Category: Character Stories

KIT KELLER, FOUR

Total Envy Person, right? Her jealousy over her sister Dottie is eating her alive. Credit to the actors for nailing their characters so perfectly that narrowing the Enneagram choices is easy.

Two, Three, or Four? Obviously I jump right to Four because Kit seems consumed with emotion, but let’s dig deeper.

Kit is athletic, yet not a Body Type. Next to Dottie Kit is average, but compared to everyone not Dottie, Kit is cream of the crop. She excels. Possibly a Three.

She second guesses herself, though, and lets Dottie live in her head. Her doubt seems very un-Three.

She’s open with the other players. Everyone likes her. I’m going to say no to a Two, though. Evelyn, mother of Stillwell Angel and instigator of one of the greatest lines in film — “There’s no crying in baseball” — seems like the team’s Two.

So, we’re back to Four. Kit is up and down. Her determination to battle, even though she feels defeated, is Four-like. And the Four/Nine dynamic, with Dottie as the partner Nine, is on steroids here. Everything one number refuses to feel, the other number displays. That mix of deep connection and painful codependency makes for a very compelling sister story.

DOTTIE HINSON, NINE

Oh, she’s a Nine all the way. Her avoidance of conflict, her superior athletic ability, her calm dependability — so much Enneagram Nine.

I’ve complained before about having Nine protagonists at every turn. It’s so predictable. Here’s a good one, though. Dottie’s Nine traits, her placid nature, are used to play off the other characters’ more exuberant traits. Although Dottie is our heroine, this is an ensemble cast. Actors play their individual beats and Dottie sits right at the center, reacting. It’s a very good use of a Nine character. Everything that we see happen to her, from signing up for the team to going to the team reunion, is instigated by someone other than Dottie. Even leaving the team because Bob came home is a passive reaction rather than a decisive action. It makes for an interesting and sometimes frustrating character arc.

Also, her astonishing athleticism is important to the story. She’s almost physically superhuman, which leads to a lot of conflict. Her mild personality is a great contrast because she doesn’t really know how good she is. Someone like this, one of the greatest athletes of all time in the world of this story, should have more strut. She’s a bit of a mystery.

In the end, though, she returns to the playoffs of her own accord. The Nine can’t resist the battle when all’s said and done.

ERIK KILLMONGER, EIGHT

Of course he’s an Eight. His anger, his vengeance, his brook-no-arguments leadership are all evidence of his Enneagram number.

What’s truly interesting is that Killmonger is the hero archetype while T’Challa, the actual superhero, isn’t. I believe the filmmakers played this dichotomy on purpose. What does it say when you reverse the superhero trope?

Some people wanted Killmonger to be the protagonist. He’s the corrupted version of a superhero — his methods and goals will cause great harm and he is unrepentant about that — but his core is attractive. That decisiveness and commitment, an unwavering drive, are what we expect in a hero. His origin story is compelling. T’Challa’s just a prince-in-waiting. Part of us wants Killmonger, the underdog warrior, to win.

And yet he is defeated by someone more conflicted, more diplomatic, more democratic. King T”Challa wants to hear from everybody and weigh all sides, as a true leader would. Killmonger dictates and destroys.

In real life humans are more complicated than Killmonger. In stories someone as predictable as Killmonger is a comfort. The catharsis, the sharing of his journey even if it’s a tragedy, is what we crave.

NAKIA, THREE

She’s brave. She’s fearless. Her mission at the opening of the movie is incredibly important to her. Only the death of her king will break her away.

A Three? 

She feels deeply. Injustice lights her on fire. Yet in her personal relationship she is cautious. Feelings don’t rule her in romance. These are very Woman Three traits.

Also, naturally, she’s great at what she does. Three. The family depends on her.

While admirable, Nakia is not a character we latch onto. Shuri, yes, she’s personable and animated. Okoye, yes. Who doesn’t love her fierceness and dedication? Nakia, though, is always distant. Three. A movie that made her the protagonist would be very important and probably boring.

Competency is dull, no matter how great the actress who portrays it. Interesting.

T’CHALLA, NINE

Most superheroes are a one-off: bit by a spider, traumatized by parents’ death, shipped from an alien planet, fathered by a god, etc. Black Panther comes from an ancestral dynasty. When the former king (his father) dies T’Challa assumes the mantle. Before that moment he’s physically trained and wearing the suit, but he’s imbued with the superpowers because he’s now the king.

All of this is very interesting to me when deciding an Enneagram number for him. A lot of superheroes are Eights or Nines. It’s part of the personality necessary to become that leader. Being a Body Type is essential, in a way. But someone who doesn’t choose? Someone who is passed the crown? He could be anything!

Immediately I want to say that he’s not a Body Type. He almost loses his first fight for the kingship and he definitely loses his second. Although he’s competent, T’Challa doesn’t seem like a natural athlete. The suit and the magic power do a lot of the work.

So, Head or Heart? He’s kind of a softy, isn’t he? The way he seeks out Nakia, who’s way more like a superhero badass than he is, is gentle. He wants to tell her in person of his father’s passing, and he wants to check on her without looking like he’s checking on her. She’s the one on the dangerous mission.

He’s not particularly strategic. His sister Shuri is the brains in the family. She carries a lot on her shoulders. What does he bring to the table?

Uh-oh. I’m sensing a placid Nine. A diplomat. But what about his almost Six-ish fighting trajectory?

None of this seems right. I have huge respect for Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman. They wouldn’t create an incompetent portrayal. I think we’re in a weird zone. He’s got to be a Nine. He avoids conflict until he can’t escape it, and then brings a hammer to correct a problem that could’ve been massaged earlier. His physical vulnerability is probably a plot device so that Killmonger can threaten the world. Every superhero has the underdog moment.

