The Prisoner - The Schizoid Man

Episode Name: The Schizoid Man
Original Air Date: October 27 1967
TV Airing Order: 5
KTEH Airing Order: 7
Summary - Number Two replaces Number Six with a duplicate to weaken the real Six's sense of identity.

The KTEH ordering is starting to make a lot more sense. The initial batch of episodes always seemed appropriate, considering they all show a Number Six who is new and naive to the machinations of the Village. But now I see that the ordering is also the reason why so many of the episodes followed the same basic structure of "Six tries to hatch an elaborate escape plan that fails". Apparently this too was intentional, and luckily worked along with the other ordering rationale. But ever since Free for All, we have been in a new arc, which can best be described as "The Village tries to fuck with Six's mind in order to break his spirit". I only realized this after figuring out that the last episode, Many Happy Returns, was also just another elaborate mindfuck. The Schizoid Man continues the trend, only this time it doesn't try to hide from its intent.

That intent is a classic storytelling device - the evil twin/Bizarro impersonator. Six is faced with a double, one who claims to be the real deal. Only The Prisoner cannot use such a simple storytelling device without putting its own twisted stamp on it. It does so by putting the real Six through a gauntlet of psychological conditioning in order to convince him that he is the double and that the impostor is genuine. This isn't actually too confusing, though after reading some breakdowns of the episode, it appears that some folks thought that Six was sufficiently brainwashed into thinking he was an impostor. I didn't see this at all. He knows what is going on from the start, and tries to reveal the truth. The problem is that the Village has gone to great lengths to make the real Six look fake. This in turn causes him a bit of psychological trauma, but it isn't so much because he believes he is fake, but because he isn't sure how they managed their trickery. Eventually he figures it out, and uses it to hatch a hasty and failed escape.

If Free for All was a taste of the Village's methods, and Many Happy Returns was a twisted bit of benevolence, then Schizoid Man is an attempt to make Six forget his old identity and embrace his role as, well, Number Six, by forcing him to want to the role back from his double. By doing this, perhaps the Village believes he will be more willing to integrate into the system and eventually talk. We know that won't work, but this is another piece of filler that takes an entertaining concept and uses it to further the show's cause. A bit of a mindbender, but certainly a good one.

PS - after writing it, I didn't think this summary did the episode justice. I just found a remark from an AV Club commenter that I believe is important to appreciating it. The user said that, while you always know what is happening throughout the episode, you never feel absolutely certain about it. There is always something in the back of your mind that tries to make you doubt what seems to be the obvious truth. I felt the same way, which means that Schizoid Man essentially makes the viewer feel the same way as Number Six. That's as powerful as TV can get.