The Schizoid Man In The Mirror!

    Seen one night in ‘Checkmate’ Number 6 is at his ablutions. Seen in the mirror is his other self, and one might wonder what he makes of it all, being incarcerated in The Village. But we have seen Number 6’s mirror image before, ‘The Schizoid Man.’

    Because for Number 6 it must have been like staring back at himself in the mirror! But which is the original and which the economy pack as they say. Well firstly it would have been much better had they retained the original idea of both wearing the same brown coloured blazer, and that would have made it more difficult to tell them apart. However, we have to work with what we have. It’s Number 6 who has been turned, not into his other self, but almost the mirror image of himself. It’s almost as though Number 6 has stepped out of the mirror into The Village. Although the parting of his hair is wrong it should be on the left side, but he is left handed as his reflection in the mirror. With ‘The Schizoid Man’ this is the nearest we get to an actual confrontation between 6 and his alter ego 6, not at all like the chaotic and riotous meeting between Number 6 and Number 1. Here we have the weakened, disorientated, and disadvantaged 6 against a strong, confident, self-assured 6. Although they battle each other, the one trying to get the upper hand of the other, if they really were their other self then they would need each other to make the perfect whole. And yet the meeting between Number 1 and Number 6 is manic, as both exhibit extremely wild or violent behaviour. And really there isn’t much to choose between them, each is as bad as the other, there’s no weakness, no meekness in either. The best one can say about it is, it’s forceful and dramatic. Perhaps had Number 6 managed to lay his hands on his other self, he would have strangled the life out of him. And I cannot but help recall the image of Number 6 almost about to put his hand to the effigies throat in the locker room! Number 6 may have rid himself of his other self, but he needed him more than he might realise, even though he hated himself for what he had done!

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