When not trying to escape the village, which to be perfectly honest wasn't all that often, our No.6 was occupied in ensuring his survival, retaining his individuality and hampering the village authorities in any shape or form he could and at any given opportunity as during The General. As well as coming to the aid of damsels in distress as with Monique-No.50 in Its Your Funeral, aiding Alison-No.24 during The Schizoid Man with her mind reading act and avenging the death of No.73 in Hammer Into Anvil.
No.6 had to survive all the 15 tests put to him, and having survived the "ultimate test" of Once Upon a Time No.6 then went on to be no longer referred to as No.6 or indeed any number at all, having vindicated the right of the individual to be individual, and finally to meet No.1 during Fall Out.
But before all that could happen No.6 had to fight to retain the individuality which the village authorities wanted to strip from him. However, more than that, No.6 also had to fight to maintain the secret of his resignation as No.2 in Arrival "they want to know why you suddenly resigned," The Chimes of Big Ben "I resigned because for a very long time.....," A B & C, The Schizoid Man, A Change of Mind "the trivia, the trivia of your resignation!" The Girl Who Was Death "you'd think he might give something away!" and Once Upon a Time "tell me boy, why did you resign?" At other times "they" tried to break No.6, as in Free for All, The Schizoid Man, Dance of the Dead {although here No.2 tried to win No.6 over}, Hammer Into Anvil, and Living In Harmony. But during Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, it was simply a question of survival, of being able to have No.6's mind reunited with that of his body back in the village!
But the Prisoner-No.6 may have won through in the end, however he was still a Prisoner and never escaped the village. Oh he returned to London Butler
It has been a theory of some, that No.6 was not No.1 at all, No.1 actually being the person of the Butler
On the whole it might appear that the Prisoner-No.6 was continually trying to escape the village, he wasn't, nor were the village authorities hard on No.6 in the extreme, as in the case of Roland Walter Dutton during Dance of the Dead, No.8-the white Queen in checkmate, or the rook-No.58 or worse, the "Lobo" man in A Change of Mind and other such poor souls in the hospital. No real harm was brought upon No.6, "We mustn't damage the tissue!" "This man has a future with us!" Although at times No.2 did want to go further, not caring if No.6 had a future here in the village or not! During A B & C No.2 wanted to gain the reason for No.6's resignation, believing he was going to sell out, even if it cost No.6 his life, and if it did No.2 would worry about that later! And in Free for All "Will you never learn... this is only the beginning..... We have many ways and means but we don't wish to damage you permanently.... Are you ready to talk?" No.2 of The Schizoid Man wanted to see No.6 break, also in Living In Harmony if only broken in his mind. And the sadistic side of No.2 in Hammer Into Anvil was going to "hammer" No.6! But it wasn't just No.2, the doctor-No.22 of Checkmate would have enjoyed, I'm sure, finding No.6's breaking point, and also that of her predecessor the doctor-No.40 "Everyman has his breaking point!"
I can only add that if the matter of the Prisoners resignation was so important to the village authorities, why didn't they simply use a truth drug on No.6, or simply obtain his letter of resignation which he handed in so forcibly and with much anger?
Be seeing you
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