Tommy Lee Royce's Narrowboat Lighter (Survival/Violence Tool)

The lighter, found alongside the matches, is another tool Tommy assesses with predatory precision. Its immediate utility is clear—igniting the gas stove—but its potential extends far beyond basic functionality. In Tommy’s hands, the lighter becomes a symbol of his control over fire, a weapon, or even a means of self-destruction. The object’s small size belies its capacity for chaos, mirroring Tommy’s own volatile nature. For now, it sits unused but ready, a silent promise of the violence to come.

Tommy’s lighter is the spark—literally and metaphorically—that threatens to ignite the boat, Ryan, and himself in a murder-suicide. Catherine smacks it from his hand in her initial lunge, but Tommy’s desperate reach for a second lighter (implied but not shown) underscores his nihilism. The lighter symbolizes Tommy’s control (he holds the power of destruction) and Catherine’s disruption of it (she disarms him, both physically and metaphorically). Its presence turns the boat into a powder keg, and its removal is the first step in Catherine’s violent reassertion of order.

Tommy’s lighter is a critical object in this event, serving as both a weapon and a symbol of his self-destructive intent. He holds it aloft, threatening to ignite the petrol-soaked narrowboat, himself, and Ryan. Catherine lunges at him, smacking the lighter from his hand and disarming him. Later, as Tommy reaches for a second lighter, Catherine stamps on his hand, preventing him from regaining control. The lighter represents Tommy’s desire for destruction and his nihilistic collapse, while its removal by Catherine symbolizes her assertion of control and her refusal to let him dictate the outcome.