Will's Story: Just Curious

 Will Horton has been onscreen several times since I last wrote about him just over a week ago, but most of those scenes have involved his working for/being blackmailed by EJ DiMera, a story I'm less interested in writing about than Will's coming out. There have, however, been two episodes that I do want to highlight.

  The first is the January 25th episode. Will was having lunch with his grandmother at the Brady Pub and Dr. Evans took the opportunity to tell Will that, no matter the choices he makes in his life, she will always love him. The context was his seemingly inexplicable decision to work for EJ, but the subtext was perfectly clear, at least to me since I'm convinced that Marlena knows exactly what's troubling her grandson.

  If by some chance she hadn't already guessed that Will was struggling with his sexuality, I think she would have figured it out after the way Will reacted when Sonny showed up at the pub and came over to their table to say hello. Will was visibly uncomfortable from the moment Sonny arrived.

  Sonny wanted Will to look at a potential logo that Kareem had drawn up for Common Grounds and told Will that he was going to be meeting up with Dustin and Kareem later to work on it some more if Will was free. Will claimed to be too busy that day, but when Sonny pressed him to name a time when they could get together to work, Will pulled Sonny aside and told him that he was just too busy with his job on the campaign to help out with the coffee house at all. When Sonny offered to work around Will's schedule or even hold off until after the election, Will told Sonny not to wait for him. Sonny wondered if Will had a problem with his friends, but Will insisted that he was just too busy. Sonny told Will to call him when he was less busy and then added that he wasn't trying to pressure Will, adding the key words "about anything."

  I think it was perfectly natural for someone as frightened by his own sexuality as Will is to push Sonny away, especially after Sonny's friends had begun to assume that Will himself was out. It's exactly the reaction you'd expect from a guy so filled with self loathing that he'd spit on his own reflection, isn't it? I loved that Sonny knew exactly what Will was trying to do, though, and let him know that he was there whenever Will was ready.

   Marlena, meanwhile, had been watching from across the pub and after Will came back to their table she reminded him that if he needed someone to talk to, someone he could trust, she was always there. Will thanked her and then practically ran from the pub.

   The next episode that I want to write about was from this past Wednesday. Will had apparently reached out to Sonny, because the episode began with him showing up at Will's place so they could see a movie together. Sonny asked what film Will wanted to see and our Mr. Horton suggested that they take in the final film of a Meryl Streep retrospective playing nearby: The Devil Wears Prada. Really? You'd almost expect someone trying so hard to be straight to suggest an action film, though probably one with some really hot guys in it!

  Sonny said that he loved that film, but that he had a date coming up and the guy (Dustin? Someone else? Offscreen romances suck!) was going to want to see that with him. Instead Sonny suggested that they just hang out at Will's place and download a movie.

   Will seemed a bit unnerved by the idea and Sonny half jokingly asked if Will was uncomfortable being alone with him. Will pointed out that Sonny's friends had been assuming things about him lately and then wondered how, exactly, someone knew when they were gay? How, for instance, did Sonny himself know? Will quickly added that he was just curious about Sonny because they were friends.

   Sonny told Will how he'd always liked comic book superheros and cute guys on TV without ever quite knowing why or even what gay was, but that it wasn't until he was a freshman in high school that he really started noticing guys. He'd even dated girls just so he could hang out with the other guys, who all had girlfriends.

   Will asked how that had worked out for him and Sonny said that he'd fooled them, but he couldn't fool himself and that he'd hated lying to the girls he dated and leading them on. He'd hated the lie he was living so much that every time he made a birthday wish during high school, it was always for gay Sonny to just disappear so that he could be like everyone else.

   Will asked Sonny what he'd been afraid of the most. Sonny replied that he'd been most afraid of not being able to live the life he'd wanted for himself: a wife, kids, a house with a picket fence. Will agreed that he'd be afraid of that, too, and Sonny told him that the very worst part of the whole thing had been not having someone he could talk to about what he was feeling. He hated to think that there were people out there now going through the same thing.

