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Why is he so shocked to see the doc has a “striker” tattoo, when the prisoner knows it’s not his arm, but an implant from someone else?

2 Answers2

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It's not that he has a tattoo, but the particular one that is matched up with a particular group of "lifers". As per this review:

In a tense session with one of his death row inmates they realise that they share the same “lifers” tattoo, this freaks out his patient and prompts Bill to start looking into the personality behind his new arm, but all too soon he’s fallen down the rabbit hole and is losing control.

There's no indication from the transcript that the inmate is taking the tattoo at anything less than face value.

They only give those out on death row, pal.

You gotta be a stone killer to wear that shit.

What kind of shrink are you, man?

You get away from me!

Get away from me!

That might seem like a plot hole, but the dialogue does not indicate that he's necessarily aware that an arm was replaced, or which arm:

Heard you've been on the TV.

Heard you were a regular freak of science.

FuzzyBoots
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  • That “answer” has absolutely nothing to do with my question. You’ve obviously never seen the movie so you have no idea what you’re talking about. The prisoner, when he sees the “striker” tattoo, is shocked and says “What kind of shrink are you, man?” And he says “They only give those out on death row, pal, you gotta be a stone killer to wear that shit.” Implying that the doc himself was given that tattoo on death row. But the prisoner knows that the arm is not the doc’s, so obviously thr tattoo isn’t either. So why does he assume it is? –  May 30 '22 at 19:13
  • Rewatching the scene (or at least the clip I could find), it seems like the prisoner is reacting as if it is his arm. Of course, the clip I found didn't have him explaining it's not his original arm, so I might be missing that context. – FuzzyBoots May 30 '22 at 19:40
  • Fair enough. The transcript indicates that the inmate "Heard you've been on the TV.

    Heard you were a regular freak of science," which suggests he might not be aware of which arm was replaced.

     – FuzzyBoots May 30 '22 at 19:59
  • FWIW, [the book the screenplay is based on] (https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/trcrime/boileau3.htm) uses a different plotline. – FuzzyBoots May 30 '22 at 20:51
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It's not clear that the prisoner (Ray Kolberg) specifically knew that the doctor (Bill Chrushank) had received an arm transplant. The actual dialogue indicates that he only heard about Chrushank being on TV and being a "freak of science," not that he saw the news reports first-hand, or that he knew any further details beyond what he actually stated.

RAY KOLBERG: How's it going, doc?

BILL CHRUSHANK: All right.

RAY KOLBERG: Heard you've been on the TV. Heard you were a regular freak of science.

BILL CHRUSHANK: I've been pretty lucky.

This is also the only scene in the movie where he indicates knowing anything about what happened to Chrushank at all. So, given the way he reacts to seeing the 'striker' tattoo on the inside of Chrushank's wrist, the most logical conclusion is that he didn't specifically know about the arm transplant.

I have seen the movie, incidentally, and rewatched the relevant scene before typing up this answer.

LogicDictates
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  • Dead wrong. The fact that he says he’s a regular freak of science proves that he knew he had the arm transplant. Otherwise the “freak of science” comment wouldn’t make sense. –  May 30 '22 at 23:41
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    @Stuckrtx - Kolberg didn't say he heard "it" on TV, he said he heard "you've been" on TV. Evidently, you either misheard or misunderstood that line of dialogue, and that's the source of your confusion. – LogicDictates May 31 '22 at 01:00