Monday, 21 July 2008

The Prisoner: episode 06: The General


Dave's Side: the unusual toy hand that reaches from a vague black box to take an under-explained token - this is representative of the entire episode upon first viewing. i admit i was perplexed. i didn't know what was coming at me, where it came from, or what some things were for. like the little Village token, i was lost. i have a feeling that the second viewing will yield better comprehension. i don't underestimate the effect of fatigue either - then, as now, i was suffering from the effect of a draining cavalcade of vocation-related events. so, i will re-review this one, and for now, here's to the prisoner and to escape. be seeing you.

Dave's Side (take two) - okay, i really like this episode. maybe it was the extra attention i gave it (even compared to some first viewings), or maybe it was the day around the viewing (relaxed, full, devoid of time worries). or maybe it's just likable. i found it charming. there were many scenes that i was glad to revisit, such as the artists' garden, the electrical outage, the beach scenes, the barely acknowledged bust collection... yes, much of the episode was artistic, haunting... and the hypnosis and black-out transitions were experimental - i found them remarkable. there was a nice reveal at the end (though a weak bit of philosophy responding to it) and a tragic outcome for he who may have been a trustworthy co-conspirator for Number 6. my thoughts are a little disjointed (still) on this review, but i will place some credit for that in the hands of the professor and his eerie, hypnotic gaze.

Angelica's Side: leaving my update for an entire week was a mistake...but a few things have stuck with me and so, a few thoughts on what seeped into my memory and stayed there. I don't actually remember much about Speedlearn nor the Professor nor the General. What has stuck with me and what I am most curious to understand more about on second viewing is the new Number 12. Who is he? Why does he want to help Number 6 (or why does he want Number 6 to help him)? Is he acting alone or are there others? What exactly is his plan beyond destroying the General? Will there be others like him to follow?

Angelica's Side (take two): I followed this episode much better on second viewing and liked getting another peek at the inner workings of the village...new spaces, new processes, new machinery, new attitudes. While on my first viewing I was very much drawn to Number 12 (and still was this time), the Professor got a good share of my attention (and sympathy) this time - more so than Number 6 who seemed much more able to hold his own in this episode. On second watching I thought more about the consequences of the General being destroyed...what systems might depend on his answers, what other technology depended on his computations...seems that a few episodes on, the disappearance of the General hasn't actually resulted in much. All seems to be functioning as normal and the inhabitants seem to be blissfully going about their lives without any Speedlearn to fill up their brains. I wonder, will we begin to see a crack in the system? Or will the episodes continued to only be loosely tied together, but not entirely dependent on each other? Either way, I'm captivated. I want more Prisoner. Soon.

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