Sherlock Holmes (RDJ) Series: John Watson (ESTJ)

Te:

“It’s happening. Whether you like it or not, 8:30, the Royale. Wear a jacket!”

“You’re meeting her, Holmes!”

“How can we make this more manageable?”

This version of Watson appears to actually be a Te dominant, rather than a Si dominant. Watson clearly lacks patience, which is common for EXTJs, due to their task orientation. He often makes demands of Sherlock, and then quickly gets frustrated when Sherlock begins arguing with him or ignoring him. (This often leads to bickering until Watson finally snaps.) For instance, when Sherlock keeps trying to avoid meeting his fiancée, Watson finally just cuts him off and yells, “You’re meeting her, Holmes!”

Watson is decisive and action-oriented, quick to take control of a situation and enforce order. For example, he visits Sherlock to find him experimenting with fireflies. After briefly listening to an explanation as to why, he quickly releases them, much to Sherlock’s dismay, and then tells Sherlock to clean himself up. In another instance, while Sherlock is trying to pick a lock, Watson walks right up behind him and kicks the door down, without saying a word. It’s quick and effective, and leaves Sherlock a bit surprised.

Watson values structure, which is a theme amongst Te users. When discussing marriage, Sherlock describes it as “restriction”, to which Watson specifically counters with “structure.” While Watson is very amiable, he doesn’t appear to focus on the emotional environment like high Fe does, but rather the physical environment. This is partially why him and Sherlock are always bickering. To give a specific example, Watson hears gun shots, so he goes to Sherlock’s room to tell him to stop. Upon entering, Sherlock explains that he’s inventing a silencer, to which Watson instantly replies with “It’s not working”. He doesn’t point out that Sherlock is upsetting his patients (Fe); he simply focuses on the failed result of the experiment (Te).

Lastly, albeit anecdotal, Watson is a social extravert, and seems to have a bustling social life. His expectation for his stag party makes this clear. A small, intimate party doesn’t really interest him. Instead, he expects a large gathering of his friends from the military, medical school, his rugby team, etc.

Si:

“Well, you can rely on me for exactly 10 minutes.”

“I never complain! How am I complaining? When do I ever complain about you practicing the violin at three in the morning, or your mess, your general lack of hygiene, or the fact that you steal my clothes?”

While not as highlighted being in the shadow of Holmes, Watson does have a knack for noticing and emphasizing details. Holmes likes to use this to his advantage, as he continually tries to bait Watson with different trailing statements. He is confident Watson will produce an answer to them due to the details he is alluding to but not stating. Watson is thorough and methodical, making sure the everyday details are attended to. (For instance, he turns off Sherlock’s stove when he forgets). His higher use of Si is often highlighted in the many instances where he points out the eccentric things Holmes is doing and how it departs from the norm. He is quick, for instance, to point out the ‘alcohol’ Holmes offers him is embalming fluid.

He is also much quicker to take the details in reports that he reads at face value. Holmes chastises him on one occasion for reading the paper and believing the report that Scotland Yard had put in it. Even when insisting to Holmes that he never complains in spite of all that he has to put up with, Watson still produces a detailed laundry list of items that he isn’t complaining about. In other words, while he may not be complaining about those items, they are still very noticeable and bothersome to him.

Ne:

We initially considered typing Watson as an ISTJ, but he seems far more adaptable and indulgent than a typical inferior Ne user should be. His gambling habits present the most obvious example of this. He’s tempted often throughout the movie. Apparently, the habit is so bad that Sherlock in the past has had to hold onto Watson’s checkbook and money. While we’re not saying ISTJ’s can’t ever be gamblers, this seems rather extreme for a type that is usually very careful to maintain their physical security.

Watson is drawn to Sherlock’s adventures to the extent that he struggles to commit to marrying his fiancée. He initially delays buying a ring under the pretense of not being able to find the right one. Sherlock is the one that finally points out the fact that Watson is just hesitant to leave his current life.

Watson does not appear to struggle with the spontaneous or high paced nature of Sherlock’s approach to his profession. He harasses Sherlock over his scattered nature, and they exchange witty remarks, but he goes with the flow quite well. This is ultimately the result of his Te-Ne. He appears comfortable in action, and even desires it. He’s not often just standing on the sidelines. One final example that suggests higher extraverted perceiving (and a general extraversion) can be seen in his eagerness to join in the dancing and drinking with the gypsies in the second movie.

Fi:

“It was our last case together, and I wanted to see it through to the end.”

Watson’s inferior Fi doesn’t get a huge showing, because the movie primarily focuses on Sherlock. However, a hint of his Fi (in combination with Si) is shown in his sentimental reason for committing to being the attending physician at Blackwood’s hanging. In addition, he takes his profession and reputation very seriously, which Sherlock uses against him, to convince him to help him with a case. After Blackwood supposedly resurrects, Sherlock tells Watson that “no girl wants to marry a doctor who can’t tell if a man’s dead or not!”

In the second movie, a gypsy tries to take the scarf Watson’s wife had made him. Watson gets furious, and punches the man. This also appears to be a Si-Fi sentimental attachment. The sudden nature in which it triggers him seems more like inferior Fi, rather than tertiary. However, he later just gives it away to the man with barely a second thought, which suggests the more inconsistent nature of an inferior function.