The Prisoner Under The Spotlight

    Death Is An Escape! I have been of the belief that No.2 in ‘Once Upon A Time’ did not actually die, but had simply been drugged by the during he had consumed, and that the doctoring of the drink must have been carried out by the Butler. However when considering the fact that originally the episode of Once Upon A Time had been intended as an ordinary 'stand alone' episode such as The Chimes of Big Ben, with no link to another episode such as it does with Fall Out when No.2 is resuscitated and not resurrected. In that thinking it seems in all probability that No.2 was supposed to have been dead, that would make perfect sense and at the same time would explain No.6's anger when the supervisor tells him that they'll need the body as evidence, by smashing his glass on the floor.

    But there is another angle here, that No.2 wasn't dead at all, that he hadn't even been drugged, but was in some 'catatonic stupor' where the patient sometimes holds rigid poses for hours and will ignore any external stimuli. This cationic state could have been brought on by the sheer stress which No.2 was under at the time. After all No.2 began the ordeal as a tired man having repeatedly recited nursery rhymes to the slumbering No.6 only the night before, and there would be little sleep during that week locked in the embryo room. or through belief as in a curse. Because a curse upon you can only happen if the subject actually believes in the curse. In that lies the power of the curse. After all No.2 had known that it had to be either one of them, that's why the system is known as 'Degree Absolute' until death do us part, that was the grave risk he was taking, and No.1 to be risking either one of them. And seeing as how the two subjects had swapped roles, at the point when No.6 hands No.2 the knife and telling him to "Kill me!" Just in the same way as when they were fencing, the protective tip having broken on No.6 foil "Kill..kill...kill.. Go on..kill!" No.2 might have realised that he was losing the struggle, "If the doctor having his own problems" as No.6 put it. No.2 might easily have believed it was himself who was destined to die, and No.6's mantra of "Die six die, die, die, die, die, die", wouldn't have helped, and may have compounded No.2's belief.

    That Blasted Rocket! There would have been at least three people aboard that rocket as it blasted off from it’s underground silo during the mass evacuation of the Village in Fall Out - No.48, the "late" No.2 and of course Sir, who would have fitted nicely inside that last vacant "Orbit Tube". Once launched into a low orbit, which would have been as much as that rocket could have achieved. So unless there was a Space Station in orbit for the rocket to reach, the rocket would have re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and either burned up, or would have been destroyed on impact with the ground, either that or sunk at Sea. Either way, it would have meant the end for all those aboard the rocket.

  Unless of course the rocket, like it’s predecessor, was target to crash on London, obliterating it and all those aboard into the bargain!

 The Power Behind The Throne. I wonder why it should be assumed that No.1 is the ultimate power behind the Village. After all there were all the delegates of the Assembly, who each represented a section of society. Surely the real power behind the throne is the Assembly and its delegates, and No.1 merely the figurehead. After all, every Nation needs some kind of figurehead. And what may we ascertain from this? That it’s possible that No.1 was being manipulated by the delegates of the Assembly, of which No.1 was apart of, I think.

   Is it possible for just one man to have ultimate control over every single section of society? Napoleon Bonaparte tried that, even when he was at war, and look what happened to him! Look what happened to No.1!

 A Rebel Without A Cause! I see the role of No.48, and indeed the late Alexis Kanner himself as being a "Rebel without a cause," well that’s how I like to remember Kanner anyway. A man who claimed to have more of an incite into the Prisoner whose was second only to Patrick McGoohan. Well I find that odd, seeing as how Alexis Kanner did not appear in the Prisoner until late on in the series, and who had no involvement whatsoever in the earlier episodes. Talk about hanging onto someone’s coat tails!

   Even the Prisoner-No.6 is seen to be a rebel. Ah, but he wasn’t a rebel until he woke up to find himself abducted to the village, and who would not rebel then? But previously, in the outside world, the Prisoner was part of the system. He lived in a large Georgian house in the City of Westminster, London, and worked for a government department, possibly that of MI9. He was engaged to Janet Portland. At this time the Prisoner’s only show of any kind of rebellion was to own a Lotus 7!

   Now if you want open rebellion, you should look no further than the ’late’No.2 in Fall out. He revolted, he resigned, and if he was to die, then he would die with his own mind. Observe if you will, the controlled aggression behind No.2 taking his numbered badge off and letting it fall to the floor.

   If No.2 revolted against the Village, then why not No.6? As for No.48, well I think we can clearly forget him, as he shows no purpose whatsoever! An uncoordinated youth, who goes off in whichever direction and without reason.

   Revolt does come in many forms. I myself revolted, resigned, walked out on something I once held dear to my heart. But you move on, and even after ‘Fall Out’ there can be new beginnings, and fresh fields to conquer. Well perhaps not for the Prisoner.

Be seeing you