Episode 10

The Prisoner: It’s Your Funeral.

The Prisoner is a 1967 British television series, starring Patrick McGoohan as “Number 6,” a top-level government agent who resigns his post. As a result, he’s kidnapped and imprisoned in “The Village”, where his captors hope to interrogate him for “information.” The series documents Number 6’s repeated escape attempts and the progressively more extreme methods employed by his captors to break his will.

Synopsis

A girl sneaks into Number 6’s apartment. Number 6 immediately doubts her, believing she’s been sent by Number 2 for some nefarious reason, which she denies. But of course, she has been sent by a new, youthful Number 2.

Next we see The Village using computers and behavioral analysis to predict Number 6’s next move. A lady with a blue hat and cape is in charge of this project. It’s predicted that Number 6 will go to a kiosk and buy a newspaper, soap, and a bag of sweets. Number 2 is skeptical of this result, saying Number 6 never eats sweets. But it turns out Number 6 does buy candy - for an old woman as a gift. Number 2 is impressed.

We’re next introduced to kosho - (an odd sport invented for the television show). Two men wearing red robes, gloves, and motorcycle helmets bounce on trampolines. The goal is to hurl your opponent into a pool of water. With Number 6 busy playing kosho, a Village agent sneaks over to his locker, and swaps his watch for a broken one. Upon discovering this, Number 6 pays a visit to a watch shop to have it repaired. While there, Number 6 notices a device on the work bench that is a trigger and a lever - a remote control trigger of an explosive device. The watchmaker says the device is nothing and prods Number 6 to leave. It turns out the watchmaker is the father of the girl that earlier snuck into Number 6’s house. An assassination of Number 2 is in the works. What’s interesting is Number 2 is behind it - and deliberately revealing it to Number 6. The murder will occur on Appreciation Day, a celebration of Number 2, with the explosive hidden in a large medal.

Number 6 decides to warn Number 2 of the assassination plot. Number 2 says he’s not worried about the attempt, because his people are monitoring watchmaker and consider him a “jammer” - a Villager that makes up assassination plots that never come of anything. The conversation is recorded by ever-present cameras.

The next time Number 6 visits Number 2, it’s a different person. This Number 2 reviews the tape of Number 6 warning the younger Number 2. There are various Number 2s receiving the warning - obviously faked.

What’s the reason for this? It seems the previous Number 2 was plotting the assassination of the next Number 2. The leaders of The Village are revealed to be jockeying for power among themselves - or perhaps previous Number 2s are killed in order to keep secrets from leaking. The tape is meant to discredit Number 6’s warning.

During Appreciation Day the old number 2 looks noticeably agitated and worried. The young Number 2 communicates with his accomplice via a radio. The watchmaker observes from afar in a tower via binoculars.

Number 6 spots the Watchmaker in the tower and rushes off to stop him. The girl chases after him.

Just as the explosive is put onto the old Number 2’s neck, Number 6 confronts the watchmaker and takes the detonator away. The seal is taken off of the other Number 2 and put on the younger Number 2, who rushes through the speech, afraid it will explode at any moment. Number 6 tells the older number 2 to board the helicopter and leave The Village before he can be stopped.

Thoughts

I found this to be a rather confusing episode, but it does sets up an interesting situation where the Number 2s are manipulating each other. Eventually, as Number 6 gets involved, he turns the tables despite the trap laid for him, and uses his found knowledge to show up The Village once again.

The one oddity is Number 6 warning Number 2 about the assassination plot - I didn’t expect him to do that, and instead thought he would join in. Second, the kosho sport is truly bizarre and I found that scene rather a waste of time. But overall, yet another enjoyable episode.

Next Episode: A Change Of Mind
Previous Episode: Many Happy Returns

IMDB: It’s Your Funeral
Wikipedia: It’s Your Funeral
The Prisoner Online: It’s Your Funeral
Bookmice: It’s Your Funeral

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Related Posts: The Prisoner: Many Happy Returns :: The Prisoner: A Change Of Mind :: The Prisoner: The General :: The Prisoner: A, B, And C ::