    Will pointed out that not all families would be as accepting as Sonny's had been. Sonny agreed that it wasn't always easy and told Will that his parents, though accepting, had also been sad that he wasn't going to live the life they'd dreamed of for him and worried that he'd never find love. Sonny's brother Alex had a problem with it at first, too, but got over it. Sonny also mentioned his friend Tyler, who hadn't spoken to his Dad for a long time after coming out, but said that they were good now.

   Sonny: All I'm trying to say is for me, coming out meant being free. All right man? I mean, no more hiding, no more lying, and no more shame. Once you accept who you are, things just get better.

  Will said that Sonny made it all sound as if coming out fixes everything and that he didn't believe that. Sonny agreed that coming out didn't guarantee you a happily ever after, but pointed out that being straight didn't guarantee that either. People have a better chance at being happy if they don't keep secrets.

   Will thanked Sonny for sharing and hoped he hadn't minded his curiosity. Sonny replied that Will was his friend and that he could ask- or tell- him anything. There was a pregnant pause as Will seemed to hesitate and Sonny seemed to be expecting Will to come out to him, but then Will tried to change the subject, asking if Sonny was ready to see the movie.

   Sonny: There's just one more thing. I wasted so much time being afraid of who I really am. You know, what my parents and my friends would think if they knew the truth. I felt alone. I was afraid and I was alone and I don't want anyone to ever have to feel that, especially a friend. Because I wasn't alone, I'm not alone, and being afraid was a lot worse than being honest.

  Excellent scenes. Chandler Massey was right on target with portraying Will's pain and his desperate need to talk about all of this while still trying to maintain that it was all just 'curiosity' about his gay friend. Freddie Smith, meanwhile, was perfect as Sonny tried to let Will know in every possible way that he was there for him and that coming out wouldn't be the end of the world. I was impressed with both of them.

   I keep swinging back and forth on whether I want Sonny and Will (already dubbed WilSon by fans) to be a couple (there was real chemistry last week) or just friends. Will certainly needs a gay friend right now more than he needs a boyfriend, and yet if they don't pair these two with each other, will we ever see either of them in a real onscreen relationship? Plus, they'd be pretty damn cute together:

 I guess only time will tell. For now, I'm incredibly impressed with the way Days of Our Lives is handling this story, even if it has been a lot slower in unfolding than I would have preferred!

Will's Story: All In

  Things are really starting to heat up on Days of Our Lives in terms of Will Horton's coming out storyline and it's high time that I started blogging about it. Let me begin with a recap recent events before I focus on yesterday's episode.

  As I mentioned before, Will was dating Gabi, his stepfather's younger sister (it's a soap, remember?), and they did lose their virginity together. After that first time Gabi couldn't seem to get Will anywhere near the bedroom again. In fact, any time they were even close to becoming intimate, Will would suddenly become very interested in playing a video game or claim to be worried about someone walking in on them.

 Things finally came to a head after Will saw his mother, Sami, having sex with his ex-stepfather, all around town villain and Mayoral candidate EJ DiMera. EJ and Sami didn't know that Will had seen them, but afterward Will couldn't bear to be around his mother and tried to convince Gabi to get an apartment with him. Gabi was all for the idea until she realized that Will still didn't want to be intimate with her and that his promises that things would change once they moved in together weren't likely.

 Gabi broke up with Will, which caused a kitchen smashing meltdown in front of all his friends from the normally mild mannered Mr. Horton. In the weeks that have followed, Will has remained tormented both by what he saw between his mother and EJ and by his own personal identity struggle. He's largely dealt with this by being nasty to his still clueless mother at every opportunity, including sneaking a few drinks (shades of Luke Snyder!) at Christmas time before calling her a hypocrite in front of the whole family.

