Psychoanalyzing Mat Baynton’s Characters (Enneagram Types)
Right so I know probably no one cares about this, but I used to be super into enneagram types and I wanted to try typing the baynton boys :D I’m not an enneagram expert and honestly I mostly know about my type, so please don’t kill me if they are inaccurate. Also, I’ll add the others when I watch those shows if anyone is interested!
And if anyone is curious, my type is 7w8 sx/so :)
Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, and enneagram types are not the end all be all of a person’s personality, which is incredibly complex. Most people have aspects of every personality type, which is why your type is referred to as your core type, not your “only” type. :)
Note on Sx Subtype: I would just like to clarify because I’m not sure how many people who know about enneagram are reading this, the sexual instinct doesn’t have to do with literal sex. It’s also called the one-to-one subtype, and there are plenty of aromantic and asexual people that are sx-doms, because it has nothing to do with sex/sex drive. Instincts/subtypes are thought to be a result of our animal genetics, and therefore are based on what you feel like you need to survive or prioritize in order to have fulfillment. Eg. sx(sexual): needs to have an intense bond with a person; so(social): needs to have a group of people/societal recognition/a community; sp(self-preservation): needs to be able to survive on their own, concerned with safety/comfort/stability, as well as the health of their physical body.
Chris Pitt-Goddard - Type 7w8 sx/sp
Core Fear: Of being deprived and in pain
Core Desire: To be satisfied and content
MY MAN is the most stereotypical 7 I’ve ever seen(and I’m saying that as someone who is also a type 7). Though Chris is very loyal to his friends and is there for them, I’m typing him as a 7w8 since he doesn’t really seem to care about stability or security. He pretty much does or says whatever he wants in the moment, which I think is a more 7w8 mentality. A 7w6 would think about more about the possibility of danger or how it would affect the people around them, due to the influence of the 6. I think we can also see Chris integrate to 5 when he helps Tim with the court case, as he was extremely focused and determined and learned everything he could in order to help him.
I think Chris is a sx/sp with a social blind spot. Though again, Chris does care a lot about his friends, I feel like we don’t see much of the social 7 in him in terms of being self sacrificial and a people pleaser. He tends to just do whatever he wants and doesn’t really ask people for their opinion. Sexual/one-to-one as his dominant subtype definitely makes sense, when we see him with Bernie he’s completely infatuated with her(and maybe I’m just projecting, but as an sx 7 I can relate to Chris in terms of being super independent and all “i don’t need no man/woman” but then becoming the biggest simp when I get into a relationship). The self preservation secondary might be a hot take/I might be completely wrong because I’m 99% sure I’m self-pres blind, but from what I understand self-pres 7s tend to create a support system/safety net around them to fall back on. I think we can see this with Chris’s original job working at the computer shop, and his friendship with Tim. The social blind is evident just in that he doesn’t really seem to care much about the world around him/social recognition, he’s more concerned with doing what he wants for himself. A social dom/secondary would be more concerned with whether other people like them or not, which Chris doesn’t really seem to care about at all.
Ariel Conroy - Type 2w3 sx/sp
Core Fear: Of being unloveable and unwanted
Maybe some will consider this a hot take, but I think Ariel being a type 2 is obvious. He has heavy integration towards 8 and 4, he’s just incredibly unhealthy. When unhealthy, Type 2s become obsessive and possessive, and they can feel entitled to other people’s love/gratitude(such as when he was lecturing Rhonda about how she should be more grateful for him saving her). We can see all of this in his relationship with Hawkwind, since he literally stalks her, and his entire pursuit of Jamie all has to do with him feeling like his mother didn’t love him and it made him feel inadequate/unworthy. His 3 wing is evident with his desire for success/wealth and even though he is more private, he still craves recognition as seen with his White Horse identity. His obsession with Jamie also makes sense with him being a type 2w3, as he feels like Jamie’s existence is a personal attack against him and his presence triggers his core fear.
Ariel’s subtype is probably sx/sp, with a social blind spot. I almost typed him as an sp/sx, but I think Ariel’s ultimate desire is to have someone. I think that due to Hawkwind’s absence his sp has developed more, to the point where they are very close in terms of effect on his personality. The sexual instinct is often described as a desire for “merging” with another person, and I think Ariel wants that kind of intense devotion from someone and will also reciprocate it. Sx/sp’s also tend to be extremely jealous and intense people. I also read something about Sx/sp that their secondary instinct is used as a means to an end to fulfill their primary instinct, which I think is clear in Ariel. Since sp is all about vitality, physical health, attractiveness etc, he would use this to his advantage to lure the object of his affections and portray an image of what he thinks they want. A good example of this would be when he kidnapped Frankie, I think he was being somewhat nice to her because he wanted Hawkwind to love him, but otherwise probably wouldn’t have put any effort into talking to her.
