Din Djarin/The Mandalorian – INTJ

I initially expected I’d be typing Din Djarin as an ISTP or ISTJ. When I rewatched this show and took notes, though, I was struck by how flexible his perspective on the world actually is. After spending more time than I care to admit trying to come up with a reason why he has such strong Introverted Intuition blended with Thinking-type straightforwardness and a slightly less strong Feeling side, I finally admitted that it makes the most sense to type The Mandalorian as an INTJ.

INTJs lead with a mental process called Introverted Intuition. Their co-pilot is a decision making function called Extroverted Thinking. They pair that with tertiary Introverted Feeling, which helps balance that Thinking function, particularly as INTJs get older. We won’t spend a whole lot of time in this post talking about his inferior function, Extroverted Sensing, but that also plays a key role in figuring out Djarin’s type. (If you’re not familiar with functions in Myers-Briggs® types, click here for more info.)

A Certain Point of View

When people type Din Djarin as an SJ type, they typically point to his commitment to traditions, his coolness in battle, and his calculated planning. However, Djarin’s worldview is not nearly as rigid as it initially seems from his commitment to the strictest Mandalorian creed. The way he adapts to other perspectives indicates that he (like other NJs) uses Introverted Intuition comfortably. This is a mental process that Personality Hacker nicknamed “Perspectives.”

INxJs often appear similar to ISxJ types, particularly as children who may adapt themselves like chameleons to match the perspectives of the people they care most about. The more closely Djarin works with people outside his Mandalorian covert, the more his innate ability to see things from others’ perspectives becomes apparent. As Djarin travels around trying to keep the Child safe in the first few episodes, we see him adapt his thinking to accept other’s perspectives. This shows up the very first time Djarin tries to lay-low on a planet. Here, he accepts an invitation to protect a village and initially tells the people “you need to leave” when he realizes they’re facing an AT-ST walker. He quickly shifts his mindset, though, when he understands that the people here won’t leave because they have roots in this location. He understand what it’s like to be committed to something and so he chooses to stand with the villagers.

Djarin also displays an ingrained willingness to see things from multiple points of view. For example, he’s the first character we’ve seen in Star Wars live-action to speak with Tuscan Raiders. He comments later in the series that he spends quite a bit of time on Tatooine, and it seems at some point in the past he took the time to learn the Tuscan language. He’s conversed with them enough to know they consider themselves the locals. And he understands them well enough he can negotiate a truce between Tuscans and local humans.

We also see Djarin’s perspectives adapt, such as when he changes his mind about droids. Given new information, he goes from not trusting them at all to begging IG-88 not to sacrifice himself. This change paves the way for a more radical shift away from the Mandalorian creed he’s followed for most of his life. Though Djarin initially reacts to Bo-Katan and her followers as if they are not Mandalorians because they’ll remove their helmets, he still works with them. By the end of Season 2, he’s even removing his helmet first to rescue Grogu and then to let the child see his face as they say goodbye. This isn’t an abandonment, but an evolution of his beliefs.

What’s Best For Others

Like we’d expect from a bounty hunter, Djarin takes jobs with more of a focus on the money than the details. We quickly learn, though, that all the money he makes goes into providing for the Mandalorian covert that acts as his home base. He’s especially interested in seeing the money used to help foundlings who’ve been taken in by the Mandalorians, like he was so many years ago. And though he describes the child Grogu as an “enemy” and initially turns him in for the bounty, Djarin can’t abandon a child in danger. He’s motivated to do what’s best for others and support/protect the vulnerable.

A similar desire motivates Djarin to help a novice bounty hunter go after Fennec Shand. Djarin isn’t interested in tracking her simply for the money–she’s too dangerous to tackle, especially with Grogu to look after–but he agrees to help when Toro Calican says he needs this first job to get into the bounty hunter’s guild. Djarin’s decision-making process is a unique blend of his secondary function Extroverted Thinking’s (Ti) focus on Effectiveness and his tertiary Introverted Feeling’s (Fi) focus on Authenticity.

