As Number Six attempts to have some privacy, particularly in the woods where he has created a makeshift gym, he is attacked by some young thugs who see him as "unmutual," against the culture in which he is embedded. They attack him and are soundly beaten, but their complaints lead to a tribunal (which reminds on of 1984 where thoughts are repressed and a simple confession of your inferiority is required). Since Number Six rejects this totally, he is sent to a hospital to have a kind of lobotomy. The problem for the authorities is that they are still charged with finding out why our hero resigned as a spy. This is paramount in their every day efforts. So, instead of actually performing the procedure, they make him think they did. A beautiful young doctor is in the middle of this. She plays cat and mouse with Number Six but doesn't have the wherewithal to combat him. His training again comes into play but the process is why one should watch this episode. He is a worthy adversary.
4 Reviews
Psychological warfare
Mr-Fusion12 October 2017
Another big win for Number 6 (turning both the tables and the townspeople on Number 2), but it's also another example of their patience on this whole cat-n-mouse game. Surely, they could've just brought out the big guns (so to speak) and gotten what they wanted out of him by now.
This is your basic turn the loner into the town pariah scheme, including a McCarthyesque council and "aversion therapy" (which is really just a Ludovico chair . . . yikes). The citizens (inmates) are unusually docile and given to mob mentality. Add in the threat of lobotomy (which is no laughing matter) and this is some heavy stuff. It's a fascinating episode and a potent metaphor for the perils of conformity. The use of imagery at its most effective.
8/10
This is your basic turn the loner into the town pariah scheme, including a McCarthyesque council and "aversion therapy" (which is really just a Ludovico chair . . . yikes). The citizens (inmates) are unusually docile and given to mob mentality. Add in the threat of lobotomy (which is no laughing matter) and this is some heavy stuff. It's a fascinating episode and a potent metaphor for the perils of conformity. The use of imagery at its most effective.
8/10
Unmutual
AaronCapenBanner9 June 2015
Number six(Patrick McGoohan) is attempting to exercise in private in the woods when he is attacked by a group of thugs who want to know why he doesn't use the gym and is anti-social. "Six" fights them off, but is later brought before a tribunal for being anti-social, or "unmutual" as they claim, and order him to be given a new social conversion treatment(a form of lobotomy) but this is really a ruse to fool him into believing that he has, in order to break him down and confess his reasons for resignation. Fascinating episode examines how even a strong-willed loner like him can still find public shunning uncomfortable, but his iron-will remains firm, as the misguided number two will find out.
The Village Turns on Number Six
Samuel-Shovel24 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
In "A Change of Mind" Number Six is ostracized by the Village for refusing to conform with societal norms and practices. Number Two uses a scheme of faking a lobotomy on him to cause him to question his sanity and to use Number Six's own internal psychology to make him reform and reveal his secrets. When Number Six gains control of Number Two's lackey, he is able to turn the tables on who the mob is actually after.
This episode is fairly highly regarded which surprises me a bit. I didn't find it all that appealing. The first half is interesting but really just falls apart for me down the stretch. The finale where the mob turns on Number Two is all a bit convenient. I guess this is a critique on mob mentality and groupthink but it's just executed properly.
This episode is fairly highly regarded which surprises me a bit. I didn't find it all that appealing. The first half is interesting but really just falls apart for me down the stretch. The finale where the mob turns on Number Two is all a bit convenient. I guess this is a critique on mob mentality and groupthink but it's just executed properly.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
