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Themes

The Prisoner is centered around the themes of conformism and individualism in modern society. Due to its allegorical nature and unconvetional form of storytelling, it has been subjected to scholarly interest and interpretation. Though he has, on some occasions, discussed his thematic intentions McGoohan has stated that many interpretations have been more profound than his own intentions, pointing for instance to how Rover's shape has been discussed in various interpretations about the shows themes and motifs, though the origin of its shape was accidental. In a 1977 interview McGoohan stated "options are open to the beholder, to interpret whichever way he likes".

Non-conformity and individualism

"Like The X-Files, The Prisoner was a mainstream form of entertainment that critically commented on the condition of the individual in modern society while playing with the conventions of the spy genre and, indeed, the medium of television itself."

—Joanne Morreale, Northeastern University

Surveillance

Another recurring theme in the series is surveillance, interconnected with its main theme of (non-)conformity as it relates to the control exercised by the rulers of the Village to keep the villagers in check. The Village functions, in effect, as a panopticon. While the 'green dome' is the centre of monitoring the villagers behavior, the village is riddled with cameras and bugging devices, but their existence is never made explicit, enforcing conformity as it is always possible that the villagers are being watched. As Mann, Nolan and Wellman point out, this echoes how in "public or semi-public (e.g. commercial) locations individuals are liable to become unwilling and sometimes unknowing subjects of surveillance, and the knowledge that they may be under surveillance may be sufficient to induce obedience to authority," revealing the allegorical layers McGoohan attempted to add to the series.