Though Ariel does seem to crave recognition from his White Horse persona, I think that’s more due to his 3 wing as opposed to having a social instinct. Ariel is very single minded and doesn’t seem to have any friends nor care about maintaining connections or social status, which we can see when he killed his Deus Ex partner without remorse and basically anytime he talks to another human being that isn’t Hawkwind. Some other good examples of this are when he kicks Rhonda out of the car after finding out she’s useless, and how he treated Sutton(sp secondary also with Sutton, when he asks her for money it’s to fulfill that instinct).
Jamie Winton - Type 6w7 sp/sx
Core Fear: Being without support or guidance
Core Desire: To have security and support
Honestly I struggled a bit between 1 and 6 for Jamie, but after considering instincts I realized he’s a 6(more on that later). Type 6 is notoriously hard to type, due to there being counter-phobic 6s and phobic 6s, but Jamie seems like a phobic 6. I think we see him shift a little bit towards towards the end of the show, especially as he gains more confidence in himself, which is something that a lot of 6s struggle with due to their constant anxiety and fear of things going wrong. Type 6 is known as the Loyalist and I mean… he was still in love with Layla, made videos for her everyday for 7 years, despite the fact that they barely spent anytime married together. If that’s not peak loyalty I don’t know what is! He’s very concerned with security and stability, and phobic 6s tend to place a lot of faith into rules/societal norms, which I think we can see in that scene in Ep. 1 where he is talking to Dave(type 7) in the kitchen about his career and paying the rent.
Speaking of Dave, 7s and 6s do tend to get along quite well due to both being in the fear/anxiety triad, but I find it fascinating to see how that plays out in their relationship. I think if anyone is struggling between 7w8 or 7w6, or 7w6 and 6w7, watching the two of them together and seeing which one you relate to more would be a good differentiator.
Onto his 7 wing. I think at first Jamie doesn’t seem like a 7 wing, but I think this is because he’s more introverted. I think he could have/be very close to having balanced wings. I don’t see him as a 6w5 because he doesn’t seem to struggle with feeling like he’s incompetent as often, which is the core fear of a type 5. We see that Jamie does have a desire for spontaneity, which is from his 7 wing, but being a core 6 he is able to reign it in and keep it controlled for the most part. I think some good examples off the top of my head of when it comes out are when he decides to go looking for Layla, when he lets Dave stand on the car(he almost didn’t, but he still did), and when he stands up during Layla’s case and offers to pay for her fine. Type 7s are also described as having intense FOMO, which reminds me of that scene when he’s talking to Layla about how he wishes he could’ve gotten to know Frankie sooner because he missed out on all those years. He could also originally have been a 6w5, but due to being friends with Dave he brings that 7 side of him out more.
Our only non sx-dom on this list! Maybe I’m biased on these because I’m a sx-dom haha. So, Jamie is very clearly an sp-first person, because he’s very concerned with safety, his environment, career, etc. Maybe sx-secondary will be a hot take, because I really went back and forth between so and sx as his secondary. However, I really don’t think a so-secondary/sx-blind would’ve still been in love with Layla and holding out hope for her after 7 years, and then welcome her back into their life as quickly as he did. Sp/sx 6’s also tend to look very One-ish, which makes sense in terms of why he can seem more like a 1 at times. Sp/sx’s are very concerned with their loved ones and their opinions of them, and their focus on security is shifted to the people closest to them. In episode 1, we see that Jamie is just going with the motions, living his life, because it’s safe and secure. However, once the apocalypse happens, his priorities shift to finding Layla, fueled by his secondary instinct. The sx-secondary also gives Jamie a bit more confidence than a so-secondary would have, as sp/so 6’s tend to be the most anxious of the 6’s. I think when the apocalypse happened, an sp/so would be much more worried about what this means for the world/his friends and family, as opposed to Jamie with his sx energy being like “im going to find layla no matter what”. :)
Thomas Thorne - Type 4w5 sx/so
Core Fear: That they have no identity/personal significance
Core Desire: To find themselves and their significance
Thomas is the most stereotypical 4 I have ever seen in my life! I think Thomas is a 4w5, because he’s more concerned with poetry because he loves/has an appreciation for it, as opposed to because he wants to become hugely successful off of it. He does still care about success/recognition, but not as much as a 4w3 would. Type 4’s are very concerned with what makes them who they are, and when they feel like they’ve discovered what that is they tend to become very attached to it. This is clearly shown with his poetry, as he’s constantly trying to write poems or make things sound poetic, because on some level he feels like if he doesn’t he won’t be “him” anymore(A good example of this is that scene where he’s sitting with Alison after they were camping, and what he said out of nowhere was very poetic and then he started trying too hard and she was like yeah no). Type 4s are also very introspective and tend to be extremely empathetic and understanding of other people’s emotions. Due to this though, they can sometimes come across as being a bit dramatic.
