Number 6 Was a Plant: The General
The introduction to this series of posts considering the theory that Number 6 didn't really resign and is instead a 'plant' in the Village may be read here: https://culttvblog.substack.com/p/number-6-was-a-plant-introduction
I am of the opinion that The General fits better into the theory than The Schizoid Man did. This is not to detract in any way from my conviction that the obvious way to understand this episode is as a warning into brainwashing, the march of technology, and the way people can be made to believe any old nonsense.
The reason the episode fits the plant theory so well is that Number 6 can easily be seen as continuing his security test of the Village...to literal destruction in the case of the General. The mere fact that he is really trying to destroy the Village's defences and resources indicates that he is actually testing them out. Very much like Ikea pummelling an armchair or Tara King in Who Was That Man I Saw You With really trying to destroy the defence room.
This episode also extends Number 6's investigation of how the upper echelons of the Village function, after he encountered the Village council in Free for All.
There are even a couple of places where it is abundantly clear that Number 6 is treated with a deference not according to an ordinary resident of the Village, suggesting that he was in fact something more important before he 'resigned'. For example when Number 26 and another guard pick him up in the sand dunes they start by telling him he needs to be studying, just like any other school boy, but the scene ends with him telling them to set off. Sitting in the back of the car, he is very much the boss. Similarly Number 2 treats him with a remarkable deference and licence to do whatever he damn well pleases. The Professor's wife, on the other hand, clearly has no idea who he is and isn't at all prepared for his rather anarchistic nose-thumbing at all authority.
Yet it is Number 12 who points out to Number 6 the major flaw in speed learn, which is that it merely results in learning and repeating parrot fashion. Of course this is the point of the episode: that it's only pretending to be an education and the real reason you can't do a first degree in three minutes is that it's as much about thinking as learning facts.
On watching this again I am reminded of how much I like these episodes centred on the Village. There's no need to escape in this one, and by staying there it's a reminder of how ridiculous the petty bureaucracy of the Village is. I also like very much that this one is mainly made in studio without many reused footage from Port Meirion. It gives the episode a cosiness and consistency of look which i like very much.
So to summarise, while I think the obvious explanation for this episode is as a warning about indoctrination and group-think, it can still be understood as referring to Number 6's mission as a plant in the Village.
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