This finger was such an amazing symbol for Burt on so many levels. Everything Burt is, was, and will-be was dependent on three small segments of bone and knuckle. Without his gun, he's a defenseless, old man with nothing more than a minor understanding of generators and radios... Plus, Burt judges his self-worth on his ability to shoot -- just look back to when he got the shakes for a week. Taking away his trigger finger isn't just making it harder for him to survive, it's essentially taking away his "manhood" (even more, it's the one piece of his body that fits into the symbol of his wife, Shirley). This episode was just brilliant writing, and
Lizzy would have a field day analyzing this stuff.
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