Free For All

With our last election come and gone, I felt the need to watch an episode of the Prisoner that dealt very cynically with elections in general. ("The Prisoner" is short lived series in the 1960s, brainchild of the late Patrick McGoohan, in which a spy quits his jobs, and is kidnapped and taken to the Village, where various means are used to try to take what important secrets still lurk within his mind.)

In this particular episode, Number 2, the only visible leader of the Village, confides with the prisoner, Number 6, that he is up for re-election, and that Number 6 should run against him. Tantalized with the idea of becoming the next Number 2 and using his newfound power to set everyone free, Number 6 agrees, and is given a girl who speaks no English to be his manager. At first, Number 6 gives powerful speeches about freedom for everyone, but this barely registers with the crowd. He is then taken by Number 2 to be brainwashed in a number of strange ways.

Now, Number 6 is nothing more than a talking puppet. Their talking puppet. Of course, his inane political rhetoric makes him insanely popular in the election, and he wins by a landslide. He is taken to Number 2's home, and given the keys to the Village, so to speak. He plays with the controls, like a child with a new toy, until the brainwashing finally wears off. Then, Number 6 scrambles to free himself and everyone else, but to no avail. A group of thugs grab him and give him a beating.

You see, neither Number 6 nor the "elected" Number 2 were really Number 2 at any time. The girl, who actually spoke perfect English, was the real Number 2, who had been observing everything taking place. There is plenty to talk about in this episode, but one of the more interesting is the choice of the title. Its double meaning, Number 6's idea of "freedom for all" and the free-for-all to become Number 2, i.e. the power behind the Village, is very clever.