The Prisoner - 20

[A sort of "odd" complicated plot difficult, at times, to follow. We do learn some more information about H, namely: Military ID number: 989-54-8301, DOB Oct 25th 1963 and several details about what he and his father did before leaving for Viet Nam Richard Crenna provided the voice of Harms "father"] Harm was captured and brainwashed by Chinese who thought that he would be able to tell them whether or not the "Americans will intervene if we take back Matsu and Quemoy" from Taiwan. Maria Elena Carmelita Moreno Gutierrez was supposed to meet H to go sailing with him but he ended up going alone and went missing. Sec Bair (dunderhead state flunky from the Cuban episode) told Krennick to keep working with him on the legal report to the president while Austin tried to find what happened to Harm. Harm's female interrogater, Captain Lishi, claimed they had processed many americans since Viet Nam and offered to tell Harm what happened to his father if he would cooperate. H began giving mis- and superfluous- information so she injected him with drugs. After cutting himself on a sharp rock in his cell, H heard morse code from a prisoner below being tapped on the pipes. The prisoner new all about American ways and allowed H to convinced himself that he really was his father. He knew that Harm's father had taken him to Belmont Park, in San Diego on Mission Boulevard, the day before he had shipped out for Viet Nam. He said that he wanted to show him the roller-coaster before they tore down the park and they carved their initials on one of the cars. They had carved "HR with a little 2 (squared)" on one of the cars. The prisoner said that he would help Harm "keep sane" from all the "mind games" Col Hahn would play on him.

Austin found grey paint that showed Harms boat was rammed by Chinese naval vessel. Baird said his job was to "avoid international incidents not create them" and refused to help. So Krennick began slipping out on him. Inspector Chang informed Krennick that Harm was being held in local Chinese Garrison and possibly might be "bribed" out through the "black market." Col Hahn told H that he was given drugs incorrectly and had been in a coma for 27 days, and that everyone thought he was dead. The "prisoner" couldn't confirm how long he'd been gone but H found his fairly fresh cut still unhealed. Chang was actually the black marketeer and said that he had a "highly placed contact, who was probably honest, and could break Harm out - he wanted asylum in the US" and Chang wanted a 24/7 phone number he could call for instant embassy sanctuary should he ever need it. They retrieved Harm's wallet, ID and info that Harm could be broken out the next day but Baird still refused to help until Krennick blackmailed him with telling his wife they were having an affair.

Lishi told Harm that she had arranged to get her, Harm and his father out the next day. Harm, still confused from drugs, confided his confusion to "his father." He reminded him that he had always told him that "our instincts are always right, we just learn to ignore them," Harm finished, "and deep down if we know something is not right, it isn't." Lishi and Col Hahn were shown watching H have his discussion with his father over closed circuit television. Hahn said "he's created his father in his mind, just like you said he would." Harm subdued his guard the next day and, with gun, found his "fathers cell empty, but with the letters HR2 carved on the wall. Lishi said that his father was "already on his way" then shot a guard herself when Harm didn't shoot. They left for the cars and Hahn was shown watching on TV, then the "killed guard" got up. Meg and Krennick watched at the border crossing while Harm found that his father wasn't there and Lishi told him that it had only been drugs. He tried to shoot her but the gun had only blanks and he was surrounded by Chinese guards. Hahn showed up, Lishi told him that she had learned that the US wouldn't attack, but he claimed that she was a spy and had her arrested. He then took Harm at gunpoint to cross the border quickly. Lishi grabbed a machine gun and fired, hitting Hahn; but Meg and Krennick fired and hit her, starting a barrage of gunfire only stopped by an arm waving guard captain. When Harm told Hahn thanks, the Col said that he wasn't Hahn he was Col Yang-Chai (replaced Hahn 10 years prior) leaving Harm with the suspense that if the "visions" of his father were only a figment of his own mind- how did it "know" something that he didn't know! (No Chegwidden this episode.)