I’m kind of not happy about this, though. I really liked this movie, but now I’m wondering if a soft Nine character build will stand up to repeated viewings.

UPDATE: I’m so terribly sorry to hear of Chadwick Boseman’s passing. What a shocking and tragic loss to his family, the acting community, and the MCU fans. May we who mourn find peace.

NEWT, SEVEN

She’s a great character. Indispensable. How can I not write about Newt?

Well, she’s a child, that’s why. I believe we’re all born with an Enneagram number, but I’m reluctant to talk about someone not mature. It feels unfair. To ignore such an integral character would also be unfair, though, so let’s poke.

Brave. Way brave. “They mostly come out at night. Mostly.”

Clever. “This little girl survived with no weapons and no training.”

A good judge of others. A realist. “She’s just a piece of plastic, Ripley.”

Not a Five or Six. Not a Four. Not a Heart Type at all. I know a lot of her personality has been tamped down by fear and survival, but her emotions seem to never have ruled her.

Seven Women are very practical, measured, and calm. This is a possibility.

Also, what about the Body Types? Is she physical? I could call her placid and Nine-ish. Not Eight, not One. She’s not aggressive enough.

She’s a monkey, scampering through the vent system. A Nine’s physicality would manifest in different ways, something more overtly athletic. This is the imp movement that is the hallmark of a Seven.

BURKE, THREE

The weasel. The corporate man. The back-stabber.

He’s so compassionate, so helpful to the just-returned from hypersleep Ripley! What a prince. He’s so sympathetic to her struggles. He’s got the demeanor of a caring Heart Type.

The faker.

His focus on the financial bottom line could make him a One, but he doesn’t strike me as a Body Type. The way he tries to hide when the aliens are attacking, backing through a door and right into one, seems physically clumsy. The lack of situation awareness is pretty dense. He’s more of a stereotypical egghead who blunders into his death.

Head Type?

Not a Seven. A Seven would be in the lab with Bishop poking and prodding at the alien remains.

A Five or Six? His almost blase attitude about the dangers of this mission seem to completely rule out those numbers.

So, he really is a Heart. He’s not a Two. Not enough sincere compassion in him. And not a Four. A Four would definitely acknowledge the utter clusterage of this mission, regardless of ulterior motives. Again, we have Hudson playing that role for the cast.

An evil, mustache-twirling Three. All false face of concern, all behind-the-back plotting to screw you over if necessary. The kind of character you love to hate. Well done.

CORPORAL HICKS, NINE

Is Hicks onscreen long enough to establish an Enneagram number? 

Well, he sleeps! This actually is a character trait, the ability to nod off during a tense drop. We know he’s an experienced soldier, but still not every number could do that. I want to guess a Nine right away.

He’s not a born leader. Corporal. He’s efficient and competent, reliable in a fight. More than a Private but not a Lieutenant. When he’s given command he can lead, but it’s not a position he seeks. Also, when Ripley wants instruction on the pulse rifle, Hicks gives simple, complete directions. He has the leadership skills, just not the ambition.

And he’s got the secret shotgun for “close encounters”. Not a rule follower.

Hudson, Bill Paxton’s wonderful character, is the movie’s Heart Type. Hicks is not. He’s not a Head Type, either. The sleeping, the ease, he must be a Body Type.

He’s not reactionary enough to be an Eight and he’s not zippy enough to be a One. A Nine it is.

BISHOP, NULL

Is Bishop kind because his robot model is no longer “twitchy”, or is that a key character trait? He is programmed to do no harm. My first instinct is that, unlike Ash, Bishop may have no Enneagram.

He’s played very deadpan, very bland. When he does the knife trick on Hudson, he seems disengaged from emotion. Even the little smile he gives is more of a robot’s reaction to human cues.

In the lab he’s as blank-faced as he can be. Now, obviously, this is to create tension for the audience. We know what the last robot did. Nothing seems to be happening behind that stare, though. Later we see how mild he is, how helpful. He follows Company rules as Ash did, but only up to a certain point when his robot protocol takes over. He cannot harm humans, and that’s that.

It’s his helpfulness that leads me to say he has no Enneagram. Every number can be helpful but the intentions behind it vary. I see no intention in Bishop. Only programming.

This is no way diminishes the performance or the writing. Bishop is a valid character choice told well. I would guess that playing no Enneagram is actually quite challenging. Good job there.

The more I think about it, the more impressed I am. A tour de force.

ASH, FOUR

So, does Ash have an Enneagram, or is he just a Robot? And is the reworking of the Robot into Bishop in the second Alien movie a reflection of an Ash character, or just a clever trope undermine?

He’s a synthetic life form. In some ways, asking if Ash has an Enneagram is like asking if the propulsion system has one. He is programmed to follow orders and he doesn’t deviate.

Is his sneakiness a character trait or just part of his mission? This is a horror movie, ultimately, and Ian Holm must give us the squeaks in the seats. His menace goes with the genre.

He seems awfully protective of his mission, though. He seems to relish his special access to Mother, as if he’s more important than the others.

He’s an Envy person!

His camaraderie is false, which we only learn later. These traits are not necessary for a Robot. Ash could have done his job with a much blander personality.

Relish. What a great word for him. Yes, he’s a science machine studying the xenomorph, but his true job is as a Company Man. If a character seems like one archetype yet evolves into another, you have an Enneagram, baby.

Not a Two. He inflicts pain with no remorse. Not a Three. If he were, the science and discovery — his actual job — would sway him more. He’s here for the drama. Four.