A Position of Authority!

    An offer of ultimate power being offered to Number Six during ‘Fall Out?’ Have ‘they’ lost their heads? Did ‘they’ really think that they could really trust Number Six to lead them? Surely someone had made a mistake in judgement! Look what happened when Number Six obtained a position of power through the local elections as a new Number Two. He hadn’t been in office five minutes before he was trying to organise a mass breakout! He had taken control. He was to immobilise all electronic controls, and told the citizens that they are “Free. Free to go. Free to go.” Could they trust a man who was laying down ‘his’ law upon the people? To obey him and be free? But of course Number Six was never actually in control, of either the village, or himself. Yet it demonstrated just what would Number Six would do, if given half a chance.
    ‘Fall Out’ has a number of inconsistencies and illogicality's, just like the previous sixteen episodes which make up the series. So what do ‘they’ do? They bring back yet another former Number Two, who has had direct dealings with Number Six, and make him Judge. Rather theatrical I thought, but at least ‘they’ had a man who knew of what Number Six was capable. And yet the Judge praised Number Six, or Sir as he had become to be addressed. Sir had revolted. Fought, resisted, held-fast, maintained. Destroyed resistance. Overcome coercion. The right of the individual to be individual or person. And ‘they’ applauded. ‘They’ applauded his private war, and conceded that despite materialistic efforts, Number Six had survived intact and secure. And after all that build up, all that remained was the recognition of a man. A man of steel. A man who is magnificently equipped to lead them. Well, that’s as may be, and everything the Judge said was right. But really, he could not have been serious about the offer of ultimate power? Because for such a man of steel to then be asked to address them, you would have thought the delegates of the Assembly would have sat and listened to what the man had to say. Yet at each attempt to begin his speech, Number Six was shouted down by each and every delegate of the Assembly. They were not interested in what Number Six might have to say, and didn’t want to hear anything he might wish to say in his address. Number 48 was allowed to state his case. A ’late’ Number Two was allowed to address the Assembly, but not such a man so magnificently equipped like Number Six, who might one day lead them! The members of the Assembly were simply not prepared to listen to the ravings of an egomaniac!
    So why was Number Six elected to be the one to be offered ultimate power, when they were not prepared to listen to what the man had to say, after all, it might have been important! ‘They' knew what Number Six was like. ‘They’ knew what Number Six would do if given half a chance, and so given that half chance, he took it!
    So what happened? ‘They’ faced Number Six with himself. This a final throw of the dice. A final manipulation of the Prisoner, in order to break him. Well that’s how I have come to see it. And if it was, then ‘they’ failed! Whoever Number One was, either Number Six’s alter ego. Curtis of ‘The Schizoid Man,’ or simply yet another doppelganger of Number Six, he turned out to be completely unstable. A laughing maniac, who as soon as his identity was made known, made for the nearest exit. In this case a steel ladder leading up into the nose cone of the rocket, so as to try and avoid capture at the hands of Number Six. It was of course very handy to have Number One escape the clutches of Number Six, because we, the viewer, might have learned something! And that would have made things very unpleasant for McGoohan. And by the way. Have you noticed how villains, who are being chased by the good guys, suddenly have this irresistible urge to climb upwards in trying to avoid capture?
    It was soon after that ‘they’ made their greatest mistake of all. They left Number Six to his own devices in the Control Room of the rocket. As Number Six busied himself with setting the countdown and trajectory of the rocket, as the Judge paced up and down the floor of the cavern. Surely security should have been sent to the Control Room the moment the Judge suspected something being wrong, when he was trying to make contact with control, but failed to do so. Had this happened, security would have overpowered Number Six, and the situation neutralised.

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