In Two Minds
The Prisoner: Episode 5 The Schizoid Man Written by Terence Feeley
Directed by Pat Jackson
The Supervisor: "In Haiti we'd say he'd stolen his soul".
No.6 is helping No.24 (Alison) with her ESP mindreading act using Zenner cards for the local fete. They seem to be simpatico, she scoring highly. She's also practising her photography and in so doing gives No.6 a blackened bruised nail. It's Wednesday Feb 10th. When No. 6 wakes that same morning it's still Wed Feb 10th but now he's grown a moustache, his hair is black and styled differently, and he's left handed rather than right. No.2 calls him and refers to him as No12, also acknowledged as such by other villagers. No.2 wants him (No.12) to impersonate No.6 and make him doubt his identity. Thus hoping he'll crack and reveal why he resigned. No.6 doesn't know why No.2 refers to him as No.12, nor how he's physically changed, but when he meets the other No.6 he begins to question his own sanity, especially as the other No.6 seems to be a better No.6 than him. Obviously, I would have shown as either the sixth or twelfth episode, seeing as it deals with identity, to mirror the two protagonists. It's a brilliantly written and convoluted plot by Terence Feeley, a great British thriller and TV writer, responsible for bringing Callan to the TV screen. Later he would write the pastiche filler episode "The Girl Who Was Death". The brilliance of the plot can be seen in its reversal of type. A hack writer would have No.6 wake up to find that someone is impersonating him, as in so many other doppelgänger stories, but Feeley's brilliance is in having No.6 as the 'impersonator', with everyone referring to him as No.12, and treating him as a confidante, whilst the false No.6 is treated as the same person, a prisoner. Obviously, the major theme here is the psychology of personality, how we perceive ourselves, and how this is threatened when others now perceive us differently, and when our inner emotional feeling of our self is contradicted by outside physical characteristics., including changes in our environment. Here No.6 looks differently, and has to be restyled to be an exact duplicate of No.6. His ornaments in No.6's home have also been changed (something is gilt when it should be silver, magazines that he doesn't read).
Thus the mindreading act and the bruised nail become crucial. No.6 attempts to use his mental link with No.24 to persuade No.2 and the false No.6 that he is the real No.6, not No.12. The betrayal by No.24, who doesn't correctly identify the cards for No.6 but does for the 'false' one, does make No.6 doubt himself. There's also a brilliant use of scientific fraud when the false No.6 thumb print appears differently on the scanner, whereas No.6 and No.2 can see on the small screen that they're identical. This is meant to persuade the false No.6 that he isn't the real one, but in actuality is being used for exactly the opposite reason. It's No.6 who is fooled, as the thumb prints match, and as fingerprints are unique, the false No.6 must be real. Unable to cope with the conflict between his interior sense of self and the outside world's view of himself, it's no wonder that No.2's diabolical scheme seems to be working.
The bruised nail is important because the physical laws of nature cannot be faked by The Village, whereas a clock and calendar can be falsified, and that no matter how controlled or micromanaged a community is, accidents can and do happen and can't always be foreseen. Also, since his programming (having taken only a couple of days), especially handedness, must by its nature be superficial, No.6's own 'aversion' therapy technique would work, particularly once he's come to the conclusion he is the real No.6. McGoohan's acting is first-rate here, it's his skill that sells the concept to us. The acting is excellent here. Anton Rodgers, always a fine actor, is excellent as No.2, cleverly persuading No.6 that they are friends who've worked many operations together. No.2 refers to his wife, and the end sequence, during the Taxi ride to the helicopter, is genuinely concerned at their apparent falling out and also equally puzzled. You can see him thinking and working it out. He has a lighter touch than other actors who've portrayed No.2, but he's steely and determined when interrogating the false No.6. The always welcome Earl Cameron, who worked many times on Danger Man, and who was much admired by McGoohan, only has a small role as The Supervisor, replacing Peter Swanwick, but essays his part nicely, and is one of the two BME actors in this episode (the other an uncredited Sikh actor who salutes No.12 by name). After all, The Village is meant to be international. Apart from the brilliant script, the main credit for this episode must rest with the wonderful Jane Merrow. Not only bewitchingly beautiful, she graced many an ITC production with her intelligent acting and charm (she has a wonderful smile), indeed she appeared in ten of their shows. More importantly, she had appeared in three episodes of Danger Man with McGoohan, who really rated her as an actress. They seem to find and match each others acting rhythms superbly, and she was one of the few actresses McGoohan would work with on several occasions. I think their natural rapport and mutual respect is acknowledged by the fact that she is the only villager ever referred to by her first name, Alison. She is superb here, warm and engaging in the opening scene, subtly nuanced in the Interrogation scene, note that despite being involved in No.2's duplicity she cannot help but reveal a slight ambivalence and antipathy towards No.2 and the false No.6. Her final scene with No.6 (whom she thinks is No.12) when she says she wouldn't do that again, is touching for not being played emotionally, but drily, almost defiantly. As I said, a beautiful and highly talented actress, and I always enjoy seeing her in film or TV. You can read her own review of this episode on her wonderful website, and listen to her discuss her ITC roles on this excellent podcast. Apparently, this is the only episode to call Rover, by it's name, which I find odd, hadn't noticed that before despite my familiarity with the show, as I've always referred to it as such. So, an excellent episode with a diabolical plot, helped by a small cast, intimate as a psychological drama should be, helped by some fine acting and writing and direction. This ups the ante on the series psychological horror as not only his name and freedom are stripped from him, now his own sense of self. And there's a nasty scene of physical horror as we discover just how nasty Rover can be. And it all takes place in a couple of days! Surely it can't still be Wednesday Feb 10th!?
VILLAGE rating (out of 6): No.6
The Prisoner .................................................................. PATRICK McGOOHAN
Number Two .................................................................. ANTON RODGERS
The Butler ..................................................................... ANGELO MUSCAT
Number 24 (Alison) ....................................................... JANE MERROW
Supervisor ..................................................................... EARL CAMERON
Number 36 .................................................................... GAY CAMERON
Doctor ........................................................................... DAVID NETTHEIM
Nurse ............................................................................ PAT KEEN
Guardian ....................................................................... GERRY CRAMPTON
Guardian ...................................................................... DINNEY POWELL
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