Dance of the Dead

    By way of this episode ‘Dance of The Dead,’ does it give us any real insight into those who are behind The Village? Because I don’t think it does. Remember that at this time we don’t know who Number 1 is, in fact at this point Number 1 could be anyone. ‘The Prisoner’ has all been about Number 6 being his own worst enemy, that it’s been Number 6’s struggle against his other self that to me is nothing more than a contrivance for ‘Fall Out,’ and a get out clause for Patrick McGoohan! He had no idea who Number 1 was going to be, not until he wrote the script for ‘Fall Out’ and making himself Number 1.
    There had to be a Number 1, as Number 2 was both seen and heard talking to Number 1, and at least three Number 2’s called Number 1 Sir, so at least we knew Number 1 was a man. So setting ‘Fall Out to one side, in fact we can forget it altogether, well at least I can. Was Number 1 really the power behind The Village, or was he simply a figurehead, did he in fact have his own “maters” to whom he was held responsible? The fact that this Number 2 used a teleprinter to make her reports, and presumably by which she received her instructions and not by telephone, is suggestive of her masters being somewhere other than in The Village! And yet that makes the matter of who are those masters behind The Village even more mysterious. I have always assumed it to be some department within British Intelligence, but there is absolutely no evidence for that, it’s only my own personal assumption. We are no wiser at the end of ‘Dance of The Dead’ as to who is ultimately responsible for The Village, than we were at the beginning!

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