 What I've truly been blown away by during all of this is the barely contained raw pain Chandler Massey manages to convey with Will's (often tear filled) eyes. Will isn't the sort who'd normally be nasty to anyone, let alone his own mother, but the guy is being torn up inside by these secrets and Massey has impressed the hell out of me by being able to convey that with body language or just by the look in his eyes.

 Will has been able to talk with his grandmother, Dr. Marlena Evans, who also happens to be a psychiatrist. Marlena could tell that something was eating away at Will (and I suspect that she even knows just what it really is) but rather than coming out to her, Will blurted out his other secret, that he'd seen his mother cheating on her husband.

 While all of this has been going on, Will has remained good friends with the openly gay Sonny Kiriakis. In fact, the two partnered in a failed college sports website along with Will's best friend Chad (the less said about that ridiculous storyline the better), and are now at work together on turning The Cheatin' Heart, a dive bar Sonny's parents just signed over to him, into a hot new coffee shop to be called Common Grounds.

 It was Sonny, a former world traveller in spite of his young age, whom Will talked to about possibly leaving town. Sonny, speaking from experience, cautioned that you can't really run away from your troubles, but seeing just how much pain Will was in, Sonny agreed that it might be a good idea for Will to leave town and figure out just who he is.

 Unfortunately for our Mr. Horton, he's not exactly as rich as his friend Sonny. To get the money to fund his escape, Will did something else that was very unlike him: he attempted to blackmail EJ DiMera, saying that he'd tell EJ's wife and the voters of Salem all about what he'd seen if EJ didn't give him the money to leave town.

 If you're going to try your hand at blackmail, you should probably start small and not with the son of a legendary crime boss who has his own long history of evil deeds. Will found this out the hard way when EJ turned the tables on him, letting Will know that not only had EJ figured out Will's secret by merely observing a few telling moments (though he never explicitly said "I know you're gay"), but that he also had a much, much bigger card to play.

 Years ago, EJ was shot in a typical soap whodunit storyline that included several gloved hands aiming guns at him at the same time.Will's father Lucas eventually confessed to the crime, right around the time that Will left town to go live in Switzerland with his aunt and uncle.

 I did wonder at the time if they were setting up a story about Lucas confessing just to protect Will, but since the storyline wrapped up and they never mentioned it again, I'd mostly forgotten all about it (especially since EJ has been shot again in the meantime, by Will's mother on what would have been their second wedding day!).

 Well, it turns out that EJ has been patiently sitting on the knowledge that Will was the one who shot him, saving it up for a spot of blackmail on a rainy day. The end result is that not only is Will staying in Salem, he's also being forced to work on EJ's campaign and  pretty much do anything that DiMera tells him to do.

 Meanwhile, Sonny has introduced Will to more gay men in the last few weeks than Salem has ever seen onscreen in all forty-six years of Days of Our Lives combined, though that's not really saying much. Will seemed to be connecting with one of them recently over a shared loved of certain bands, but when the guy (forgive me for not remembering the character's name) suggested that they meet up the next day so that he could give Will some music from a new band, Will shut down and quickly made an excuse to leave.

 When Sonny's friend wondered what had just happened, Sonny told him that Will "just isn't there yet", letting we the viewers know for the first time that Sonny himself knows exactly what's going on with his friend Will. The fact that Sonny is being so patient and supportive makes me like the character even more.

 That just about brings us up to speed for yesterday's episode. The Sonny & Will scenes started with the two of them hanging out with two more of Sonny's gay friends at the Brady Pub. The two friends, Dustin and Kareem, were working on a marketing campaign for Common Grounds and mentioned to Will that they'd done the same thing for Unicorn Highway. When Will clearly had no idea what they were talking about, they told him that it was the hot new gay club near campus and offered to get him on the VIP list.

 Will deflected the offer, nervously telling them that he had a paper to write, and after the two of them went to get a drink at the bar, Sonny asked Will what he thought of Dustin. Will, looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, stammered out "Are you asking if I'm interested in him?" Sonny explained that he was thinking of Dustin for himself, that they'd hung out together that weekend and he was thinking he might want to again.

