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The Best Episodes of The Prisoner

Every episode of The Prisoner ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Prisoner!

Binge this in 14h 11m•Peaking at 8.7/10

After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre Kafkaesque prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 10 - Hammer into Anvil
    8.7/10(998 votes)

    #1 - Hammer into Anvil

    S1:E10

    Number 6 vows revenge and goes after a sadistic Number 2 after he drives a fellow village resident to her death.

    Director:Pat Jackson
    Writer:Roger Woddis

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  2. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 7 - Many Happy Returns
    8.6/10(1045 votes)

    #2 - Many Happy Returns

    S1:E7

    Number 6 wakes up to find the Village totally deserted.

    Director:Patrick McGoohan
    Writer:Anthony Skene

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  3. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 2 - The Chimes of Big Ben
    8.5/10(1193 votes)

    #3 - The Chimes of Big Ben

    S1:E2

    A new Number 8 named Nadia arrives in The Village, and together Number 6 and she plot their escape.

    Director:Don Chaffey
    Writer:Vincent Tilsley

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  4. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 5 - The Schizoid Man
    8.5/10(1036 votes)

    #4 - The Schizoid Man

    S1:E5

    Number Six wakes up with a new identity. Now he's Number Twelve. Worse, Number Two asks him to impersonate someone--Number Six. But the new Number Six is more like him than he is.

    Director:Pat Jackson
    Writer:Terence Feely

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  5. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 1 - Arrival
    8.4/10(1357 votes)

    #5 - Arrival

    S1:E1

    After resigning, a secret agent finds himself trapped in a bizarre prison known only as The Village.

    Director:Don Chaffey
    Writers:David Tomblin, George Markstein

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  6. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 3 - A., B. and C.
    8.2/10(1074 votes)

    #6 - A., B. and C.

    S1:E3

    Number 2 believes that Number 6 resigned because he was going to sell out. Using dream manipulation, Number 2 tries to determine which one of three possible candidates Number 6 was dealing with.

    Director:Pat Jackson
    Writer:Anthony Skene

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Prisoner

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  7. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 9 - Checkmate
    8.2/10(931 votes)

    #7 - Checkmate

    S1:E9

    Inspired by a large chess game with people taking the place of the game pieces, Number 6 formulates a new escape plan with some compatriots.

    Director:Don Chaffey
    Writer:Gerald Kelsey

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  8. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 12 - A Change of Mind
    7.8/10(866 votes)

    #8 - A Change of Mind

    S1:E12

    After a brawl Number 6 is declared "unmutual" and is made to think that he has undergone "instant social conversion."

    Director:Patrick McGoohan
    Writer:Roger Parkes

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  9. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 4 - Free for All
    7.7/10(1046 votes)

    #9 - Free for All

    S1:E4

    Number 6 runs for the office of Number 2.

    Director:Patrick McGoohan
    Writer:Patrick McGoohan

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  10. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 16 - Once Upon a Time
    7.7/10(914 votes)

    #10 - Once Upon a Time

    S1:E16

    Because all other attempts to break Number 6 have failed, Number 2 decides to engage him in a game where one of them will end up dead.

    Director:Patrick McGoohan
    Writer:Patrick McGoohan

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  11. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 11 - It's Your Funeral
    7.6/10(878 votes)

    #11 - It's Your Funeral

    S1:E11

    Number Six hears of an assassination plot against Number Two, but it's the new Number Two doing all the plotting against the retiring Number Two.

    Director:Robert Asher
    Writer:Michael Cramoy

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  12. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 17 - Fall Out
    7.6/10(1027 votes)

    #12 - Fall Out

    S1:E17

    After witnessing the trials of Number 2 and Number 48 and meeting the President of the Assembly, Number 6 escapes during the chaos that follows.

    Director:Patrick McGoohan
    Writer:Patrick McGoohan

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  13. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 6 - The General
    7.5/10(947 votes)

    #13 - The General

    S1:E6

    An instant learning process becomes the Village's latest fad, but Number 6 is sure that Number 2 is using it as a brain washing tool.

    Director:Peter Graham Scott
    Writer:Lewis Greifer

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  14. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 8 - Dance of the Dead
    7.5/10(919 votes)

    #14 - Dance of the Dead

    S1:E8

    Number 6 comes across a body that has washed ashore with a radio. After sending the body back out to sea, he tries to use the radio to get rescued.

    Director:Don Chaffey
    Writer:Anthony Skene

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  15. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 13 - Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling
    7.3/10(893 votes)

    #15 - Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling

    S1:E13

    With his mind transferred to another body, Number 6 wakes up in his London flat and can't convince his colleagues who he is. He takes off to Austria to find the one man who can help him, the person Number 2 wants him to find.

    Director:Pat Jackson
    Writer:Vincent Tilsley

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  16. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 15 - The Girl Who Was Death
    7.2/10(935 votes)

    #16 - The Girl Who Was Death

    S1:E15

    Back in London, Number 6 is trying to track down a crazed scientist who is protected by his homicidal daughter.

    Director:David Tomblin
    Writer:Terence Feely

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  17. The Prisoner Season 1 Episode 14 - Living in Harmony
    6.9/10(927 votes)

    #17 - Living in Harmony

    S1:E14

    Number 6 finds himself in the middle of a wild west version of his imprisonment.

    Director:David Tomblin
    Writers:David Tomblin, Ian Rakoff

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Best Episodes Summary

"Hammer into Anvil" is the best rated episode of "The Prisoner". It scored 8.7/10 based on 998 votes. Directed by Pat Jackson and written by Roger Woddis, it aired on 12/1/1967. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Many Happy Returns".