MBTI Type: ESFJ

David is a practical and principled man, who takes his duties as being a “prince” seriously—he lives his life as Charming based on “should” in the sense of a large obligation to other people and the kingdom at large. Princes should rescue people, should do the right thing, should protect their families, should defeat great evil. He makes instant judgments and acts swiftly on them, such as his impulsive decision to get water from an enchanted lake to free a man who has been turned into gold and to make his “ex” fiancé happy. Though tempted by the siren’s transformation into Snow White, through kissing her, David becomes aware that she is just a poor illusion, and not “the real thing.” He wants the reality, not the fantasy, and sends her to her watery death. Though he initially reads things on a surface level, such as when he believes Snow when she tells him that they are not in love, he then pieces together later the realization that his “father” (the king) waylaid her and forced her to say these things to him, to get his way. In Storybrook, David struggles enormously between his attraction to Mary Margaret, which he feels on an instinctual level (she seems familiar) and his marriage to Katherine, whom he wants to “give a chance.” For a while, he tries to juggle both of them, even buying two Valentine’s Day cards and then mixing them up by accident. He thinks because he feels nothing for Katherine that his pursuit of Mary is “right,” and he has not the intense moral objection she wrestles with (“this is wrong”), because he bases his morality upon his overall feelings reinforcing the situation (it’s right to move on from someone when you feel nothing for them).

Enneagram: 2w3 so/sx

David takes on responsibilities that are not his own as Prince Charming—he will rush out and help anyone who needs him, even if it endangers his life or drags him to the bottom of a lake. He does not want to disappoint or hurt his wife, so he keeps his true feelings a secret from her, while concealing the fact that he has no real interest in rekindling “lost feelings” for her. Instead, he sets out to be useful to Mary Margaret, with whom he feels a strong connection. He shows up, offers to do things for her, rescues her in the woods during a rainstorm, and then wins her over with flowers, cards, and picnics in the forest. He is often bound by duty and a sense of moral obligation to do the right thing, but also will act on his emotions and go wherever his heart leads. In his mind, love is enough justification to refuse an arranged marriage. He wants Snow White, and intends to get her back, endangering himself in the process since she “no longer remembers him.”