 A relieved Will quickly agreed that he could see Sonny and Dustin together and then turned playful, suggesting that if Sonny did go out with Dustin, he not try and be funny since he really isn't. It was a very sweet moment between the two of them and for the first time I saw some real chemistry between them as a potential couple rather than just as good friends.

 After Dustin and Kareem came back to the table, they took turns telling their amusing coming out stories and then asked Will to share his. Will once again developed that deer in the headlights look but Sonny quickly came to his rescue just before Dustin and Kareem had to leave. Once Will and Sonny were alone again, Sonny apologized, but a still flustered Will said that it was okay that they'd assumed he was gay. My heart broke for Will in this scene, and I'm sure Sonny's must have, too. The pain he's carrying around is so obvious and that's thanks to what a fantastic actor Chandler Massey has turned out to be.

 The scene that really, truly blew me away and had me taking to the old blog to begin writing about this story in earnest, was what happened after Will Horton went home. Will walked into an empty apartment, his eyes once again practically blazing with pain, and then stopped, having caught sight of his face in a mirror. After staring at his reflection for a few moments, Will spit on the mirror with disgust and self loathing and then turned away. It was one of the most powerful moments I've seen on daytime TV in a long time, an emotional gut punch that I'll never forget. Chandler Massey played it perfectly, and I find that in spite of how dangerous investing emotionally in a gay soap character has proved to be in the past, I'm now all in.

A Sad Day

It must be a very sad day to be Agnes Nixon. The iconic daytime scribe who penned some of the most socially relevant stories in the history of the medium just saw her two remaining creations killed off at the same time.

I'm talking, of course, about One Life to Live and All My Children, which were both cancelled by ABC today. They will be replaced by a talk show revolving around cooking and a weight loss competition.

Though neither soap has LGBT characters onscreen at the moment, they were both leading soaps when it came to telling those stories over the years. All My Children broke real ground when they became the first soap to give us a gay character from a core family, Erica Kane's daughter Bianca, who came out of the closet back in 2000.

One Life to Live gave us the first teen gay character on daytime back in 1993 when future movie star Ryan Philippe played gay teen Billy Douglas. More recently, of course, that show gave us the amazing pairing of Kyle and Fish, which included the first real onscreen love scene between two men, including showing them in bed together afterward. In fact, that particular scene was better than anything I'd ever seen on primetime on any network. The two men also became parents, but were written off just when the show could have broken even more ground by giving us a story about the first gay dads raising a child on daytime.

Those were far from the only LGBT characters or socially relevant stories that these two shows told over the years, though they were certainly right up there with the best. All My Children was the show that gave us television's first legal abortion back in the 1970's and dealt with the very controversial issue of the Vietnam War in real time.

One Life to Live was the fist soap that had African American characters in major storylines in the late 1960's, including the controversial story of Carla Gray, a light skinned African American woman who passed herself off as Italian in order to get ahead in a racist society. A decade later they gave us the explosive Karen Wolek storyline, about a housewife with low self esteem who was secretly moonlighting as a prostitute. It made actress Judith Light a household name.

These were both greatly important shows not just to daytime TV but to television itself, mostly because of the driving force of Agnes Nixon, a woman who knew that you could tell great stories that were also meaningful and socially relevant. Sadly, her successors in the soap world largely forgot this lesson and all these cancellations we've been seeing in recent years is largely the result of that.

The simultaneous loss of these two particular soaps is in fact the worst blow that daytime TV has ever been dealt. If you had been able to fool yourself up to now that daytime soaps were not a dying breed, you certainly can't deny it any longer. There will soon be a grand total of four soaps remaining on the air.

All My Children will take its final bow in September and we'll have One Life to Live on our screens until January. With nine months remaining and nothing left to lose from those who blamed gay characters for driving down the ratings, can we hope to see a final return from Kish? It may not be likely, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

This is truly a sad day for any soap fan, even those like me who have become disenchanted by the direction the medium has taken writing wise. A lot of television history and a lot of talented actors are about to be thrown out for what sound to me like two very short lived TV shows that no one will even remember a decade from now.

