Number 6 was a Plant: Hammer into Anvil

The introduction to this series of posts considering the theory that Number 6 did not resign but was a 'plant' in the Village may be read here: https://culttvblog.substack.com/p/number-6-was-a-plant-introduction

I am delighted to have got to Hammer into Anvil in this series of posts for a number of reasons. The first, most important for the purposes of these posts, is that this episode provides the primary canonical evidence that Number 6 is a plant. Of course you know the exchanges I mean: Number 2 explicitly describes Number 6 as a plant and later tells him that he has been put into the Village to spy on him. I have tended to prefer the idea that Number 6's faked resignation and imposition on the Village was his own idea, since I think this fits the whole series better, but it would be natural to expect a 'plant' to have been planted by his superiors. This is precisely what Number 2 does think and so this exchange dates the theory to the show's writing and production.

The other reason I am so delighted is that this is one of my favourite episodes. In Checkmate, I talked about the difficult realisation for Number 6 that the members of his profession and government are either cabbages or raging sociopaths. In this episode it becomes personal and rather than test the Village to destruction, he tests Number 2 to destruction. I hasten to add that I think everything in this episode can well be seen as part of his investigation.

But what about the merry anarchy with which he drives Number 2 up the wall?, you may ask. I think that is still part of the investigation. He's merely showing his background as an intelligence agent: he can't do the usual things like plant information and see where it goes, so he does the next natural thing of applying pressure to see what happens.

And what results he gets. Once again, if you watch this episode assuming that Number 6 is testing out the Village security, you get the distinct impression that he's trying it out to see what it can contain. Specifically whether it can contain him. And no, it bloody can't. A Number 2 who goes off his head at the mere fact of one of the residents doing a few strange things without reason clearly isn't competent to be a Number 2. In a Village consisting solely of the brightest and best of their generation who have been hand-picked to be tough nuts, you would reasonably expect to be out-classed on a regular basis and a key requirement would be to be able to deal with this. Number 2 can't.

To return to the workplace image I used in my last post, while Number 2 is undoubtedly an utter psychopath, there is a clear correlation between things like workplace bullying and incompetence. Workplace bullies tend to bully because of their own incompetence and they bully the competent, while cowing the mediocre into being, er, cabbages.

Once again I'm feeling the very strange emotion of being on the side of the Village, hollering for Number 2 to resign, and yet being on Number 6's side because everything is clearly very wrong and it all needs to be put right.

I wrote before of the idea of the 'moral injury' that Number 6 would suffer if he went along with the Village and become a cabbage. Once again I think that rather than the revenge for the death of Number 73 which is often seen as the driving force for the events of this episode, the moral injury to Number 6 of not putting it right is a better and deeper motivation. It would even be far more characteristic of Number 6 in my opinion: mere personal revenge is one thing, but I just think Number 6 is far more likely to be a man for the big motivation.

All that said, I also love this episode for the entirely petty reason that I love seeing Number 2 being driven mad and the way it impacts on all the other guards. The use of the cuckoo clock to drive him cuckoo is of course genius but my favourite one is the suggestion that the records are all different. It's an interesting, and very modern, comment on the way you can make people believe any old rubbish if you say it convincingly. Or even not convincingly if they've a mind to believe rubbish.

I am intrigued by the way this change in the entire premise of the show is proving remarkably fruitful in producing new insights.

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