After a holiday special that enchanted Disney Plus viewers, fans were buzzing about High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the potential for its second season. Though that second season faced filming delays, the series returned strong with new Disney music and new faces in Seasons 2 and 3.
HSM was definitely one of the best original series from the first year of Disney Plus, and, with The Mandalorian concluding its second season on a high note, all eyes are on the lovable students at East High. While fans rewatch early episodes and soak in newer ones, they can analyze where the characters fall on the MBTI® spectrum.
Updated on August 22nd, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: Each season of the Disney Plus series brings with it new faces. Some are allies for the core cast of characters, while others end up being surprising antagonists. Even though the audience doesn’t always have a chance to get to know these new faces as well as the central Wildcats, examining their personalities with the help of the Myers-Briggs personality types makes for an interesting look at these characters. Seeing just how their motivations might be influenced by their personality type can help fans predict what decisions they might make next.
Seb: INFP
Introverted and with great intuition, INFPs are also known as the Mediator. These are people who might be very quiet at first, but that’s because they’re great observers of their situation. They care deeply about those around them and are often daydreamers, wondering about just what could be.
Seb fits neatly into that group as he’s often shy around new people, but once he’s comfortable, will gladly share his daydreams with those he’s close to. He’s also got that Mediator tendency to search for solutions to problems that won’t alienate anyone.
Lilly: ESTJ
Seb’s polar opposite is found in an ESTJ like Lilly. Also called the Executive of personality types, this person is extroverted and has a judging personality. They are quick to take charge and provide stability in their work environments or friend groups.
This isn’t a compromising person like an INFP. Instead, Executives often take it upon themselves to make decisions for everyone, seeing it as the quickest and most practical solution. Like any Executive, Lilly takes her responsibilities very seriously, not understanding when someone else doesn’t put in the same level of work and commitment that she does.
Maddox: ENTP
ENTPs like Maddox are Debaters. They are true thinkers who could get lost in their own heads if they didn’t have an extroverted personality.
While others might see Maddox as someone arguing just for the sake of the argument, that isn’t the case. When Maddox sees things from another point of view, she just wants her opinion to be heard, much like her decision to call Ashlyn’s knowledge of her own astrological birth chart into question because she has a very different perception of Ashlyn.
Jet: ISTP
While Jet might have the same thinking and prospecting traits of Maddox, he doesn’t share her extroverted nature. Instead, Jet is very much someone who can get lost in his own head with a more introverted personality as a Virtuoso.
Virtuosos tend to take to new skills very quickly. That’s why Jet takes so well to music as a kid as he takes the time to truly study it and perfect it. When he’s pushed to hard, however, he moves on to a new subject, at least temporarily.
Val: ENTJ
Val has a lot in common with both Lilly and Maddox in how she perceives the world. All extroverts, and all thinkers, they are all natural problem solvers and leaders.
Val’s personality type is that of the Commander. She’s prepared to take charge any time she’s needed, which is why she’s able to give EJ a hand with the Frozen musical in Season 3. She isn’t fazed by him being chosen to direct, but also understands he needs to share the responsibility with someone, so helps him notate his script and takes on the challenge of casting the show herself to give an impartial judge to his friends.
Mr. Mazzara: INTP
Mr. Mazzara works in the STEM and robotics fields at East High, so it should be no surprise that he falls into an MBTI® type that is aligned with logic and practicality, the Logician.
Mr. Mazzara always prioritizes reason during his tenure at the school. He does not advocate for the arts; he only advocates for pragmatic knowledge. It’s his nature as an INTP, though, that initially precludes him from seeing how the two are intrinsically linked.
Miss Jenn: ENFP
ENFPs are well-regarded for their free-spirited natures and boundless senses of enthusiasm. Known as Campaigners, they are always able to find the silver linings in the most difficult of situations while still acknowledging those hardships.
Miss Jenn fits this model to a T. She is the engine that keeps the theater department going at East High, and she always does it with as sunny a demeanor as possible. Many ENFPs are probably teachers, too.
Carlos: ESFP
One of the first fun moments the world was ever treated to in regards to HSM was when Carlos said he belonged on Broadway rather than in class, at the end of the trailer for the show. His characterization was always clear from this moment.
He’s an Entertainer, of course, and entertainers are typically associated with the ESFP personality type. Essentially, this type is defined by being “the life of the party,” and they’re often able to bring out the fun in everyone. As for Carlos, he can practically conjure fun out of misery.
Kourtney: ISFJ
Considering how nervous Kourtney was to take over the role of Taylor on the night of the show, she definitely wouldn’t be an extroverted type. Instead, it’s clear that Kourtney more aligns with the ISFJ personality type.
Yes, this type is partially defined by its introversion, but it is also connected to the idea of defense and warmth, even known as the Defender. Kourtney would do anything for her friends, including, most prominently, protecting them.
Ashlyn: ISTP
There is a growing voice amid the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fan community that Ashlyn might secretly be the most talented character in the entire show. No matter what she is tasked with doing from singing to set design to piano, she excels at it.
This makes her a clear representative for the ISTP type, like Jet. ISTPs are quiet types, for sure, but they are also capable of exemplifying a rainbow of talents. There’s always more to an ISTP than is seen on the surface. Just like Ashlyn!
Big Red: ESFJ
Big Red occupies the role on High School Musical of the best friend character who is there for moral support and laughs, but he doesn’t really have an arc of his own. Over time, fortunately, this changed course a bit, but not before he was positioned as a clear ESFJ type, or the Consul.
ESFJs are most associated with the character trait of helpfulness. Big Red is always helpful for Ricky’s emotional problems for sure, but he’s also a kind stagehand who is eager to do his best.
Gina: ENTJ
Like Val, Gina is nearly a pitch perfect Commander, ready to take charge and do what has to be done. That is to say that an ENTJ is keen to make their way in the world and is able to bend others to her will.
If this sounds sinister, it’s because, in the wrong hands, it can be. Gina starts out as a conniving antagonist, but, by the end of the first season, she is a much kinder ENTJ. Still confident, but more forgiving.
E.J.: ENFJ
ENFJs are well-known for their charisma and charm, as well as their ability to captivate an audience with just a smile. Does this not sound exactly like E.J. Caswell, the jock/thespian who also begins the show as an antagonist?
Like Gina, though, E.J. becomes much more palatable by season’s end. It’s probably because ENFJs are still capable of inspiration and have the ability to bring about the positives in people, even when they might seem a bit arrogant at first. They are known as the Protagonist, which usually means they’re used to all eyes being on them.
Ricky: ISFP
“Start of Something New” is one of the most famous songs from the HSM universe, but it also represents a core theme of the story. It’s about characters venturing out of their comfort zones and giving a chance to a world that could change their lives.
This is exactly what Ricky does when he toes the waters of the stage and finds brand new shades of happiness waiting for him. This sense of adventure is propped up prominently by Ricky’s ISFP spirit, which is defined by charm and boldness. He’s an Adventurer, always up for something new.
Nini: INFJ
Nini and Ricky make for such a great couple on the series because of the compatibility that ISFPs intrinsically possess with INFJs (the Advocates). After all, INFJs are quiet, peaceful souls who always want the best for themselves and believe that the best is always possible.
The driven idealism of an INFJ is clearly prevalent within Nini. The most charismatic and most musically gifted of the cast of characters, Nini’s INFJ nature makes it so her hope is what defines her character most. They’re all more nuanced than they may seem on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
