The Prisoner – The Chimes of Big Ben

October 6, 1967 Season 1 Episode 2

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

Both sides are becoming identical. An International community, a perfect blueprint for world order….Number 2

The show has such a good premise. What does a super spy do when he/she retires? Most likely, they won’t be able to live their life in peace, but where do they go?

This was the 5th episode filmed, but it’s the second one aired. This explains the reason a few months have passed in time since he arrived. It’s one of my favorite episodes. The sugar cubes scene is very telling. They have it in his file how many cubes he uses in his tea. Just to mess with them, he changes the number he usually takes. Number 2 looks on in disbelief because Number 6 will not join quietly like some others did.

This episode really pushes the series into spy territory, playing with the idea that escape might be possible. Number Six encounters another prisoner who claims that she has outside contacts and a plan, and for the first time, the Village seems less sealed than it did in Arrival. She insists she knows a way to escape from the Village, and Number 6 builds a raft. After carefully planning their attempt, the two manage to leave the Village and drift out to sea. You think, hmmm, maybe he will break out of there…and he does, but then comes a twist.

The episode borrows the spy checklist… coded messages, double agents, and quiet deals, which suggests a more familiar path forward. You also see in what lengths the village will go to tame Number 6, and it’s out there. It also makes clear that intelligence work itself can be a trap. Trust becomes a liability, and the system Number Six once served is resembling the one now holding him.

It really drives home that escape is not just physical; it is psychological. It reinforces the idea that resistance is expected, managed, and often used against those who attempt it. It’s a great episode with who I think made the best Number 2, Leo McKern. He is one of the few who will return at the end. Be Seeing You!

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all. View all posts by Badfinger (Max)