At the end of Season One I looked at the four Personality Enneagrams of major characters Cooper, Lucy, Max, and Norm. Reviewing what I wrote, I’m pleased to say that the Enneagrams seem consistent between the two seasons. I wouldn’t change my conclusions.
I also briefly mentioned Hank during Norm’s review, although I concluded that we didn’t have enough of his character to make a judgment.
Well we’ve got enough Hank in Season Two, lol. My biggest question will be: is he sane enough? What is inherent in Hank’s personality, and what is a product of craziness?
Let’s start with pre-war Hank. He’s earnest and motivated. In the corporate meeting with Barb where the mind control devices are presented, Hank leans in for a better look. He doesn’t match Barb’s horror at the implications for these things. His moral compass is already wobbly.
In Vegas he’s chained to a Vault-Tec briefcase and doesn’t seem to mind. He’s obedient to the corporation’s interests, a good cog.
Post-war, he’s happy to work toward their goals and he’s unfazed by the human deaths during his mind-control device experiments. I’m going to say that part of this is fan service to Fallout’s ethos. In the games, you can cheerfully play as a cannibal, for instance. That’s the tongue-in-cheek humor of the series. I’m not sure how much of this deranged science points to Hank’s Character Enneagram.
However, we have one small beat when Hank broadcasts (to the Enclave, we later learn). He expects that they’ll value and promote him. “When this is all over you’ll be begging me to help you.” His face at this moment is hard and serious. For me, this is the real Hank and the best clue to his character. In every other scene he’s content to be a worker bee. Here, we see his ambition. We see his anger and resentment at being overlooked. And then he’s back to his cheerfully insane personality.
This is an Envy person. He wants recognition not for his deductions or his science know-how or his work ethic. He wants it for his own status.
He can’t be a Three; a Three is naturally imbued with status and doesn’t need to seek it.
He’s a Two, and the mind control devices are his collection. That’s why he’s so content to experiment with them. He makes clear at the end of the season that he’s responsible for choosing Welch as the brain behind the devices. He likes her gentleness. All the people who wear the devices (through forced implantation) are also Hank’s collection, an extension of his original collection. They have Welch’s personality and her kind traits. Through this choice, Hank has put his stamp on the entire project.
What happens to Hank after the end of this season when, by wiping his own memory, he’s added himself to his collection?