Djarin’s initial reactions are typically blunt and practical (as we’d expect from someone using Extroverted Thinking as his favorite decision-making process). He’s easily talked out of doing the most straightforward thing, though, if he’s convinced that it aligns with what is right. For example, he initially plans to wait until morning to fix his crashed ship, but changes plans immediately when his fish-lady passenger finds a way to communicate her needs to him. Similarly, he decides not to shoot the marshal on Tatooine wearing Mandalorian armor and instead participates in a dangerous plan to help the marshal free his town from the threat of a krayt dragon.

Based on his upbringing, Djarin’s version of “what’s right” typically aligns with “what’s best for others?” (which is why you’ll occasionally see some argue he should be typed as an FJ type–people see his focus on others as a sign of Extroverted Feeling). We also see evidence of this Te-Fi decision-making process when he’s convincing the Tatooine villagers to work with the local Tuscan raiders against the dragon. He starts with arguing this is the most effective solution, and ends with arguing this is the right thing to do because it benefits everyone involved.

The Child

The best example of Djarin’s willingness to do what’s best for others comes from his relationship with Grogu. This goes beyond following his commission from The Armorer to return the child to his own kind. Djarin takes seriously the idea that he and Grogu are a clan of two, but he also knows that he can’t train Grogu himself. He doesn’t understand the Force or know how to wield it, and he’s unwilling to do what Ahsoka suggested and let Grogu’s powers laps. The child deserves better, and he can’t have it staying with Djarin.

There’s a particular brand of INTJ-type love and logic to this viewpoint. Though stereotyped as villains in fiction, real-life INTJs are fiercely loyal to the people they value. Many INTJs cultivate deep relationships with a few chosen people and they’d do literally anything for them. They’re just unlikely to show their affection in an outward, visible way. Their emotions are more on the inside. In Djarin’s relationship with Grogu, his love for the child makes him even more devoted to making decisions that are based on Grogu’s good rather than Djarin’s personal feelings. He’s showing his love by making the impersonal decision to give Grogu up to a Jedi teacher.

When Grogu is kidnapped, though, much of that logic flies out the window. Djarin doesn’t care about his personal creed, galactic politics, or the Mandalorian throne that’s tied-in to that Dark Saber Moff Gideon has. He just wants his kid back safe. During this rescue, Djarin does something he probably wouldn’t do if he wasn’t under so much stress. He believes Gideon’s claim that he doesn’t care about the child anymore and that he’ll let Grogu go if The Mandalorian leaves the ship.

Here’s where we most clearly see Djarin’s inferior function. When under stress, INTJs go into their underdeveloped Extroverted Sensing side. This tends to make INTJs more focused on the outer world and more likely to act based on their tertiary Introverted Feeling than their more logical Extroverted Thinking. Djarin hides his stress well, but it’s still affecting him enough to make it difficult for him to see the situation from Gideon’s perspective and to let logic guide his “do what’s right” instinct. He prioritizes getting to Grogu over self-preservation, logic, or taking the time to come up with a more strategic plan of attack. Without that distraction, Gideon likely wouldn’t have been able to get behind Djarin to attack him with the Dark Saber.

Looking to the Future

Though the scenes after Grogu is kidnapped most clearly show us Djarin’s response to stress, I also think a constant low-key stress reaction is what’s making him look less like a typical INTJ. Instead of looking into the future and making long-term strategic plans like we expect from an INTJ, Djarin often focuses more on in-the-moment concerns.

Part of this is because he faces immediate life-and-death situations on a daily basis, but I think another part is that he’s a bit scared to look at the future. Life is stressful and hard to predict, and so it’s easier to focus on the here-and-now that Extroverted Sensing is so well equipped to deal with if it’s healthy. That’s not where INTJs should live, though. With the way Season 2 ended, I think in Season 3 we might see Djarin relying more on his strategic intellect if he chooses to help Bo-Katan retake and restore Mandalore.

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