MBTI Type: ENTP

Walter literally made a living coming up with new, innovative ideas with Dr. Bell. They worked on endless experiments together, directed at everything from generating telepathic children to crossing into alternate universes. He often leapt headfirst into these experiments, without pausing to consider the emotional, social, or emotional impact beyond the great endless possibilities they present; anything new, ingenious, or inventive excites him – because he constantly seeks bigger, better, more ingenious ideas. Nothing stumps him for long, because he can creatively turn on a dime and try a totally different tactic to achieve a result. He instinctively knows things about people, often seeing what they’re unaware of (he sees Olivia and Peter’s feelings for one another before they do). He questions how everything works, and is never satisfied with the information right in front of him. Walter wants to know how life itself works, and how to manipulate it for the results he is searching for. He considers and dismisses material based on its principles and possibilities; he is forever seeking to understand the world around him and improve on it. His pure logic allows him to foresee and solve future problems, as well as makes him a brilliant inventor, and mathematician. Walter struggles to grasp his own emotions and to share them with others. He does, however, care enough to protect those he lives, and tries hard to amend for his past mistakes. Under pressure, he can also adapt to whatever others need him to be – a loving father, a kind friend, and a child-pleasing professor. His ideas about emotions are sometimes eccentric (being insulted that Peter is eating hamburger in front of his pet cow); he can be quite emotional at times, and it’s hard for him to face Olivia’s anger what his experiments did to her in childhood. His past is frequently referenced when trying to solve problems in the present. Many things he works on remind him of similar conversations and experiments he ran with Bell in the 80’s. He often gravitates toward things from his past that give him comfort (music, former belongings, his old equipment), particularly in times of stress, but his lack of attention to detail, his inability to understand how reality works, and his characteristic “whims” mean a lot of his ideas backfire in world-shattering ways.

Enneagram: 5w6 so/sp

Walter is all about ideas, theories, and systems, about exploring them for their own sake, about his fantasies and concepts, and about total understanding of them; like most 5’s, he’s cerebral, detached, and somewhat out of “the times,” forgetting to add in the emotional components to what he is doing, he’s so wrapped up in the joy of experimentation and discovery. But he also has the good qualities that go with his type – being warm (sp5), ultra-logical, and calm when problem-solving. His 6 wing makes him anxious to be liked and able to turn on the charm to make others warm up to and help him; he also comes to rely on his “group” of family and friends.