I too was in an exit row seat and assisted one of the gentlemen to put his cases in the overhead locker. He was going to wait for the cabin crew to put it up for him.
When I offered to assist him (as he was standing In the aisle blocking the other passengers from boarding with his cases on the seat) , he totally misheard and at first was slightly aggressive until I explained for the third time that I was offering to assist him.
Then throughout the safety demonstation his head was buried in his newspaper totally oblivious that the cabin crew were addressing the 12 passengers seated in over wing exit seating

I wrongly or rightly made the assumption that he would not be much help in a smoke filled cabin, should the situation emerge.
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