The Prisoner: A Change of Mind Rewatch
August 14, 2014 10:05 AM - Season 1, Episode 12 - Subscribe
Number Six is declared "unmutual" and labeled for conversion.
-Also: I appreciate the episode's unusual effort to portray a diverse Village, casting Czech and Chinese actors (and at least one guy who's just doing a Russianesque accent). It reinforces the idea that people turn up in the Village from everywhere, and nods to the use of this kind of forced confession and self-criticism in Maoist China and the Eastern Bloc.
posted by thesmallmachine at 11:28 AM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by thesmallmachine at 11:28 AM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
I always find this episode very uncomfortable.
Lobotomy's still a terrifying thing now, but it would have been a much more contemporary fear at the time, having peaked as a procedure in the 40s and 50s. Makes me wonder too if McGoohan and Parkes had read Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which somewhat predates this episode. (The movie came later.)
The ultrasonic surgery equipment is more convincing than the usual Prisoner flashing-lights-and-suggestion flimflam. They want to convince Six; but they also want us, the audience, to believe that this could actually be happening.
The idea of a truly disinterested 2 who throws 6 to the dogs is one of the darkest places the series could go right now. We've seen so many episodes where 6's special status makes him immune from the Village's worst, and we've come to rely on that, just as he does.
Yes! Six is very sure right from the start that the whole anti-social/un-mutual thing is yet another play by Two; he's dismissive of the whole charade and baits them into the "social conversion". The horror of the procedure -- of Six strapped down, helpless, and maybe believing that the Village truly is about to take away his individuality -- and then waking up and considering that they might have really done it. It would have been interesting to explore that more and longer before Six's observational superpowers kick in to save the day.
Maybe a contrast with Schizoid Man? I feel like in that one Six was always very secure in his identity, despite all the evidence that suggested otherwise. He always knew that it was some kind of trick; he just needed to find it out and then turn it to his advantage. Here it feels more like there is a moment in which Six is completely fooled; and that realization is what fuels the fury of his revenge.
The ending is odd -- another one in which you're left wondering what happens to Two now that Six has seemingly turned the villagers against him. It's never addressed; there's almost always an implicit reset of the Village between episodes.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 5:10 PM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Lobotomy's still a terrifying thing now, but it would have been a much more contemporary fear at the time, having peaked as a procedure in the 40s and 50s. Makes me wonder too if McGoohan and Parkes had read Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which somewhat predates this episode. (The movie came later.)
The ultrasonic surgery equipment is more convincing than the usual Prisoner flashing-lights-and-suggestion flimflam. They want to convince Six; but they also want us, the audience, to believe that this could actually be happening.
The idea of a truly disinterested 2 who throws 6 to the dogs is one of the darkest places the series could go right now. We've seen so many episodes where 6's special status makes him immune from the Village's worst, and we've come to rely on that, just as he does.
Yes! Six is very sure right from the start that the whole anti-social/un-mutual thing is yet another play by Two; he's dismissive of the whole charade and baits them into the "social conversion". The horror of the procedure -- of Six strapped down, helpless, and maybe believing that the Village truly is about to take away his individuality -- and then waking up and considering that they might have really done it. It would have been interesting to explore that more and longer before Six's observational superpowers kick in to save the day.
Maybe a contrast with Schizoid Man? I feel like in that one Six was always very secure in his identity, despite all the evidence that suggested otherwise. He always knew that it was some kind of trick; he just needed to find it out and then turn it to his advantage. Here it feels more like there is a moment in which Six is completely fooled; and that realization is what fuels the fury of his revenge.
The ending is odd -- another one in which you're left wondering what happens to Two now that Six has seemingly turned the villagers against him. It's never addressed; there's almost always an implicit reset of the Village between episodes.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 5:10 PM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
It would have been interesting to explore that more and longer before Six's observational superpowers kick in to save the day.
I agree. I'm sure they could have cut a few minutes of wacky 86 antics to make room for more of 6 struggling to comprehend what's happening to him. If you really wanted to go dark, you could have him feel genuinely happy under the drug's influence -- which only redoubles his later fury.
(Are we supposed to read, by the way, that 86 has already been subjected to the procedure? She is introduced as someone who was once also "disharmonious," and she wears her bangs conspicuously over the spot where the scarring is. I don't think this can be true, given that her personality and faculties don't seem particularly lobotomized, but I still like my theory as a bit of fanfic.)
The ending is odd -- another one in which you're left wondering what happens to Two now that Six has seemingly turned the villagers against him. It's never addressed; there's almost always an implicit reset of the Village between episodes.
I wonder what happens to him too. A lot depends on how seriously the Villagers take the whole "unmutual" idea; we've never seen this setup before, and I assume that it's a recent introduction, another enforced fad a la Speedlearn.
Personally, I suspect they view these large-scale social experiments with a mixture of detachment and complete commitment. They know this is just the week's brand of suffering and there'll be a new one soon enough, but in the meantime, if the rules allow them to drown some of their anger and exhaustion with a little blood, they will take them as gospel. I don't imagine they managed to do any damage to 2, but I am sure that they tried.
And I'm sure they were happy to go after 6, too, even if they're sympathetic to him. There has to be some amount of resentment in the Village by now of 6's relentless specialness. For heaven's sake, they had to pretend it was a different month because of this guy once, and he never gets the worst of the drugs. What's so great about him?
posted by thesmallmachine at 7:31 PM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
I agree. I'm sure they could have cut a few minutes of wacky 86 antics to make room for more of 6 struggling to comprehend what's happening to him. If you really wanted to go dark, you could have him feel genuinely happy under the drug's influence -- which only redoubles his later fury.
