Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Grant Ward (ISTJ)

Grant Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is most commonly theorized to be an INTJ, which we did consider. However, we believe that Ward is more in line with an ISTJ than an INTJ. Of course, I’m sure some of you reading this might argue that he was only acting like an ISTJ while undercover. Believe it or not, Ward actually showcased a great example of really unhealthy, dominant Si once his cover was blown, which I’ll explain below. Hopefully this explanation makes sense.

Si:

“You brought me on for risk assessment? She’s a risk. She doesn’t think like us.”

“This is definitely not protocol!”

“What I realized about Ward is that every twisted thing he does is just a misguided attempt to justify his past.” – Coulson

“I’m still part of your team.”

While undercover, Ward focuses on safety, protocol, and minimizing risk. He excels at risk assessment, and accounting for all the variables, which is a major part of his role on Coulson’s team. However, Coulson tends to make unconventional decisions that appear risky, which Ward struggles with significantly. For instance, he initially disagreed with bringing Skye onto the team, and questioned saving the life of someone who was putting thousands at risk. Ward never hesitates to share his opinion in these matters. Generally speaking, his preferred approach is to stick to protocol, adhere to his training, and take the safest route possible to his goal.

Ward struggles significantly with moving on once his cover is blown. He enjoys his time working on Coulson’s team, so much that he deeply regrets losing that part of his life. That point in time essentially becomes his Si ideal, the past that he wishes he could still live in. Initially, after Garret’s death, Ward convinces himself that he’s still a part of the team, and that they’ll eventually accept him back. While locked in a cell in the basement, he tries to tell Coulson that. However, after everything Ward had done, Coulson just looks at him like he’s crazy. Later, when Ward’s working with them briefly, he gets all excited that they “finally got the team back together.” He even starts reminiscing, trying to get them to focus on the good times they once had, by saying “Cause there were good times, right? Before? I mean, for a while there, we were a good team, weren’t we?” Once again, the team just looks at him like he’s crazy, and begins pointing out all the terrible things that he’d done to them.

As Ward’s storyline comes to a close, it’s continually emphasized that everything he does is with his past in mind. For instance, he obsessively seeks closure in the form of revenge. Once he loses his purpose under S.H.I.E.L.D. and then Garret, Ward just goes from one vendetta to the next. He gets vengeance on his family for his childhood trauma. He then seeks out vengeance against Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. for the death of Kara. Essentially, he never does anything to move forward and leave the past behind. He constantly looks back, and acts accordingly.

Te:

“I was on a mission. It wasn’t personal.”

“We need to take action now. What are my orders? …Wake up! Come back to reality, John. What do you need me to do?”

Under S.H.I.E.L.D, Ward is jokingly referred to as a “robot” by Skye, because he doesn’t often display emotion. Rather, he focuses on the mission or the task at hand, putting his emotions on the back burner. It’s because of this tendency that he initially struggles to get through to Skye, as her supervising officer. His instinct is to approach her in a disciplined and structured way, issuing commands and teaching physical skills. Ward’s not sure what to do when Skye won’t emotionally commit to his training, and he expresses to Coulson a need to re-evaluate his strategy. Coulson has to explain to Ward that he needs to “stop thinking like an operative. Start thinking like a person.” Once Ward gets past that hurdle, being a supervising officer seems to come naturally to him.

After his cover was blown, Ward would insist that his actions hadn’t been personal; he had just been on a mission. He also displays his own desire for structure and hierarchy, while under Garrett’s authority. When the situation is getting dire and Garrett is beginning to act crazy, Ward demands that Garrett take action and give him orders. He seems relieved when Garrett finally does. After Garrett’s death, Ward begins to set his own goals and establish his own authority, such as when he attempts to rebuild Hydra. He never seems to struggle with how to go about completing his goals. Once he determines what he wants to do, Ward confidently works toward it, step-by-step.

Fi:

“You lie to yourself. You wanna know why? It’s simple. You can’t reconcile all the ugly horrible things you do with the hero you so desperately want to become.” – Christian Ward to Grant Ward

“I was never loyal to Hydra. I was loyal to Garrett.”

“I give you my word, May.”

Ward’s undercover role essentially put him into an identity crisis, in the form of a Si-Fi loop. At one point, Raina asks him if being a monster was his true nature, or if that’s what Garret made him. Up until his cover gets completely blown, Ward always seemed very sure of himself, very certain of who he was. However, at this moment, he seems confused and responds with, “I don’t know.” As the show progresses, it becomes clear that Ward wishes he could go back to the person he was on Coulson’s team, and even believes for a while that he can return to the way things used to be. Later in the series, Ward’s brother accuses him of constantly lying to himself, which further demonstrates that Ward wants to see himself in a very specific way, and defines himself by his own internal principles and feelings.

Even as a villain, Ward has certain principles and values that he sticks to, such as never lying to Skye and being true to his word. It seems important to him to emphasize these values, so that people see him a certain way. Of course, this plays into how Garrett is able to control him. Garrett frequently manipulates Ward by accusing him of being weak, something low Fi users especially detest. In addition, when accused of being loyal to Hydra, Ward immediately denies that, explaining that he was specifically loyal to Garrett. This is a common difference between tertiary Fi and inferior Fi: being loyal to a person within a hierarchy rather than the hierarchy itself.

Ne:

On a practical level, Ward uses Ne to eliminate variables so he can carry out missions successfully. However, his inferior Ne shows up more with how he interacts with possibilities. Ward is a naturally suspicious person, which leads him to ask questions when an opportunity seems too convenient. When him and Coulson come upon a car that’s already been hot-wired and started, as if it’s waiting for them, Coulson sees it as fortuitous while Ward questions if it’s somehow a trap. As a slightly different example, when presented with the desert island scenario, Ward tries to clarify details about the island and the box, because he has to narrow down the possibilities to something more realistic and manageable. He can’t just be open to any and all possibilities.

On a grander scale, Ward struggles to come up with possibilities for his own life. When Garrett basically tells him that the mission is over, and he can do whatever he wants, Ward struggles to find his own direction, because he has no dreams of his own. So when given the option, he never actually moves on with his life. Instead, he just finds different ways to chase the past, because he can’t move beyond it, beyond his desire for closure or revenge.