ENTJ 8w9 Characters
Dominant Extroverted Thinking—ease of organizing and remembering facts, drawing logical conclusions, and being efficient: Macrinus is using the existing system in his own favor and toward his ultimate end as a power grab. He buys and spends good money training gladiators to gather popularity for himself, and to get his foot in the door at important events. We do not know where he came from, other than that he had a poor childhood that suffered abuse at the hands of Lucilla’s father, but he has worked himself up through Roman society since then and stages a coup that places him in the senate. If he had not overstepped and showed his hand to Lucius, he would have been emperor as he intended. He is so confident in his own advantages, which he has maneuvered into place, that he makes high gambles that often pay off, allowing him to increase his wealth and personal holdings in Rome.
Auxiliary Introverted Intuition—strong and accurate specific insights, plans, or predictions, and a singular state of mind: He sees potential in Lucius and involves him in his plan to eradicate the unstable rulers of Rome and take power from them for himself. Macrinus speaks in intuitive-heavy language, talking about his legacy, that Lucius will be his weapon against his rivals, and foreseeing the future. He claims to be right in his assumptions, and he puts the pieces together about Lucilla and her son faster than anyone else. He notices the strength of the resemblance between her young father and his new gladiator, and senses the rest, knowing that to supplant them, he must kill them both. Macrinus feeds off the paranoia and instability of one emperor, and manipulates him into stabbing his brother, then ensures the entire senate knows of his insanity, so none of them will oppose him when he kills that emperor (he did not intend to be seen) and steps into the power vacuum.
Tertiary Extroverted Sensing—trying to act on what exists by living in the moment and hands-on-learning: Though Macrinus schemes and plans, he’s not afraid to take dramatic steps in the heat of when an opportunity presents itself. He makes high wagers with his friends in Rome and reaps the financial rewards of risking the lives of Lucius and his gladiators. He spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and covets wealth and prestige. Macrinus puts his hand over the emperor’s hand, and helps him slit his brother’s throat and stab him multiple times, then cuts off his head and hauls it around in a sack to intimidate people with it. When chaos breaks out in the arena, he uses the guards’ distraction to kill the other emperor, then winds up dying in hand to hand combat with Lucius.
Inferior Introverted Feeling—emotional under stress, and unsure of how to better connect to others: Macrinus has clear goals and ambitions for himself, but little empathy for anyone who stands in his path. He betrays Lucilla to her enemies, and tells her she has to die, then winds up shooting her with an arrow himself. He does not realize this will cause Lucius to come after him and finish him. From his heated outburst to Lucilla, it’s clear his motivations come from a personal desire for revenge against her family, but we do not know his reasons.
Enneagram: 8w9
Enneagram 8—defiant and strong-willed, with a need to control their environment and assert themselves to get what they want: Macrinus believes in using power to exploit people and get him what he wants, control over Rome, but he underestimates how much his actions will cause others to turn against him, after he betrays people. He buys gladiators searching for those strong enough to use in the arena for his ultimate purpose, and he senses the rage leaking out of Lucius where others do not. Macrinus gathers information on Lucilla and uses it against her, then manipulates the situation with the mad emperors, and not only gets one of them to kill the other, but helps him do it, then stabs the other one later in the eardrum, after killing the heiress to the emperor’s throne. He takes pleasure in being in control and that is his ultimate aim, to gather power for himself and to instill fear in others (his first day in the senate, he brings along a severed head for effect).
9 wing brings in a desire to mediate conflict by being the top dog whose peace nobody disturbs, with a gentle side: Macrinus is less dominating and bold than an 8w7 would be in his place, shows no signs of hedonism, and can pull strings behind the scenes. He ups the wagers, forces people out of their homes, and does so without ever raising his voice or making any kind of overt threat. Everyone knows not to cross him or get in his way, because he doesn’t need to tell them what he will do to them if they do. They just know he won’t tolerate it.
