The conclusion to Nicholas Briggs’ reimagining of the classic series…

3.1 Free For All

Democracy has come to the Village. Mostly. But what happens when Six is given the means of production? Or in this case, freedom…

Cleverly adapting and building on the original episode. Briggs’ script is a terrifying look at modern politics which wrongfoots you with the same ease it wrongfoots the people of the village. There’s an especially lovely supporting turn from Lorelei King as this Number Two and an ending which genuinely throws you sideways. Great things are afoot, and not just in the Village. This episode is essentially the platonic ideal of audio adaptation. It absolutely honours and builds on the show but remains resolutely unafraid to strike out in new directions too.

3.2 The Girl Who Was Death

Six is free. Again. Six is in London. Again. Six refuses to believe any of it, even when a minister explodes and he finds himself caught in the hunt for someone who seems oddly familiar…

The season’s deep dive into PTSD and life after the Village is a tremendous success, like an early season of 24 set in the swinging sixties. Six gets not just a sparring partner but a welcome return for the love of his life, as Briggs begins subtly folding early threads back into place. Better still, the episode sprints along, packed with action, incident and some pleasant surprises. It not only definitively picks up from the previous episode but it’s a really good, period espionage thriller that also happens to be a great episode of The Prisoner. Better still, it gives Elstob’s wonderfully spiky and arch Six a real emotional connection again. The scenes between Six and Kate Butterworth (brilliantly played by Lucy Briggs-Owen) are the backbone of this season and they always land perfectly.

3.3 The Seltzman Connection

Potter and ZM-73 (Six to us), have a suspect, a name and a plan. Travelling to Europe, the two former Villagers vow to get to the bottom of what was done to them, the mystery of the Girl Who Was Death and just what Professor Jacob Seltzman is planning. But no one is ready for the truth. Aside for Professor Seltzman, of course.

This may very well be the show’s finest hour. Elstob and Glen McCready have Hobbs & Shaw level fun trying to out badass each other and the two spies’ plan is endearingly rubbish for all their posturing:

Neck chops

Or, failing that, knock on the door.

Their punishment for that straightforward approach is essentially to be strapped into the biggest reveal in the show’s history. By the end of this episode you know what Seltzman is planning. You know why Six retired. You know who dies. All of it delivered with the precise hammer blows of Briggs’ script and the best cast this show has ever assembled. Seriously, this whole season is fun but this episode is fun. Nasty, terrifying fun with an ending I promise you will never, ever see coming. But even then, one which showcases how cleverly, and respectfully, this show has been updated and evolved.

3.4 No One Will Know

The ending. An actual ending. With Six, Number Two and co all struggling to find Seltzman and the truth not just about who they are, but who they were and could be.

Briggs’ script leans beautifully into the gender fluidity the previous script introduces and Elstob and Briggs-Owen are fantastic as each other. Better still, there’s some clever evolution of form here. In addition to the closing down of the central plot we also get an expansion into glorious Man from UNCLE-esque spy tech and scope. This is especially good news for Six (or Six 2 as the crew refer to them at this point, it’ll make sense don’t worry) and their colleagues and foes. There’s still, when it comes down to it, one thing at the core of this show: why did he retire? Here, perhaps, at last we find out why and it changes everything.

It also does the near impossible and provides a satisfying ending to the show. The final scenes are equal parts sinister and jovial and there’s a real sense of closure to it all. It’s also unbearably tense and crammed with information and ideas, all of which work.

Verdict: This is a near impossibility; a serial which brings into land one of the best, most obtuse stories of its age. It breaks new ground, it’s uniquely modern and distinctly of its time. It’s playful and grim, dark and hopeful, with just a dash of ambiguity. Which means, of course, it’s a perfect ending for this remarkable show. Be seeing you… 10/10

Alasdair Stuart

The Prisoner volume 3 is out now from Big Finish