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Monday 7 January 2013

The Therapy Zone

If 6 And 1 Are One And The Same..... Who Is No.2?
    We know who No.1 is, and as for No.6, well there can be no further doubts of his identity. But who exactly is No.2? Chairman of the village, chief administrator certainly, and more often than not an inquisitor or interrogator if you prefer. But either way the result is the same.
    No.2 can be seen as an individual, well 20 such individuals to be precise, both male and female. Of differing nationalities, from English and Welsh, to Australian and American. Some are more administrative than interrogator, or vice versa, and the majority of whom have one thing in common..... they have each experienced failure at the hand of No.6!
The new No.2 of Arrival
The Chimes of Big Ben
A B & C
Fee for All
The Schizoid Man {Although No.2 did prevent No.6 from escaping}
The General
Hammer Into Anvil {a resounding failure!}
Its Your Funeral
A Change of Mind
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling
Living In Harmony
The Girl Who Was Death
Once Upon a Time
And Fall Out if you count the failure of convincing "Sir" to actually lead the village! Failure of No.2 seems to be the norm, as any success No.2 may have are all too few and far between for No.2, there was Many Happy Returns, Dance of the Dead, and Checkmate.
    Yet not all of No.2's failures can be laid at his feet, as in the case of The Chimes of Big Ben and A B & C. In the first case No.2 he warned them before that they were using the wrong approach, hence No.2 was given a second chance in Once Upon a Time. And what of No.2 of A B & C? Well the failure was not all his own, the doctor-No.14 had to bear much of the blame for this one! Yet No.2 did fail in another respect, he placed too much faith in No.14!
    So where are all these No.2's recruited from? Well as administrators most probably from within the depths of the Civil Service. As Interrogators, from MI5 or MI6, CIA or any other such organisation.
    On the other hand, the differing No.2's that we see could be seen as different characters, facets of the same No.2. Kind, sometimes gentle. No.2 can be charming, intelligent, capable of making quick decisions. Has the welfare of the community at heart. No.2 can be all these, as well as ruthless, determined, takes calculated risks. Is deceptive, sadistic, cruel, calculating. Knows just how far to go with No.6, and would do him serious harm if it were not for the boundaries set for dealing with No.6. But yet No.2, on occasion, will over step that boundary in order to achieve the success which No.2 craves. No.2 can be both male and female, No.2 with a femanine side, the female being more deadlier than the male. And what of the female No.2 of Dance of the Dead.......? Is she not a little on the masculine side?
    So what is your take on No.2? How do you see him or her, or are all the No.2's facets of the same character?

Be seeing you

4 comments:

  1. Hello David,
    I think there may be even another reason why some of the Number 2's were replaced, additional to their failure: Many of them dared to scratch the tissue, or tried to humble him in one way or the other, and maybe No1 didn't like that. But that doesn't make sense in every case. For example A,B and C would have to happen prior to The General to make it work.

    I really like that idea that the different Number 2s can be seen as different characters or facets of the same Number 2. That could be seen in a way that they represent different facets of power, or of legitimation of and/or reasoning for the village.

    Kind regards,
    Jana

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    Replies
    1. Hello Jana,

      That is a fair enough comment. But do not forget that No.2 generally received his or her orders from No.1. So although No.2 during 'The Chimes of Big Ben' didn't want a man of fragments. No.2 in 'Free For All' was instructed not to damage the tissue, yet the new No.2 might well have done more than simply bruise the tissue! No.2 of 'The Schizoid Man' must surely have been under instructions to break No.2, and that would also count when they tried to humble him in one way or another.
      Rememeber that No.2 does nothing without instruction, it's only the likes of the doctor-No.40 in 'Dance of the Dead' who go "beyond the pale" so to speak, just as he had done with Dutton!

      Kind regards
      David
      BCNU

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    2. Hello David,

      well, thats right.. I haven't thought about that.

      I wonder if Number 1 would have taken respnsibility if he had suggested or approved the wrong ideas to break Number 6?

      Kind regards,
      Jana

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    3. Hello Jana,

      No.1, him, to take responsibility {in the voice of Leo Mckern}! I suppose it all depends on how one perceives No.1 to be. Is No.1 wholey responsible for the Village, or is he but a figurehead, responsible to an exterior force behind the Village? If No.1 is all that there is, then certainly he must take responsibility for any such failures to break No.6. Yet on the other hand, if No.1 is responsible to a Government department for example which is itself behind the Village. Then No.1 is in a no better position than No.2, except his position is more tenable.

      Kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete