Star Wars: Poe Dameron (ESTP)

Se:

“No, general! We can do this! We have the chance to take out a dreadnaught!”

“Just give it to me one more time, simpler.”

“We’ve pulled crazier stunts than this.”

Poe Dameron is a classic, “fly by the seat of his pants” type of character. He’s impulsive and prone to reckless behavior, which occasionally gets him into trouble. A prime example of this is shown at the beginning of “The Last Jedi”, when the Resistance is evacuating to flee from the First Order. Poe disobeys Leia’s direct orders to pull back once the evacuation is complete, as he sees an opportunity to take out a First Order dreadnought. This also showcases the opportunistic nature of Se. Seeing little beyond the moment, he presses forward, convinced that they can do this, much to Leia’s dismay. This theme carries across the trilogy.

Poe is action oriented. He excels at launching into action the moment he sees a need. Sometimes this happens when there is a plan in place (like when he’s approached by Finn and Rose), while other times there is just a need to do “something”, so that’s exactly what he does. He always seems to be at the center of whatever is going on, or trying to find a way to place himself amidst the action. As mentioned earlier, he doesn’t struggle to take risks, which Leia occasionally berates him for.

As a whole, Poe has an easy going temperament. He appears to stand by his decisions, and move on from past mistakes quickly. His humor is more classic (like his “your mom” joke) it’s more snarky, lacking any quirky leaps or jumps that one would expect from a high Ne user. Even when captured he doesn’t hold back on the snark and quips, never feeling the need to shut up or act more cautiously.

Ti:

“So, who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?”

“It’s just very hard to understand you with all the…apparatus.”

“Finn! Rose! You’re not dead!” Where’s my droid?”

Poe appears to be a Ti user. He does what makes sense to him, regardless of what anyone else says. This leads him to be prone to disregarding authority in all senses of the word. He’s shown disobeying direct orders (which is also partially due to his Se). The catch here is that he will do this readily even when he has gained a basic level of respect for the leader. In other words, he doesn’t just disobey Holdo, whom he has never come to respect and trust as a leader, but he also blatantly disobeys Leia, whom he should respect as a leader by that point. This tends to suggest more of a Ti user than a Fi user, since Fi is more prone to loyally following leadership that they have come to trust and respect. Poe also belittles the authority of his captors, attempting to bring them down to his level.

Poe lacks any clear expression of personalized values, using his actions as more a means of portraying his thoughts or beliefs. (His values as a whole appear more Fe focused but more on that in the Fe section.) He doesn’t tend to get triggered by those with values contradicting his, nor does he get emotionally involved with others. He gives the appearance of being fairly emotionally detached, while still remaining an integral part of the group and maintaining friendships with people like Finn and Rey. A good example of his lack of emotionality can be seen when Finn and Rose return alive… He simply exclaims that they’re not dead, and then moves on immediately to asking about the location of his droid. Poe also doesn’t appear to berate himself for his past mistakes, which suggests a lack of high Fi standards.

Fe:

“We had a fleet, now, we’re down to one ship, and you’ve told us nothing! Tell us that we have a plan! That there’s hope!”

Poe connects easily with others on a surface level. He appears to be very friendly. He gives Finn a name immediately after their introductions, and lets him keep his jacket, stating that it suits him. He seems somewhat interested in the business of others and their relationships. One example can be seen when he appears to get irritated with Finn for exclaiming that he has something important to tell Rey right before sinking into the sand, and then refusing to fess up to it later, after they’ve arrived. Poe states outright that the reason Finn is refusing to do so is because he’s waiting for “when Poe’s not here”. A second example can be seen when he asks Finn and Rose: “How’d you two meet?”

Poe tends to use Fe phrasing and get triggered by things that will affect the group, which suggests Fe values. He gets angry at what he perceives as inaction on Holdo’s part, and keeps trying to inject himself. After being shut down several times, he finally walks up to her, declaring that he’s going to make a scene, and begins yelling at her. He uses “we” type of phrasing, focusing on how they, as a whole, needed hope. (See quote at the top of this section.)

Ni:

“There are things you cannot solve by jumping in an X-wing and blowing something up!” – Leia Organa

Poe’s inferior Ni is very apparent, and as per usual, was touched on briefly in the dominant Se section, because it can be difficult to separate the two. Time and time again, Poe fails to perceive the future consequences of his actions. During the Resistance’s evacuation in “The Last Jedi”, he gets so focused on wanting to take out a dreadnought, that he fails to realize that the potential losses on their side would far outweigh the benefits of this action. Later, while Leia is berating him for his failure, she tells him that not everything can be solved “by jumping in an X-wing and blowing something up!” She essentially says that he failed to be a leader, and lacked foresight. His tendency toward reckless behavior, rather than stopping to consider the consequences or other perspectives generally speaks to inferior Ni.