a Three.

He’s a man who needs a mission, and when it’s given to him — save the past to save the future — he’s engaged and active. The tardies are a sign he’s drifting, looking for that motivating moment to come from outside himself and change his life. One.

DOC BROWN, TWO

The very first opening moments of the trilogy tell us Doc Brown’s Enneagram number. Look at all those clocks! He’s not just repairing or tinkering or inventing, he’s collecting. The filmmakers may have been winking at us about the theme of time in BttF, but they’ve also given us key information about Doc’s character. As a Caractacus Potts type, Doc could be a Seven or an Eight, but this collection indicates he’s a Two. 

When he goes into the future, what does he do? He looks up people he cares about — Marty — to see how they’re doing. When Future Marty is a mess, Doc ropes Current Marty into a time travel event in order to help him. Very Heart Type.

It’s possible this is what makes his love for Clara in the third movie so sweet. He’s been solely focused on science, and as a collector he’s had much to satisfy him. His friendship with Marty is dear to him and has sustained him. The way his heart opens to Clara, though, against his will even, is charming. How else do you make someone not classically handsome the hero of a love story? The filmmakers and Lloyd tapped into something hidden but essential in Doc. This twist — the last film is a romance! — works so well because he’s a Heart Type.

LITTLEFINGER (BOOK), ONE

He’s short, sly and manipulative. And he’s in charge of the money. One?

He likes secrets, holding them and sharing them. He likes knowing more than others. He likes messing with your mind. Sarcasm and deceit. Yet, I want to believe. I want to find something worthwhile in him. He’s an underdog, actually. We’re supposed to suspect him. He tells Ned not to trust him, yet he helps Ned in ways he could’ve ignored. It’s as if The Game is playing constantly in his head, pieces shifting, and he’ll attend to you and reality in his spare time. He may even watch the tokens move afterward, seeing the effect of his words.

When Ned asks his advice after Robert’s deadly injury he gives an excellent answer. He openly shares a treasonous idea. When it’s rejected, Littlefinger moves on. Open, then closed. He’s like a door. His honesty combined with practicality, and his dry wit, really say One. Also, his use of money, the purse, as a tool screams One. What about his ability to spin on a dime, to negotiate with Ned, and then stab him in the back? Much can be justified when a One believes they’re in the right. A One can be a flat-out villain and have no idea. They relentlessly pursue a worthy goal in their mind. How the rest of the world sees them is not only invisible, it’s unimportant.

TYWIN LANNISTER (BOOK), THREE

Before we see him we know that he or his men have killed the red-toothed tavern keeper. She was just a woman running an inn. What a shame, and I believe that’s what we’re supposed to feel at recognizing her corpse on the gibbet. Tywin is not nice.

Cool under pressure, Tywin is so focused. He never smiles. Problems thrown at him barely register. He intends to break Robb Stark, and then focus on Stannis. He is the most mentally and physically disciplined person in the story. Diplomacy and persuasion are as much a part of his arsenal as tactics and might. No wonder his children are, at least, intimidated by him and, at most, terrified.

His armor is described in great detail. It’s amazing! I wish they’d included it in the show. Gold, lions, rubies, a heavy cloak long enough to drape the horse’s hindquarters. You can see him glisten from afar. What kind of man indulges in something so practical and yet so artistic? When the battle is mostly won, Tywin rides forward, shiny and majestic, surrounded by banners and spears. It’s epic. The man knows showmanship.

However, he misjudges Robb’s tactics. He calls Robb green, which he is, and assumes Robb will act rashly, which he doesn’t. It’s a great, fist-rising moment of victory for the Starks. Does he guess wrong because his pride blinds him? Is he just unlucky on this day? Or is there something about the Starks — a leadership based on camaraderie rather than dominance — that a Lannister can’t understand?

Well, his success at everything suggests a Three. He’s got it all. An imp child would particularly cause such a man to feel shame. Cersei, a medieval-era woman with a ruthless mind and a willful ambition, would baffle and embarrass him. And Jaime, the golden lion who fights hard in whatever direction his father points him, would please Tywin most.