John Snow's Hand

[Unlady B]

I'm no medical expert, but I would expect that you don't need to flex that hand a year after the burns have healed. (Small backup from the book: We don't see the Hound flex his facial muscles other than eating and talking but it isn't mentioned that he suffers facial stiffness.) So the flexing of the hand has probably simply turned into a tic of Jon and might actually help against the cold. (I used to flex my hands whenever I was waiting at -20°C for the train to school to keep my fingers warm.) Also, because he was always afraid of the hand going stiff, that's probably his first thought before loosing consciousness/dying and then there's not enough time/clarity left for a more accurate analysis.

:agree: This basically.

I always loved that detail about Jon's hand. It makes him more human: I don't buy the story of being terribly hurt and then just act like nothing happended, not even having a side efect. Like when (again) Jon got pierced by Ygritte's arrow. He only limped a couple of months, then he is too busy to remember? A full recovery at that speed only happens with today medicine, not stuffing bread and other filthy things in a wound. But he still flexes his hand as a tic, so I'm happy :wideeyed:

As for the reason of not being able to draw his sword when Bowen stabbed him, i think it's more about, beside plot key, Jon not being able to harm his brothers.

And for the record, he never considered Janos Slynt a brother, hence, the block.

ETA: to be more clear

[Winterfellian]

And for the record, he never considered Janos Slynt a brother, hence, the block.

ETA: to be more clear

This is actually incorrect. Jon does say that he found it hard to think of Slynt as a brother, but that had absolutely nothing to do with Slynt's beheading. Despite his reserves and mutual animosity Jon was willing to give Slynt the benefit of the doubt:

“A man does not rise to command of the gold cloaks without ability. Slynt was born a butcher’s son. He was captain of the Iron Gate when Manly Stokeworth died, and Jon Arryn raised him up and put the defense of King’s Landing into his hands.Lord Janos cannot be as great a fool as he seems.”

Even when he didn't present himself at the hour appointed for his departure Jon still gave him a chance. It was only after Slynt openly defied him in front of the NW and Stannis' men that Jon executed him for insubordination.

As for the sword, besides plot reasons I think he couldn't get it out of the scabbard because of the cold. I was watching the gladiator movie the other day and in the scene where Maximus escapes his executors one of the guards had the exact problem as Jon. It was explicitly told that this happened because of the cold.

[Frey-A-La-Mode]

I think flexing his sword hand could also be symbolic for Jon as a person. In order to survive and to fight this war that is coming, Jon also cannot let himself become rigid or weak. He is the one who must be openminded and strong-willed enough to challenge his NW brothers, who have become so set in their ways that they are rebelling against the very things that will make their force stronger and save their lives.

That's a good point. That's exactly why Jon sometimes picks the biggest baddest in the training yard to fight with, because as Rodrik Cassel always told him, you should practice against the biggest strongest person in the yard, lest you be unprepared when you face their like on the battlefield.

[Unlady B]

Not trying to derail the OP thread, but I doubt it was from the cold. I mean, it could be, but I can't remember being said it was an especially cold night (i know it's already winter, but non the less), and we have no other reference (IIRC) that the swordsmen had that kind of problem in the north. Wildings and crows should have commented before about frozen limbs being a major problem at fights. Again, totally plausible, my feet grow stiff at low temperature above 0 grades centigrades. But if we are talking about GMMR, i don;t think it was just the chance of bad blood circulation.

About Janos Slynt, he didn't killed him just because he didn't like Janos, but because Janos proved himself not being a brother of the NW, or at least, putting his (jano's) personal affairs first. Jon gave Janos the chance to prove himself a brother, but he wasted it. Bowen at least had the decency of stabbing Jon "for the NW".

I'm a bit of a romantic, so maybe my percepcion of the scene is not objective :blushing:

[direwienerdog]

As for Jon flexing his fingers his hand was severely burned and Maester Aemon told him to keep flexing it to insure best use of it.

In ADWD The Julius Ceasar scene as I've come to think of it, some very strange things occur, other than stabbing itself. The first brother swipes at Jon and cuts his neck. Jon disarms him and as his assailant backs away he raises his hads as if to say it wasn't me. That when Jon has his clumsy can't draw his sword moment. The 1st thing that came to my mind was the blade was poisoned. Several poisons are described that would act so. By the time the 3rd dagger hit Jon couldn't feel the a thing.

Now that I've stated the obvious one thing bubbles to the front of my mind. When Jon received the burn to his hand he is fighting weights in the Lord Marshals quarters. Jon is the only one that I can recall that is touched by a weight and lives. Maybe this has something to do with all the strange stuff or might be the whole mess is being orchestrated by Mel. One other thought are the wildling skinchangers controling Bowen Marsh and company and Jon reaction is because of all the warging?

[direwienerdog]

Sorry to be longwinded but does Jon's hand flexing occur just before thing happen? He flexes it right before the 1st knife strike so maybe it an early warning system.

[He Wolf of Winterfell]

And here I came thinking this discussion was about Jon's would be hand once he comes on the iron throne. Well then ... Let me start a new thread

[JesusFTW]

I always thought that Jon couldn't draw Longclaw just because of shock and how fast it happened.

[Victarion Chainbreaker]

Jon's burned hand is symbolic of his brotherhood with the other non-Dany Dragonrider: Victarion. Dany would also have a burned arm if she weren't fireproof.

[JesusFTW]

Jon's burned hand is symbolic of his brotherhood with the other non-Dany Dragonrider: Victarion. Dany would also have a burned arm if she weren't fireproof.

Nice theory.

[Roadside Rose]

There's an excellent catch by He Who Eschews The White Of The Egg, which compares a warning in ACOK that his swordhand might easily grow stiff and clumsy due to his injury to his last scene in Dance, where his fingers feel stiff and clumsy when he wants to draw his sword, hinting that on top of his surprise and shock by the NW betrayal, the relatively mundane reason of his long injured hand might have contributed to his difficulties getting his sword out.

Wow, nice catch!