Onto his subtypes. Sx-dom is obvious, Thomas loves women and falls in love quickly, and his infatuation with Alison also points to sx-dom. I will debate on anyone else’s instinct stack except Thomas! “Divorce him, kill yourself, marry me” is such a stereotypical sx-dom thing to say, like I said before sx-dom is often described as a desire to “merge” with another person(Also idk why I thought of this for Thomas, but a good example of this “merging” idea would be with Morticia and Gomez from the Addams Family. Both of them are sx-doms!). As for his social-secondary, Thomas is very concerned with other people’s opinions of him, and he has a desire to be recognized/appreciated for his poetry. Sp-blind is obvious in regards to his death, he had no hesitation when defending the girl he loved and sacrificing his life for it. Even while he was dying, the first thing he asked was for his cousin to get Isabelle so he could say goodbye to her.
Sam Pinkett - Type 9w1 sx/sp
Core Fear: Loss and separation
Core Desire: To have inner stability/peace of mind
Sad times Sam Pinkett is a type 9, which is the hardest type to explain because it is so complex. Unfortunately Sam is very very much a 9, so I will do my best! So type 9s are known for being the all-rounders of the enneagram, in that they tend to have qualities of all the other enneagram types. Of course, all of us do no matter our type, but for type 9s this is the most prevalent. This is mainly due to the 9’s tendency to be self-dissolving, and as such they tend to accumulate aspects of all the other types as they go throughout life.
So, there are multiple reasons why Sam Pinkett is a 9w1. The first thing that clued me on in this is him saying he wants Lizzie to make all of his decisions for him, as 9s tend to be very indecisive and struggle with making decisions. 9s are very much known for responding with “you pick” when you ask them where they want to go/what they want to do. 9w1s, as opposed to 9w8s, also tend to be a bit more complacent and less confrontational which can be seen in Sam’s tendency to just “go with the flow” and kind of do what he thinks is expected of him, and he very much wants this kind of dynamic with Lizzie. Unfortunately 9s have a bit of a reputation for being a bit lazy, and this is mainly due to them being very risk-averse. I think we can see a lot of this in Sam’s hesitancy to leave his job even though it’s extremely clear he doesn’t really care about it. Another example of his slothfullness(is that even a word? idk) is when at some point during the show(I forgot when) he tells Lizzie he just wants her to tell him what she wants and he’ll do it so they can be together again.
The 1 wing adds a lot of morality to Sam’s character, and he is very concerned with doing the right thing, which is literally the entire plot of the show so I don’t think I need to explain that haha. Another example of this is when he first becomes friends with Phil, which (according to the s1 finale) he did because he “felt bad for him”. His entire display of anger during that scene is actually very 9 behavior as well, as 9s tend to have outbursts like that once their anger has boiled past the breaking point(this is bc 9s are in the anger triad, and their fixation is being out of touch with their anger. 9s are the type of people to say “I never get angry!” bc they are very concerned with being peaceful/nice, and then emotionally blast you to pieces lmao).
Onto his instincts. I think Sam being sx-dom is pretty clear, his fixation on Lizzie and desire for her to make all of his decisions is very sx-like to me. I haven’t talked about this in previous typings of the Baynton boys, but a lot of times with the sx subtype there is a distinction between an sx who wants to initiate the merging, and the sx who wants to be merged. I think Sam is definitely the type that wants to be merged with, and that’s why a lot of people see him as being a sub(valid). I think the self-dissolving aspect of the 9 comes into a lot of play with this as well, as Sam seems to be very focused on doing what Lizzie wants/expects of him as opposed to considering or thinking about his own wants and needs. Sx subtype also tends to add a dreamer-like quality to a type, and being that type 9 is quite known for being very daydreamer-y I think it makes a lot of sense for Sam. In the second season he talks about how he always planned on going to London and doing something with his life but never did, and I think this illustrates his daydreaming side + lack of taking action quite well. Sp for Sam is second because he doesn’t seem much concerned with societal recognition or friend groups, he actually seems to be quite lonely, and even in scenes when we’ve seen him with people he used to be friends with there is this sense of separation that is very characteristic of the sx/sp. He also seems pretty concerned with doing what he wants/living his best life, even though he doesn’t take action towards it in the beginning of the show, this fixation on it is characteristic of a character with an sp focus. When these two instincts come together, you see a person who is very drawn to intense/close relationships such as his relationship with Lizzie and his friendship with Phil, but a seeming inability and/or lack of desire to maintain fringe friendships with people.
Personally I fricking LOVE type 9s so I’m going to write a whole goddamn essay about Sam Pinkett apparently. I think the beautiful thing about The Wrong Mans as a tv show is that we see Sam go from a typical unhealthy/asleep 9 in the beginning, to a healthy type 9. We see a lot of instances of his 6 stress coming out when he becomes concerned with losing the stability Lizzie provided for him, but throughout season 1 and season 2 we see IMMENSE growth towards 3, which I love for him so much!! 9s go to 3 when they stop falling asleep towards themselves and begin to move/pursue something that they care deeply about, which again I don’t think I need to explain for Sam if you’ve watched the show haha. I think its great and honestly I think Sam is one of the best 9w1s I’ve seen represented in media, and I think it’s amazing how clearly you can see him move through growth as the show progresses. And that’s it that’s my Sam essay, hope you liked it. :)
Thanks for reading to the end! Again, please don’t take this seriously it’s just for fun!! :)
