DoniaCorp's "The Prisoner" Page - Ordering the Episodes

'You Are (Episode) Number 6': The Ordering Controversy

III. The Psychological Sequence

Over the course of the series, the relative strengths of Number 6 and the Village wax and wane and change places. This sequence is geared to the evolving psychological status of Number 6 with regard to his predicament:

The Village seems to hold all the cards in "Arrival," "Dance of the Dead," "Free for All," and "Many Happy Returns"
Number 6 wins a battle, but loses the war in "Chimes," "Checkmate," and "Schizoid Man"
Number 6 scores a personal (psychological) victory that doesn't necessarily help his situation in "The General," "The Girl Who Was Death," and "A. B. & C."
Number 6 strikes a blow against the Village, but at considerable personal cost, in "Do Not Forsake Me..." and "Living in Harmony"
Number 6 learns to manipulate the Village to his advantage in "A Change of Mind"
Number 6 shifts his focus a bit, becoming a defender of personal liberty against the tyranny of the Village, in "It's Your Funeral" and "Hammer into Anvil"
Number 6 ultimately (?) turns the table on his captors in "Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out"

The psychological sequence thus looks like this:

"Arrival"
"Dance of the Dead"
"Free for All"
"Many Happy Returns"
"Checkmate"
"The Chimes of Big Ben"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The General"
"A. B. & C."
"The Girl Who Was Death"
"Do Not Forsake Me..."
"Living in Harmony"
"A Change of Mind"
"It's Your Funeral"
"Hammer into Anvil"
"Once Upon a Time"
"Fall Out"

Got all that? Let's review...

Side-by-Side Comparison

We have, then, three primary sequences to work with (besides the broadcast order and McGoohan's seven-story arc):

Logical	Chronological	Psychological

"Arrival"	"Arrival"	"Arrival"
"Dance of the Dead"	"Dance of the Dead"	"Dance of the Dead"
"Checkmate"	"Checkmate"	"Free for All"
"Free for All"	"The Chimes of Big Ben"	"Many Happy Returns"
"The Chimes of Big Ben"	"Free for All"	"Checkmate"
"A. B. & C."	"The Schizoid Man"	"The Chimes of Big Ben"
"The Schizoid Man"	"Do Not Forsake Me..."	"The Schizoid Man"
"A Change of Mind"	"The General"	"The General"
"The Girl Who Was Death"	"A. B. & C."	"A. B. & C."
"The General"	"A Change of Mind"	"The Girl Who Was Death"
"It's Your Funeral"	"The Girl Who Was Death"	"Do Not Forsake Me..."
"Do Not Forsake Me..."	"It's Your Funeral"	"Living in Harmony"
"Hammer into Anvil"	"Many Happy Returns"	"A Change of Mind"
"Many Happy Returns"	"Hammer into Anvil"	"It's Your Funeral"
"Living in Harmony"	"Living in Harmony"	"Hammer into Anvil"
"Once Upon a Time"	"Once Upon a Time"	"Once Upon a Time"
“Fall Out”	“Fall Out”	“Fall Out”

Comparing these sequences, we see that "Arrival" and "Dance of the Dead" are consistently #1 and #2. "Checkmate" has the feel of coming before "Free for All," so we'll designate it #3. (Ah, subjectivity.) For the next two slots the chronological sequence seems most persuasive, so "Chimes" and "Free for All" become #4 and #5. Ironically, even though the logical sequence puts "A. B. & C." before "The General," that doesn't make logical sense (hey, this isn't rocket science!). I prefer to put "Schizoid Man" at #6 (yes, even though two of the three sequences have it at #7 - this isn't a democracy), followed by the one-two punch of "A. B. & C." and "The General" at #7 and #8. Slot "A Change of Mind" at #9 for its first decisive blow against the Village power structure. We'll make "The Girl Who Was Death" #10 (this goes against conventional wisdom, which generally places it at #15), and bury the problematic "Do Not Forsake Me..." at #11. "It's Your Funeral" becomes #12, and "Many Happy Returns" #13. "Living in Harmony" gets spot #14 and, as a final act of revenge against the system before the screws really get turned, "Hammer into Anvil" is #15. Of course, "Once Upon a Time" is #16, and "Fall Out" is #17.

Thanks for making it this far! Let's take a look at our final list...

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