ESTJ: Saavik, “Star Trek: The Original Series”

The Director, The Achiever, the Organizer

portrayed by Kirstie Alley

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, (and by Robin Curtis in ST:III &IV)

Most Vulcans are ISTJs. Call it youthful energy maybe, but Saavik seems more of an extraverted go-getter than most of her fellows, so I’ve typed her as an ESTJ. ISTJs and ESTJs do share the same functions, but in Saavik’s case, the first two are flipped. She’s still using her Vulcan sensibility and upbringing (Si), but it’s in service to her Starfleet career goals (Te).

(Note: I’m focusing this profile on the Kirstie Alley portrayal of Saavik from ST:II. I honestly have nothing against Robin Curtis, but her take on the character feels fundamentally different, maybe even like an INTP. Alley debuted the character and remains the face that everyone thinks of when they think of Saavik.)

Dominant Function: Extraverted Thinking (Te), “Organize the Experience”

Saavik likes to achieve and succeed. Her first complaint about the infamous Kobayashi Maru test is that, “There was no way to win.” It’s during that test that we see her command capabilities, and she very ably organizes the training crew to achieve her objective. When she asks Kirk if she can speak frankly with him, he replies, “Self-expression doesn’t seem to be one of your problems.”

Saavik makes the most of her opportunities on the Enterprise. She eagerly accepts the chance to lead the ship out of Spacedock when they first embark on their mission. She talks her way onto the Away Team when they arrive at Regula I. She straight up tackles David to keep him safe when the mind-controlled Captain Terrell starts firing his phaser. When Kirk leaves the bridge, he puts Saavik in charge.

Saavik bugs Kirk throughout the movie to tell her the secret of the Kobayashi Maru. She’s bothered by her failure and wants to know how he beat the test. When he finally reveals that he cheated, she’s disappointed: “Then you never faced that situation.” She doesn’t accept his “win” as legitimate.

Auxiliary Function: Introverted Sensing (Si), “Relive the Experience”

For all her ambition, Saavik prefers to make informed decisions. She carefully gathers data before delivering her orders during the Kobayashi Maru test (later, she re-runs the test in her head, trying to determine where she went wrong). She quotes regulations when they first encounter the Reliant—regulations which Kirk ignores, landing the whole ship in danger. He later tells her to always quote regulations to him.

ESTJ: Reverend Mother, “Sister Act”

The Director, The Achiever, The Organizer

Extraverted Thinking (Te) likes to get things done. So does Extraverted Sensing (Se). Neither likes to sit still and watch the world go by, but both have different approaches to their work.

Te makes plans, rules, and structures, and builds upon facts. Se jumps in with whatever they have on hand and makes it work. One is a Judging function—“We will do it this way”—and one is a Perceiving function—“We will do it (who cares how)!”

Deloris Van Cartier exemplifies Se, in that she explodes onto the scene and gets things moving. As Sister Mary Patrick says over ice cream, “Ever since you came here, things have just happened!”

Meanwhile, though she’s just as capable of accomplishing great things, Professor McGonagall…sorry, wrong ESTJ…Reverend Mother prefers making a concise plan of action.

Their conflict over how to lead the sisters is a classic Judger vs. Perceiver argument, and core to the movie’s emotional arc.

[Note: All the header images in this post are from scenes in which Reverend Mother is sitting in her pew watching the choir, with no dialogue, because Maggie Smith is such a boss that she can describe an entire character arc with nothing but reaction shots.]

Dominant Function: Extraverted Thinking (Te), “Organize the Experience”

As leader of the sisters at St. Katherine’s, Reverend Mother is as Deloris describes her, “a formidable woman.” She leads with a firm hand and tells Deloris she expects her to behave exactly as a nun would, according to all the rules, during her time with them. She has new clothes and a new identity all picked out for Deloris and instructs her in the vows a nun needs to know.

She’s also quite blunt when Deloris says her old life was better. “Your singing career was almost non-existent,” Reverend Mother reminds her, “and your married lover wants you dead.” The facts hurt, but they’re the truth.

Though Deloris chafes at the rules, Reverend Mother wants the best for her and for all the sisters. She takes Deloris in partly because the Bishop convinces her that reforming Deloris will be a challenge worthy of her. She doesn’t get emotionally worked up over the choir’s sudden success like the rest of the sisters do. Rather, she explains in a very practical speech to Deloris that all the new activity will fail long-term without “Mary Clarence” around to keep everyone excited.

Like any Te-dom, Reverend Mother needs to feel useful. She requests a transfer when she believes that Deloris’ presence is making her outdated. However, when Deloris is kidnapped and no-one knows what to do, Reverend Mother takes charge and gets the sisters to Reno to save her. In the climactic face-off with Vince, Reverend Mother steps up to speak out and defend Deloris.

She can’t deny the very real positive affect Deloris has had on the church, and she decides in the end to stay at the convent to continue her work. “We can’t both of us leave,” she tells Deloris with a smile. Somebody has to lead the sisters, and she’s rediscovered that she’s up for the job.

ESTJ: Auntie Em, “The Wizard of Oz”

The Supervisor

Oz Month is back, and we begin again by looking at the folks from Dorothy’s “real world,” that star called Kansas.

Dominant Function – Extraverted Thinking/Te, “How To Do It”

Auntie Em is without a doubt in charge of the family farm. She’s constantly in motion, and constantly making sure others are, too. She wastes no time rescuing the baby chicks from the broken incubator, and prods the farmhands into action. She’s not easily fooled by their excuses, but she also feeds them to make sure they’re not working on an empty stomach. She’s sensible and straightforward and thinks Dorothy is worrying over nothing—at least until Miss Gulch shows up with a sheriff’s order for Toto.

It’s then that she takes offense at a horrible woman like Miss Gulch trying to tell her family what to do. “Just because you own half the county doesn’t mean you can run the rest of us!” she says. It’s quite a showdown between the two women, cut short only by Auntie Em’s Christian morals preventing her from saying what’s really on her mind.

Auxiliary Function – Introverted Sensing/Si, “What Was”

Those Christian morals are part of the traditional standards that Auntie Em follows in life. They probably give her a desire to be a decent, honest, hard-working woman. They also prevent her dominant Extraverted Thinking function from coming out and saying what she truly thinks of Elmyra Gulch–but they also tell her that the woman is no good.

Even though we don’t see much of Auntie Em’s life outside of her scenes with Dorothy, I imagine she’s a very traditional woman who believes in good, old-fashioned—yet timeless—values. She certainly shows loyalty to her family, taking in a girl who isn’t hers and caring for her like she were her own daughter. Dorothy tells Professor Marvel that when she was little and had the measles, Auntie Em never left her side, even for a moment.

Tertiary Function – Extraverted Intuition/Ne, “What Could Be”

Auntie Em has clearly played out her confrontation with Miss Gulch in her head for a long time: “For 23 years I’ve been dying to tell you what I thought of you…” and I’m disappointed every time I watch the movie that we don’t get to hear whatever brilliantly scathing put-down she had ready.

Inferior Function – Introverted Feeling/Fi, “What Is Important”

Auntie Em is a tough cookie that doesn’t readily show her emotions, but it’s clear that she knows who and what is important to her. She resists being dragged into the storm cellar because she wants to find Dorothy. Although she doesn’t understand at first that Toto is in real danger, she cares for the dog just as much as Dorothy does. “He’s really gentle, you know,” she says to Miss Gulch, “with gentle people, that is.” She’s not an unfeeling woman, but most of the time she has to be stern and focused to get her work done and to take care of her farm and family.

Tomorrow we’ll meet the other member of the Gale family, trusty old Uncle Henry, an ISTP.