Cuffs Off, Rub Wrists: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

'''Chandler:''' No, I just [[Conversational Troping|always see guys doing this when they get handcuffs taken off them]].|'''''[[Friends]]''''', "The One With the 'Cuffs"}}

 

A character has been shackled or put in handcuffs and upon being released they must rub their wrists. Somehow this not only stops the pain but removes all physical evidence that the character was chained up to begin with. In fiction land, having your hands tightly bound for long periods of time usually only causes mild discomfort.

 

== Anime and Manga ==

 

* Averted in ''[[Pet Shop of Horrors]]''. Leon spends almost the entirety of "Discovery" (vol. 6) in handcuffs, and ignores the fact that they've cut up his wrists. D [[Ho Yay|bandages them up for him.]]

[[Fair Cop|Leon]]: Handcuffs bite, didn't you know that? }}

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': Ed does this in the first series (episode 41).

 

== Films -- Animation ==

 

== Films -- Live Action ==

* ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'': near the end.

* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean|Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest]]'', after Governor Swann is arrested, [[Smug Snake|Cutler]] [[Big Bad|Beckett]] makes a deal with him, and, after he agrees, he takes off his shackles, after which Weatherby rubs his wrists, which are noticeably red and raw (and probably painful).

* ''[[Midnight Run]]'': As Jack uncuffs the Duke on the train, the Duke says, "Thanks, 'cause they're starting to cut into my wrists." In fact, Grodin has permanent scars resulting from the handcuffs he had to wear for most of the film.

* ''[[No Country for Old Men]]'': Decidedly not the case. The main antagonist (who begins the movie in handcuffs) {{spoiler|and murders a deputy by strangling him with the handcuffs on his own wrists}} is later seen washing his torn, bloody wrists after the handcuffs are off. {{spoiler|Although admittedly this is probably kind of an extreme example.}}

* In Krull, the prince proves that he is the prince by using the master key to free the shackles from the escaped criminals. They remove their cuffs and rub their wrists.

 

 

* ''[[Tortall Universe|Protector of the Small: Page]]'' averts the trope. Lalassa was bound tightly by rope, not handcuffs, and left overnight. She could barely move after being untied - her rescuer had to massage her hands to get the blood moving, the dog took care of her ankles - and had pins and needles afterwards, as well as rope burn. The Beka Cooper books also justify this, since instead of handcuffs the Provost's Guard uses leather thongs to tie people up.

* Averted in ''Gerald's Game''. Not the "rub your wrists" part, that's still there; the "mild discomfort" part. Of course, {{spoiler|slicing your own wrist so that the blood will provide enough lubrication to slip your hand through the cuff}} is a little more than "mild discomfort" for ''any'' setting.

* Averted in "[[Little Brother]]", after his wrists being zip-tied together for a few hours, Marcus can't feel his hands, nor move them, and his fingers are described as looking sausage-like.

** In a later episode, when the Others have handcuffed Kate, Tom gives her aloe for the cuts and irritation on her wrists.

** Even later on, when we see Richard in a flashback his wrists are a bloody, infected mess from being in handcuffs for several months.

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. In the Season Six episode "Dead Things" while they are in bed together {{spoiler|Spike}} offers Buffy handcuffs and asks, "Do you trust me?" Buffy replies, "Never", but a later scene shows her rubbing her wrists in a tell-tale manner.

 

== Video Games ==

 

 

== Web Comics ==

 

* ''Starcrossed'': The [[Justice League]] rubs their wrists when they're released from shackles.

* ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'': "Grudge Match" Black Canary rubs her wrists after being released. It should be noted her wrists were badly burned and she had been ''wearing the cuffs over them''. Ouch.

 

[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]

[[Category:Crime and Punishment Tropes]]