Once Upon a Time (The Prisoner)

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“Once Upon A Time”
The Prisoner episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 16
Guest stars	Number Two: Leo McKern
Written by	Patrick McGoohan
Directed by	Patrick McGoohan
Production no.	13
Original airdate	January 28, 1968
Episode chronology
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"The Girl Who Was Death"	"Fall Out"

"Once Upon A Time" is the title of the 16th episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan as Number Six. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on January 28, 1968 and was first broadcast in the United States on CBS in the summer of 1968.

This episode was filmed very early in the series' production run, and was always designed to be the first half of a two-part finale. When the network and McGoohan negotiated to make 17 episodes for the series instead of the original seven, this episode was pushed to the later broadcast date.

[edit] Plot summary

The Number Two from the episode "The Chimes of Big Ben" (Leo McKern) returns to undertake "Degree Absolute" in a final attempt to break Number Six.

At night, Number Six is brainwashed with one of the "pulsator lamps", and when he wakes up, his mind has regressed back to childhood. With The Butler (Angelo Muscat), they descend to the "Embryo Room" located deep underneath The Green Dome. The doors are locked from the outside, a timer is set, and from this point on the three of them cannot leave the room for a week.

Number Two conducts psychological tests representing William Shakespeare's Seven ages of man (except the age of the lover) to discover why Number Six resigned. They go through the different stages of Number Six's life, with Number Two playing the role of an authoritative figure (parent, teacher, coach, employer, judge, officer, etc.) while Number Six plays the parts of a son, student, athlete, soldier, prisoner, etc. Throughout the tests, Number Two starts asking "Why did you resign?" every time he detects a weakness. During these sessions, Number Two discovers that his charge has developed a mental block that prevents him from speaking the number "Six". Slowly, Number Two also starts developing a fondness for the prisoner. "I'm beginning to like him," he says after yet another failed attempt to break Number Six.

As the week goes by, Number Six gains strength. A final attempt at interrogation (with Number Two in the role of a jailer and Number Six as a prisoner of war) ends with Number Six appearing to snap, begging Number Two to kill him, stating that his resignation was "A matter of conscience ... too many people knew too much" (a statement Number Two rejects), and finally calling his tormenter a "fool" and "an idiot". Then, suddenly, Number Six speaks the word "six", and counts down to zero, by which time he's his normal self again.

It is left ambiguous as to whether Number Six had been play-acting the entire time, or whether the brainwashing had simply unravelled at some point. As a shell-shocked Number Two lies on a table, Number Six states that Degree Absolute, while a recognized technique in psychiatry, carries risks, particularly if the person conducting the session "has his own problems". This intrigues Number Two, who joyfully explains the entire ruse to Number Six, giving him a tour of the Embryo Room, culminating with the timer which shows that there are only a few minutes remaining before the end of the session.

Panicking, Number Two pleads with Number Six to tell him why he resigned, and ultimately finds himself crawling in supplication to the prisoner. This ends in a room that looks like a large cage, Number Two explaining that it is stocked with provisions. Number Two pours a glass of wine for each of them and desperately drinks his. Suddenly, Number Six closes the door to the cage, locking Number Two inside. The Butler, who has switched allegiances, takes the key. Number Two paces back and forth like a caged animal as Number Six taunts "Die, Six, die!" as the timer runs down. Number Two collapses, apparently dead, as a somewhat regretful Number Six turns to leave. The door slides open and the Supervisor (Peter Swanwick) enters the chamber:

"What do you desire?" the Supervisor asks.

"Number One," replies Number Six.

"I'll take you", says the Supervisor...

[edit] Additional guest cast

• Supervisor: Peter Swanwick
• Umbrella man: John Cazabon
• Number Eighty-Six: John Maxim

[edit] Trivia

• According to The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series by Robert Fairclough, the strain of filming this episode caused McKern to suffer either a nervous breakdown or a heart attack (accounts differ), forcing production to stop for a time.
• A number of fans who speculate that Number Six is in fact John Drake from McGoohan's earlier series, Danger Man usually reference this episode. They claim that Number Two says "See me in the morning, Drake!" when in fact he really says "See me in the morning break."
• Many of the facts of Number Six's life revealed in this episode are based on McGoohan's own life.^{[citation needed]}