The Prisoner – Where Did It All Begin?

What if what McGoohan officially claimed was right, that the Prisoner-Number 6 was never intended to be ‘Danger Man’ John Drake, as many fans and enthusiasts believe, what then? Well we still have a man with no name, no identity, who has resigned from British Intelligence. A series which begins with a long deserted runway, which might put the reader in mind of a Quinn Martin production of the 1960’s ‘The Invaders,’ which began with architect David Vincent too tired to drive. An empty road, and a lonely closed and deserted diner........ And that could be said of ‘the Prisoner,’ however ‘the Prisoner’ is different somehow, and I can't believe that it all began somewhere along that long deserted runway in the middle of nowhere.
   We know where the Prisoner was going, London, to hand in his letter of resignation. However we don't know from where he was coming, unless of course we are to believe that after returning to London in ‘Fall Out’ the Prisoner must have driven out of London, later to drive back as we see towards the end of ‘Fall Out,’ and in the opening sequence of ‘Arrival.’ The question is, where had the Prisoner driven to after driving away from his home, having just returned to London after escaping The Village in ‘Fall Out?’
   The Prisoner-Number 6, like Number 2 -Leo McKern, had been abducted to The Village because he could be of use to them. The Village's administration having recognised certain qualities in the Prisoner that would see him having a future with them. However the Prisoner rejects The Village, rejects himself, and eventually launches the red 1 rocket and escapes the confines of The Village. Having done so, as soon as he returned to London, he went to an office and handed in his letter of resignation to a man who was possibly an exterior agent working for The Village. This would explain where the Prisoner had come from, which would mean that it is the episode of ‘Fall Out’ where the Prisoner actually all began, with his rejection of ultimate power, which was to eventually be transferred to him. And not simply with a clap of thunder and a long deserted runway somewhere in the middle of nowhere, which, at the time, is where it all began in the first place. Because there was no concept of ‘Fall Out!

Be seeing you