From: hannon@umbc4.umbc.edu (Mr. Scott Hannon; PHYS (GRAD))
Subject: Re: Fall Out (spoilers) and long...
Organization: Univ. of MD, Baltimore County
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 21:22:14 GMT

Danger, spoilers ahead.

In article <By0sz5.3ru@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca> john@monet.uwaterloo.ca
(John Robinson) writes:
>>>Why did McGoohan write in the shoot-'em-up scene? There was no need for
>>>it so far as the plot was concerned (as if plot consistency were 
>>>a feature of The Prisoner anyhow). How is the prisoner's forsaking of
>>>his no guns principle to be interpreted? (And why do they have to pile
>>>on the irony so heavily with All You Need is Love?)

John replying to my reply:
>I'd got the impression that the prisoner's non-use of guns went deeper than
>the Living in Harmony episode.  Before Fall Out, it seemed that
[deleted]
>he avoided the sort of wanton lethal violence that you sometimes see in other
>Spy/Action movies. Yet that scene is Fall Out is exactly that;
[deleted]

Hmmm, you may be right, but I sort of got the impression after reading
interviews, etc, with McGoohan that the low-key violence was more a
reluctance to doing that type of show [ie keep it cerebral, don't let it
become "the A-Team"] rather than a limit on the character. Certainly
the prisoner was no uncaring killer [is that why he resigned?  :-)  ],
but I never had the impression he was incapable of killing.

Me:
>>The "All You Need is Love" scene is indeed a filled with irony...not only is
>>his good side dealing death to his bad side, 

John:
>Oh yes? Where has his bad side gone? Certainly not into the bodies of the
>troops that the Prisoner et al mop up in the shooting scene.

Maybe they are all wearing masks :-)

Seriously, what I meant was somewhat allegorical, as is the episode, and
even the series...#1 is just another aspect of #6...the series is reveiled
to be a battle between what aspect is in control of the man. He [#6] is
fighting his own darker tendencies [#1], here shown as the minions of #1.
These minions intend to keep #1 in power. #6 is unwilling to allow #1 to
be the aspect in true control of his life any longer...thus he battles
the forces that allow #1 to retain that control.

[He's fighting a battle within himself for his soul]

Boy, this is real confusing to talking about...glad we aren't discussing
the rocket too  :-)

Me [commenting on the irony of using the Beatles song during the gun fight]:
>>expressed by the song...that "all you need is love" as a concept is in fact
>>ridiculous. In particular, that freedom is important too, and to gain/keep
>>it may involve quite a bit of activity that is mighty hard to describe as
>>an expression of "love"  :-)

John:
>Is this the Prisoner's philosophy? Are we "supposed" to condone the shooting
No, and not entirely.

>and laugh at the naivity of All You Need is Love.

I got the impression it was at least partially a deliberate attempt at humor
[the inappropriateness of the songs lyrics, if taken literally, to all
situations]. Hey, YOU brought up the scenes irony!  :-)  But I think the
main point was to make the violence of the battle stand out.

John:
>Or as I think more likely,
>are we seeing the Prisoner's virtue of seeking freedom finally becoming the
>obsession that destroys whatever other virtues he might have.

Some indeed do interpret it that way...but not me.

I see it as simpily a violent rejection of a part of HIMSELF that he
considers morally repugnant....a tantrum at suddenly discovering a very
nasty personal truth, and thus the visceral response. He was emotionally
and rationally unprepared to deal with it any other way.

Before discovering #1, #6 thinks himself a man who has done some
bad things before, but no longer. He has rejected what he sees as wrong,
and refuses to participate in it. He considers himself free of his
dark side..."I am a free man" [at least in mind] he is fond of saying.
This higher sense of morality sustains him thru the hardships/trials seen
during the other episodes.

During the episode, #6 discovers he has NOT rejected what his higher
selfs considers wrong...he is in fact not in control of himself at all.
Its his darker side running his life. His is most definately NOT a free
man [not even inside his head].

This *MUST* change. *NOW*

I kind of like the episode [obviously we all like the SERIES]. The ending
can be interpretted in a number of ways. For instance, many see the door
opening by itself, the Butler, and the drive in the car as indicators the
Village is still in control...he is not really free...that he has gone full
circle. IMO, this is only half right...no, he is not entirely free of his
dark side/the Village, but now he is aware of it and is in control of it
[which is NOT to say he now runs the Village!...his dark side now *DOESN'T*
run the Village, but his dark side still exists. It just isn't in control
of him]. I think the butler may symbolize that before the leading personality
of the prisoner was his dark side [#1], and at the episodes end it is the
good side [#6].

Actually, I think "good" and "bad" [my own characterization] was probably
a poor choice of words. Obviously the bad wasn't all bad nor the good all
good [as John mentions].

Perhaps our disagreement is rooted in our views of how this episode is
best viewed. I see it as almost entirely allegorical, otherwise it
hurts my brain  :-)

Scott.
-- 
Scott Hannon, Fri Nov 20 1992 (hannon@umbc4.umbc.edu)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.prisoner