Confirmed: Gays in Salem!

I wrote last week about the rumor that Days of Our Lives was finally, after 45 years on the air, going to embark upon a major gay storyline for one of its characters. In the time since, more rumors seemed to confirm that the gay character would indeed be Will Horton. As the scion of both the Horton and the Brady clans, Will is pretty much the definition of a legacy character from a core family.

I decided not to get my hopes up until I had more definite confirmation that this was actually going to happen, though. After all, I've been waiting for Days to do a gay storyline for years and the daytime landscape doesn't seem very friendly to LGBT characters at the moment, given that there are currently none left on any soap and that the last show to introduce a major gay pairing later tried to blame the couple for bringing down their ratings!

Well, how's this for confirmation? This weekend Chandler Massey, the actor who portrays Will Horton, attended the Kid's Choice Awards and confirmed that the show will be writing a gay storyline for his character this summer!

In spite of all the times that I've been burned by soaps in the past, I'm actually excited about this. After all, this is my soap, the one I grew up with. I honestly had given up hope of ever seeing a major gay character in Salem and it would once have seemed beyond my wildest dreams that the LGBT character in question would be a Horton and/or a Brady!

Of course, I do worry about what the quality of the story will be and if they'll truly commit to giving Will a love life, or any story at all beyond just coming out. Rumors are flying about him being paired with Chad, with Dario, or with an as yet unseen character, but only time will reveal what they have in store for Will.

I think the best part of this news so far, though, is that Chandler Massey, unlike certain other actors in the recent past, honestly seems to be excited about this development for his character. That earns him major respect in my book.

A New Gay Story for Daytime?

I'll believe this when I actually see it, but Entertainment Weekly's online arm is reporting that a gay themed storyline may finally be coming to Days of Our Lives. NBC's one surviving soap and The Bold & The Beautiful remain the only two daytime soaps left on the air that haven't done a major gay storyline.

I know I've mentioned before that Days is the soap I grew up watching, the one that my mother, aunts, and Grandmother all watched before me. It's also the only soap that I still keep up with somewhat, largely because of my life long history with it.

As I wrote when I first started blogging about gay soap characters, Days did provide a few very early and ultimately misleading hints that it might lead the pack on the issue of gay characters, but they both turned into major disappointments:

"Back in the 70's, there were a few minor blips on the radar, both on Days of Our Lives. Neither was exactly a stellar moment in soap history. First, a minor female character made an advance on Julie Williams, the lead character on the show at that time, and Julie reacted with disgust, fleeing the scene. The character who made the advance on Julie was promptly dropped and no further mention was made of the incident. Later, Julie's young cousin Mike Horton briefly questioned his own sexuality, until sex with a woman made him put all doubts from his mind once and for all. The character has come and gone over the years, but has been resolutely heterosexual ever since."

There has been much speculation over the years about Days doing a gay storyline. When the character of Eric Brady (played by a pre-Supernatural Jensen Ackles) first returned to Salem in the late 1990's, the Internet was abuzz with the rumor that the character was going to be gay. This speculation was aided by the fact that he was being followed by a mystery person and hiding a secret about his time in boarding school in Colorado.

Whatever the story was intended to be, the show dropped it without pursing it and wrapped up the weeks of Eric being followed in a single episode with hastily written scenes about the guy following him being his ex-roommate who'd date raped someone and blamed Eric for getting caught.

A decade later, the buzz has largely surrounded Eric's nephew, Will Horton, and his frenemy Chad Woods. Both characters have dated (and, in Chad's case, impregnated) women, but then they're still young, just out of high school and in that 'self discovery' phase of life. Fans of the fantasy pairing have already dubbed them 'Chill'.

EW.com hints that the new storyline would involve a current character becoming involved with someone new and even wonders if it could involve Will and the newly arrived Dario Hernandez. I've already noticed a few message boards hoping for a 'Wario' pairing.

