Village bad guys attempt to gain information from an old friend of Number 6 as the community prepares for its annual Carnival. Roland Walter Dutton is the associate; he is used and abused both mentally and physically. The village cat is still lurking about (spying perhaps?) and making visits to both the prisoner and Number 2. Meanwhile, Number 6 finds a body washed ashore. He attempts to contact help by placing information on the dead man and sending the body back out to sea. I did say there’s some strange stuff here, right?
Everything culminates in a nightmarish Cabaret with Number 6 put on trial for being caught with a radio (which he found on the dead man).
There are more beautiful shots and imagery in this episode, such as the beach at night and the colorful carnival costumes. Lots of good, biting dialogue and eerie atmosphere too. Mary Morris plays the first official female Number 2 and she is very good in the role. She looks especially neat as a menacing Peter Pan during the Cabaret. I always feel bad for Roland Walter Dutton, whose sad fate is revealed toward the end.
The underlying theme of the episode is death – death of actual people and of the life the prisoner once knew. The village also intends to make Number 6 appear dead to the outside world by amending the drowned man’s body. They try to break his spirit further and sway him toward the village as a new way of life.
This is a wild one and getting better with each viewing.
Six vs Village: Though a bit hard to judge, the village is the victor. Number 6 can’t help his friend and the village appears strong while planning more terrible things for his future. The villagers are downright scary in this one too!
"You’ll damage the brain and then we’ll all...!!"
"The town hall is fussy about who it lets in."
"I like my dream." ~ Number 6
"Stop asking me questions!"
PRISONER SCORE BOARD:
Village: 5
Number 6: 3
