Arcane: Silco (INTJ)

Silco, who we are typing as an INTJ, is our second personality analysis from Arcane. (Check out our analysis of Vi as an ESFP here.) Arcane’s season 1 was really short and action-packed, so we were a bit hesitant with some of the characters’ personality types. With that being said, we are reasonably confident in our assessment of Silco as an INTJ, so we’re going to go ahead and lay out his case. (We seriously considered ISTJ for Silco, before finally settling on INTJ.) I’m not sure how many other characters are type-able from season one alone. Luckily, season 2 doesn’t sound too far off, so when that’s released, we should be able to revisit any characters we don’t type now.

Ni:

“We shared a vision, Vander. A dream of freedom. Not just for the Lanes, but the whole of the underground, united as one. The nation of Zaun.”

“Oh, I hated you for what you’d done. But as time passed, so did my hate. And I was left with an understanding. The only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing. To become what they fear. I hated you, but you kept my respect.”

“A thousand times I’ve imagined this moment.”

Silco speaks in terms of visions and dreams. He fixates on his future vision, and works steadily toward it. As a character that relies on advance planning, Silco is described as being two steps ahead. His personal vision seems to remain fixed and unaltered throughout his life, but he’s flexible enough to adapt his plan when necessary, when circumstances require it. Early on in the series, he hears about Vander’s children being involved in the explosion, and calmly states “Our timeline has moved up.”

One thing that discouraged us from identifying him as an ISTJ is his flexibility regarding these sorts of situations. Silco doesn’t seem compelled to micromanage or control every little detail to protect or ensure his desired outcome. Generally speaking, Silco is not one to enforce a bunch of specific rules, or a defined hierarchy. He controls the Lanes by plunging it into chaos, and controlling the source of that chaos.

Silco doesn’t let the past weigh him down, but instead takes an abstract outlook on it. For instance, Vander tries to blame Silco’s hate for him on their history, the fact that Vander tried to drown him. Silco just responds in a frustrated manner, claiming that Vander doesn’t understand. Silco, by his own admission to character’s like Vander and Jinx, had essentially translated that past event into a symbolic, redefining moment. He viewed it as a source of understanding or enlightenment, and had moved on from his hate for Vander regarding this incident. He tries to give Jinx a similar, symbolic moment, encouraging her to let Powder die, so she can be forged into something greater, free from the fear of pain.

Te:

“Real power… It comes to those who will do anything to achieve it.”

Silco sees the value in power, and explains that he learned as a young boy that you have to be willing to do anything to achieve it. Unfortunately, Silco has adopted this mentality to a fairly extreme degree, ultimately making him morally deplorable. He’s willing to kill countless people and destroy lives in pursuit of his goal. He ends up placing himself in a position of power over the Lanes, with everyone well aware that he’s the one in control.

Silco focuses specifically on physical power and control in order to accomplish his goals. He doesn’t unite people based on shared values, nor does he foster social connections. Rather, Silco approaches everything in a cold, business-like fashion. He demands loyalty and respect, and uses fear tactics to keep people in line. He’s quick to dole out punishment to anyone who acts against him. There are very few exceptions to this, like Jinx who is exempted solely because he views her as a daughter.

Fi:

“We had nothing. You know what bore us through those times? Loyalty. Brothers and sisters back to back against whatever the world threw at us. Now I’m forced to share the air with parasites like you, who leech off their legacies.”

In spite of the ruthless approach he takes to achieving his goals, Silco has certain personal values that he refuses to budge on. For instance, Silco strongly values loyalty. He’s extremely judgmental of those who lack loyalty, referring to them as leeches and parasites. His commitment to loyalty ends up being a significant source of internal conflict later. Jayce offers Silco a deal that would give him everything he wanted, with one catch: Silco had to hand over Jinx. Silco’s commitment to his goal and his loyalty to Jinx end up clashing, but ultimately loyalty wins out. However, Jinx fails to realize this in time and turns on him, leading to his death.

Similarly, Silco maintains his respect for Vander, in spite of Vander’s attempt to kill him. It’s not until Vander crosses specific lines that Silco disagrees with that Silco actually loses respect for Vander, and learns to hate him.

Se:

Silco doesn’t appear to be concerned with every little possibility that could go wrong, like an STJ would. Instead, he takes a more flexible approach while maintaining control of his environment and ensuring his goals. If Silco was considering every little possibility, he wouldn’t deal with Jinx in such a lax manner. However, in spite of her constantly acting against his wishes, he gives her lots of leeway and defends her time and time again. He even seems to admire her for the chaos that she brings.

Similarly, as mentioned briefly in the dominant Ni section, Silco controls the Lanes by supplying it with Shimmer. The approach is somewhat of a gamble, and he doesn’t take an extensive amount of time to test this method. He just sees it for its potential, injects an expendable underling with it, and watches the results.