At the moment, there are no major LGBT characters left on any soap, although a minor recurring character was recently revealed to be gay on One Life to Live, the soap that gave us Kish and then took them away.

Is a Chill, Wario or some other such pairing really in the works? If it happens, will the show be committed to keeping their gay characters front and center like As the World Turns was with Luke (though hopefully with better writing)? Or will they go the 'come out, get bashed, get accepted, disappear' route like General Hospital took with Lucas Jones?

If Days truly does tell a gay themed story, I hope that it will involve a legacy character from a core family, like Will Horton, who is far less easy to write out once he's come out (though admittedly General Hospital had no problems dropping Lucas Jones).

The Kish pairing proved that you can tell a beautiful love story with characters who aren't related to anyone else on the show, but it also reinforced just how easy it is to get rid of those characters.

As far as this latest Days rumor goes, only time will tell if there's actually something to it, and if that something is worth watching.

2010 in Retrospect

It's hard to believe that 2010 is already at a close. I feel as if it was 2002 about ten seconds ago, so how can we possibly be about to enter 2011?!

As with any year, a lot can be said to sum up 2010 from just about any perspective imaginable. In the United States, those on the right of the political spectrum certainly had a lot to cheer in the mid term elections, yet it was also the year in which Congress finally passed some Health Care legislation and repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which will allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

On the Same Sex Marriage front, no new states joined the five states (and Washington, D.C.) that had already allowed (or were about to allow) LGBT citizens their right to marry at this time last year, but Maryland did begin to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states and, best of all, California's Prop 8 was overturned in federal court, though of course the case is far from over.

President Obama appointed Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court this year, bringing the number of women on the court to an historic high of three.

In the entertainment world, the two biggest men to come out of the closet this year weren't really any great surprise: pop singer Ricky Martin and Will & Grace star Sean Hayes had both been rumored/assumed to be gay for many years, but that doesn't make the fact that they finally took the steps to come out publicly in 2010 any less noteworthy.

A true milestone this year in terms of coming out: the first openly gay country music artist, in the form of newly out lesbian Chely Wright.

Ricky Martin, by the way, was part of another trend this year: out gay celebrities becoming parents. Ricky Martin has been a dad since 2008, while Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka, and Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, all welcomed new children into their lives in 2010.

We lost some greats this year in every field imaginable, from daytime TV's Frances Reid, James Mitchell, and Helen Wagner, to primetime TV greats Rue McCLanahan, Dixie Carter, Barbara Billingsly, and John Forsythe, to all around legends like Lena Horne, Dennis Hopper, and Tony Curtis.

The literary world lost an iconic figure in J.D. Salinger and we lost a great historian, writer, and activist when Howard Zinn left us at age 87.

Last year in my retrospective, I mentioned that the year had been bookended by two very different gay love scenes in daytime soaps: Luke & Noah's long awaited first time on As the World Turns at the beginning of the year and Oliver and Kyle's amazing New Year's Eve love scene on One Life to Live.

It's sad to read the hope and excitement I was feeling over Kish a year ago at this time, completely unaware that in less than three months Kish would be gone, that in less than nine months there would no longer be an As The World Turns or any LGBT characters on daytime TV at all. This year, when I say "What a difference a year can make" I say it with sadness.

Well, on to some of my picks for this year's favorite things!

*Favorite Classic Fiction Book I read this year: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

*Favorite Gay Fiction Book I read this year: Mary Ann In Autumn, by Armistead Maupin, with Stephen McCauley's Insignificant Others a near second.

*Favorite Modern Fiction Book I read this year: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I snobbishly put off reading this for ages because it was published in the U.S. as a Young Adult novel (in the author's native Australia, it was published as adult fiction), but it was so good!

*Favorite Non-Fiction (Literary) Book I read this year: The Book of William by Paul Collins.

