A. B. and C. (thing)

Episode Three: A. B. and C.

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Forward to Four: Free For All (forthcoming)
The Prisoner Episode Guide
The Prisoner

At the start:
Number Six thought he escaped last time, but it all turned out to be an elaborate trick on the part of his captors to get him to reveal the reason for his resignation. They believe if they can get him to reveal that one piece of information, he’ll crack.

During this episode:
Another new Number Two has a go at Number Six. The curtain rises as Number Two picks up a red telephone and nervously reports failure to a superior. He is told he is not indispensable. He rings a Number 14 and has her rush forward with her experiments. They have not even been tested with animals yet, let alone humans. Two tells her that tonight is her chance.

That night, in a laboratory beneath The Village, Two and 14 make preparations to work on an unconscious Number Six, brought there previously. Two bullies 14, telling her if the subject is harmed, it’ll be tested on her. Electrodes are connected to Six’s head, and images begin to form on a viewscreen, showing his dream. It shows the scene of his resignation, over and over again, as seen in the opening titles. Two: “Extraordinary... how very single minded.” 14: “I sometimes think he’s not human.” She produces three syringes and reveals that they contain a drug that will allow them to control Number Six’s dreams. Two’s belief is that Six was going to sell out, and Two’s plan is to introduce three key figures into Number Six’s dream world, labeled A, B, and C, computed to be the most likely people to whom he would sell. In the nights to come, he will meet all three, in his dreams. No more than three injections may be given; even that is too much of a risk. The setting in which to meet these people: the parties of Madame Engadine, at which none of the people might seem out of place.

Taped footage of a party is piped into Six’s mind and Numbers Two and 14 observe on their screen. On the screen Number Six moves as if he were not a prisoner. Six meets Madame Engadine early and they exchange remarks. Six says she looks wonderful. She returns she should, considering the cost. “Things are bad.” Six brushes that aside, however. “Not now, I’m starting a holiday.” The Prisoner breaks away and returns to his mingling, as Two and 14 decide to introduce A, a ladies man who made world news a some years before, defecting away from The Prisoner’s side. Words are exchanged. They had things in common. In the past, says Six. They do the same jobs. For different reasons, says Six. A: “What are you going to do with your freedom?” Six: “Go fishing.” A: “Perhaps you are fishing now. What’s your price?” Six: “What am I selling?” A is anxious to find out. Six excuses himself, to the consternation of Two and 14. But they cannot control beyond this, now the dream must run its course. Before long, A brings thugs and they kidnap Six, who eventually defeats all three in hand-to-hand. But then the spell starts to break, and Six begins to remember The Village. The experiment is over. Round One, failure, but there is still two more. 14 insists on a day of rest for Six. Two eyes the red telephone nervously.

In Village life the next day it is clear that Six suspects something. He remembers both 14 and Two from the night before, and goes to see both. But nothing comes of it, and that evening Six is sipping from a drugged glass brought by a maid.

Back in the lab that night. The setting is again the party of Madame Engadine. B turns out to be another spy, female this time, and in the dream she plays the part well. In the lab, 14 feeds words into B’s mouth through a microphone to hurry the situation. B claims to be in trouble, from A and henchmen. She begs him for information on his resignation, but Six becomes suspicious. “Have you the feeling that you’re being manipulated?” B: “Manipulated?” Six: “Who are you?” Soon the interference of the people in the lab have ruined the scene, decreasing Six’s trust of the situation to the point where he simply leaves his dream.

In the morning, in his apartment, Six knows something is up. The two red marks on his wrist prove it. He spies 14 in The Village and followers her. In this way, he finds a room which looks strangely familiar. He hides while she examines some equipment, and has a look around after she leaves. He finds the device they were using the night before, complete with filmed party scenes and taped music. Number Six puts together two and two. Before he leaves, he takes the final syringe and dilutes most of its contents with water, then leaves it where he found it and exits the room.

Rough going begins the final session, as the party on the screen appears to have changed considerably since last time, and reception is dim. 14 wants to end the experiment, but Two insists it continue. Six, in the dream, soon straightens things out once more, and good reception returns. The file on C contained no photograph, and his identity is a mystery to 14 and Two. In the dream, it appears that C is none other than Madame Engadine herself. Two muses that she must be brought to The Village also. Engadine has a surprise further: she herself has a master, a person unknown even to the masters of The Village. Six appears to decide to sell out to this new person, whom Engadine offers to have him meet. Two is on the edge of his seat. Who could this person, whom 14 labels ‘D’, be? In the dream, after a drive, Engadine leaves and eventually Six meets with a man with a mask. Six unmasks him, and under the mask is revealed... the face of Number Two. 14 puts it all together. Six was playing with them for the length of the session. The dream is not over yet, however. There, Six is in the Village again. On the screen, he walks to the hidden laboratory, walks up to Number Two (Two turns to the door to see if Six is really there) and in the dream hands to Two the file he was going to give to D. It contains vacation brochures. He was not going to sell out after all. Two’s shock is interrupted by the ringing of the red telephone.

At the end:
Six has escaped from the mental manipulations of his captors, for now at least, even if he is not free of The Village itself. Although this episode’s Number Two appears to be in dire straits at the end of the episode, he is given another chance and returns to his role as Number Two in Episode Six: The General.

It is revealed:
Even the captors in The Village are prisoners, that has been revealed previously. This is the first time an important Village personage is shown quailing before an even higher authority.
More of The Village’s advanced technology is exhibited in this episode, much of which appearing to be various mind control techniques. Their encyclopedic knowledge of Six’s life is also amply demonstrated.
It is once again demonstrated that the masters of The Village are still fallible, and, indeed, are soundly defeated by the end of the episode.

Abridged cast information:
The Prisoner: Patrick McGoohan
Madame Engadine: Katherine Kath
Number Fourteen: Sheila Allen
Number Two: Colin Gordon
The Butler: Angelo Muscat
A: Peter Bowles
B: Annette Carrell

Quotes:
Number Two: “Extraordinary... how very single minded.”

Sources:
The Prisoner by Alain Carrazé and Hèléne Oswald, published in 1995 by Barnes and Noble Books
The Prisoner by Dave Rogers, published in 1993 by Barnes and Noble Books
The Official Prisoner Companion by Matthew White and Jaffer Ali, published in 1988 by Warner Books