(Are we supposed to read, by the way, that 86 has already been subjected to the procedure? She is introduced as someone who was once also "disharmonious," and she wears her bangs conspicuously over the spot where the scarring is. I don't think this can be true, given that her personality and faculties don't seem particularly lobotomized, but I still like my theory as a bit of fanfic.)
The ending is odd -- another one in which you're left wondering what happens to Two now that Six has seemingly turned the villagers against him. It's never addressed; there's almost always an implicit reset of the Village between episodes.
I wonder what happens to him too. A lot depends on how seriously the Villagers take the whole "unmutual" idea; we've never seen this setup before, and I assume that it's a recent introduction, another enforced fad a la Speedlearn.
Personally, I suspect they view these large-scale social experiments with a mixture of detachment and complete commitment. They know this is just the week's brand of suffering and there'll be a new one soon enough, but in the meantime, if the rules allow them to drown some of their anger and exhaustion with a little blood, they will take them as gospel. I don't imagine they managed to do any damage to 2, but I am sure that they tried.
And I'm sure they were happy to go after 6, too, even if they're sympathetic to him. There has to be some amount of resentment in the Village by now of 6's relentless specialness. For heaven's sake, they had to pretend it was a different month because of this guy once, and he never gets the worst of the drugs. What's so great about him?
posted by thesmallmachine at 7:31 PM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Two things that struck me re-watching this episode: First, how immediately and obviously uncomfortable 6 is when people start avoiding him. This is a man who is used to being able to command respect, to blend in. He can resist attempts to break him, but disdain from other members of the Village clearly gets to him.
Second, the moment when 6 knows for sure he was not lobotomized and is restored to his old self is when the guys picking on him at the start decide to do a Clockwork Orange on him and attack once he's been defanged. The plot was falling apart anyway, but that was the moment it was dead and buried.
For me, the point of the episode is actually about showing the limits of the village. However absolute their surveillance, and their power, they cannot fundamentally alter human nature. They cannot control the forces, the basic in-group out-group psychology they're playing with in this episode.
I don't think it's just striking visual design that explains why number two's posters invoke the Lord Kitchener Wants You posters from the first world war. Just like the great powers of Europe during that conflict, the village has stoked and deliberately unleashed something primal in human nature, and was completely unprepared to deal with the consequences.
posted by Grimgrin at 4:07 AM on August 16, 2014 [3 favorites]
Second, the moment when 6 knows for sure he was not lobotomized and is restored to his old self is when the guys picking on him at the start decide to do a Clockwork Orange on him and attack once he's been defanged. The plot was falling apart anyway, but that was the moment it was dead and buried.
For me, the point of the episode is actually about showing the limits of the village. However absolute their surveillance, and their power, they cannot fundamentally alter human nature. They cannot control the forces, the basic in-group out-group psychology they're playing with in this episode.
I don't think it's just striking visual design that explains why number two's posters invoke the Lord Kitchener Wants You posters from the first world war. Just like the great powers of Europe during that conflict, the village has stoked and deliberately unleashed something primal in human nature, and was completely unprepared to deal with the consequences.
posted by Grimgrin at 4:07 AM on August 16, 2014 [3 favorites]
Top hats and green baize, the trappings of officialdom.
This 2 delights in his powerlessness. I get the idea that much more than a week passes between the episodes, a time for each new 2 to watch, learn, plan.
The scene where the rest of the Village surrounds Our Hero is pretty scary, I think you are right, he is used to their regard, or at least their accommodation. When they ignore him, avoid him, and then attack him ... the worst place to be alone is in a crowd.
Are they actually interested in the answer. qua answer now, or are they interested in submission?
Odd that Our Hero is better at hypnosis than the Village. I guess the drugs helped.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:54 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
This 2 delights in his powerlessness. I get the idea that much more than a week passes between the episodes, a time for each new 2 to watch, learn, plan.
The scene where the rest of the Village surrounds Our Hero is pretty scary, I think you are right, he is used to their regard, or at least their accommodation. When they ignore him, avoid him, and then attack him ... the worst place to be alone is in a crowd.
Are they actually interested in the answer. qua answer now, or are they interested in submission?
Odd that Our Hero is better at hypnosis than the Village. I guess the drugs helped.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:54 PM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
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-It's disappointing, though, that the whole story turns out to be yet another elaborate ploy for 6's confession. The idea of a truly disinterested 2 who throws 6 to the dogs is one of the darkest places the series could go right now. We've seen so many episodes where 6's special status makes him immune from the Village's worst, and we've come to rely on that, just as he does. To see that status stripped away -- to see 6 reduced to a point where the only way to rebel is a paralyzed smile -- is chilling, but it's not much of a surprise to learn that everything still revolves around him after all.
-The second half of the series isn't notable for its remarkable 2s, but John Sharp's is an exception -- with his raspy tenor and corpse's eyes, he would seem like a lobotomy victim himself, were it not for his occasional moments of concentrated rage.
-Poor 86: trapped with a howling 6 and the series' most bitterly misogynistic 2, and ultimately just as dopey as they expect her to be. It's not her fault that she doesn't measure up to the stone-cold science bitches of Prisoners past; she's just written by people who are great at creating an atmosphere of fear but terrible at coming up with a better plan than "pretty lady drugs the tea."
posted by thesmallmachine at 11:12 AM on August 14, 2014 [1 favorite]