The Prisoner – Fall Out

February 1, 1968  Season 1 Episode 17

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

I wanted to say this before I start. These last episodes aren’t difficult to write about because they’re poorly made. They’re difficult because they’re symbolic rather than literal. They’re asking philosophical questions instead of telling a straightforward story. I like to be challenged as a viewer, and good and bad, this series does it. The proof is that we are still talking about it on a blog in 2026. Saying that, it took me weeks to write this.

Well, we are at the conclusion of this great series. There is something I would like to touch on first before we get into the episode. I would recommend not reading this if you want to see this episode, but look at and listen to the intro again that we have been seeing and hearing since day one. I personally think the show has been telling you something since the first episode.

Number Six: Where am I?
Number Two: In the village.
Number Six: What do you want?
Number Two: Information.
Number Six: Whose side are you on?
Number Two: That would be telling. We want information…information… information!!!
Number Six: You won’t get it!
Number Two: By hook or by crook, we will.
Number Six: Who are you?
Number Two: The new Number Two.
Number Six: Who is Number One?
Number Two: You are Number Six.
Number Six (running on the Village’s beach): I am not a number; I am a free man!!!
Number Two: [Laughter]

Now, let’s place a comma in part of this dialogue that we have heard since the beginning, and we have this:

Number Six: Who is Number One?
Number Two: You are, Number Six.

What power a comma has!

Now, whether you believe this or not is up to you, but in this episode, it basically plays it out. I’ve always thought (and thought WAY too much!) the Village works on several levels. On the surface, it is a prison. Underneath that, it is society. Underneath that, it is the complex human mind. Number Six spends the entire series fighting conformity, group thought, and control. But in the end, he may also be fighting parts of himself. So is Number 6 his own jailer? You are your own ruler. You are the person ultimately responsible for your choices.

Ok, let’s get to this episode and, IF I can put it in words. One word clears it up quite well, though… symbolism, because this episode is full of it.

After surviving the ordeal of the last episode, Once Upon a Time, Number Six is brought before the rulers of the Village. To his surprise, after a while, he is treated as a hero rather than a prisoner. A strange assembly gathers to celebrate his victory. Number Six is questioned, praised, and finally given the chance to help decide the fate of the Village itself. The proceedings feel partly like a courtroom fever dream.

As the ceremony continues, Number Six encounters several familiar faces from his time in the Village. He also comes face to face with the mystery that has haunted him since the beginning of the series: the identity of Number One. The answers he receives are anything but straightforward. The episode becomes increasingly surreal. Masks appear. Roles change. Gunfire, and all hell breaks loose. The line between reality and symbolism begins to disappear. What seems important one moment is swept aside the next.

In the final act, Number Six and his allies fight their way out of the Village and escape to London. Yet even after reaching home, there is a feeling that the struggle is not really over. The final scenes suggest that the forces represented by the Village exist beyond any single location.

Like much of The Prisoner, this episode leaves many questions unanswered. I’ve read and talked to fans about it. Some viewers see it as a story about freedom. Others see it as a warning about power and the prisons we create for ourselves. Whatever the interpretation, it remains one of the most talked-about endings in television history.

One side note: the Beatles allowed Patrick McGoohan to use the song All You Need Is Love in this one. It was something they didn’t normally do. They were such huge fans that they gladly gave McGoohan permission. Funny, the most violent scene in the series was going on with All You Need Is Love blissfully playing in the background.

One thing I love about Fall Out is that McGoohan seems less interested in answering “Who is Number One?” than he is in asking, “Now what will you do?” That’s why people are still debating it nearly sixty years later, including you and me today. This is the last episode, so thank you for reading. Remember, the Village will always be somewhere near you now and in 10 years. My closing remark on the series would be this. Patrick McGoohan wasn’t really giving us an answer. I think he was giving us a mirror. Be Seeing You!