MBTI Type: INTP
Loretta is resourceful and logical, but doesn’t always play well with others—she’s convinced that she’s smarter than the police, and full of contempt for them “botching” the investigation by “refusing to share information with other departments.” She sees the rationality of an open source of information, and putting aside personal egos to catch a killer, and can’t understand why they insist upon closing ranks, denying the facts, etc. She’s also the first person to become convinced that the attacks on women in Boston aren’t random, but those of a serial killer—she links them together with a hunch based on a few old clippings she has kept from the newspaper, and then follows it up to corroborate the evidence and get witness statements. When she starts investigating, Loretta considers a number of suspects, changing her mind and her approach dependent on what the evidence tells her. She is always “convinced” that she has the solution, only to find a dead end, an alibi, etc. But several times, she says she has a “feeling” that the police have the wrong man in custody, and that his admission of guilt does not add up. In each instance, she does research, painstakingly listens to hours of audio recordings, and collects data and facts to prove her conclusions. She’s careful always to identify herself as a journalist, so no one can accuse her of deceit. Loretta is not much of a housewife, but does her best to fit at least part of the established ideas about being a wife and mother at the time (taking care of her husband and kids, running them to work, etc), but in reality, she wants to spend more time at work, to form a proper career, and struggles to understand her husband and his feelings. In stressful situations, she tends to lash out at others more, demand they be emotionally honest with her (“just say it!”), and express her frustration (“you don’t want me to succeed, and this is your way of punishing me!”).
Enneagram: 5w6 so/sp
Loretta is independent and trusts her own mind over anyone else’s thoughts; she is convinced that her conclusions are better than the police, and assumes when she takes the cops the evidence, that they will automatically agree with her assessment and “get their man.” It deflates her to realize they’ve already considered her suspects and found problems with linking them to the strangler serial killer. When her boss teams her up with Jean at first, Loretta is resentful, insisting that she doesn’t need any help, but then she leans into this partnership and works with her to get information. She’s often surprised at what Loretta can get out of people, because it rarely occurs to her to be that proactive or accommodating. Competency is so important to her, she hates working behind a desk and testing out “toasters,” since that’s not a serious application of her skills. Loretta bounces between being super self-assured, and accommodating with her boss—when he tells her no, she offers to investigate things “on my own time” (unpaid), just so she can get her foot in the door. And, she shows 6ish reactivity and anxiety once the Strangler case takes off, and gathers her negative attention. She doesn’t want her photo in the paper, because she knows it’s a way for her boss to sell more—pitching the idea that two women are investigating the crime, rather than being aware that this is dangerous and will draw negative attention to her. She becomes more aware of the personal risks when she sees a stranger outside her house, receives threats through the mail box, and gets creepy phone calls.
Funky MBTI 