*Favorite Non-Fiction (Autobiography) Book I read this year: City Boy by Edmund White.

*Favorite Film I saw this year: (500) Days of Summer.

*Favorite Gay Themed Film I saw this year: A Single Man. I only saw four gay themed films this year, and this was by far the best, but it couldn't begin to touch the beauty of the book.

*Film I Most Wanted to see this year but haven't yet: The Kids Are All Right. What's wrong with me?! I've been dying to see this. First film of 2011, for sure.

*Favorite Hour long TV Show: It's still Glee.

*Favorite Half Hour long TV Show: A tie between Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory, both of which I've belatedly caught up with and love.

*Best Daytime Soap: One Life to Live until March. After that, NONE.

*Favorite CD: Hard to say. I've been discovering Sondheim all year, so probably A Little Night Music or Company.

*Favorite Actress: Kristin Chenoweth

*Favorite Gay Themed Website of the year: AfterElton.com.

*Favorite Gay Character of the year (Daytime): A tie between Oliver Fish, One Life to Live (until March), and Reid Oliver, As The World Turns.

*Favorite Gay Character of the year (Primetime): Kurt Hummel, Glee.

*Favorite Gay Character of the year (International): Aaron Livesy, Emmerdale

*Hottest Actor (Daytime): A tie. Scott Evans (until March)

and then the Brothers Ford (aka Nicolas Robuck, David A. Gregory and Lenny Platt), One Life to Live.
*Hottest Actor (Primetime): Jared Padalecki. I still love me some Jared, and this year he even deigned to show some skin!
*Hottest Actor (Film): I barely saw any films this year, so I'll go with my choice from last year, the still very sexy Ryan Reynolds.

Well, I think that about sums it up. I hope 2011 proves to be a wonderful year for everyone reading this!

LuRe/Nuke: The End (In So Many Ways)

Almost two months have passed since the venerable soap opera As the World Turns aired its final episode, bringing to a close over 54 years of television history. That history included the groundbreaking character of Luke Snyder, whose story I have covered here in detail over the past several years.

The last time I wrote about Luke's story was back in May. After that point, I became too busy in my personal life to keep up with the show. I did save all of the Luke related episodes on my Tivo, though, and last month when I'd taken a week off of work I managed to catch up with the final four months of the LuRe/Nuke storyline.

It's rather sad that I stuck with the show through some really terrible stories (The Z Twins? Ameera? I could go on for a few paragraphs, but let's leave it at that) and then, just when I was delighted with the electric chemistry between Van Hansis and Eric Sheffer Stevens as Luke and Reid, I had to step away.

I've been wondering since I finished watching the show just how much I should write about the way it ended. Too much time had passed for me to try and do any sort of thorough recap of the story. In the end, I decided to just do a brief summary of the action and then talk about what, exactly, this story meant and the impact it had.

There was much talk among fans about how the show would end: would Luke end up with Noah or with Reid? Both couples had their die hard fans who believed that the wrong choice would be a betrayal of their favored pair. I myself was firmly in the LuRe camp.

In the end, the show opted for door number three in an attempt to try and satisfy everyone involved.

Luke chose Reid over Noah, who decided to leave for school in Los Angeles. Luke and Reid were briefly happy, though they never actually got to make love. Luke wanted to hold off, since he'd only ever been with Noah, and Reid agreed to wait until Luke was ready.

This being a soap opera, things didn't go as planned. Reid's rival at the hospital, Chris Hughes, needed a new heart quickly, or he was going to die. Reid learned of a heart that was a match in nearby Bay City and rushed off to bypass the bureaucratic red tape and get the heart. His car stalled on a train track on his way there and he was hit before he could escape.

He lived long enough to be taken back to the hospital in Oakdale and say good bye to Luke, to whom he gave his power of attorney and instructions to make sure that Chris Hughes got Reid's heart if it was a match (which, of course, it was).

It goes without saying that Van Hansis was heartbreaking in these scenes. Watching Luke grieve Reid was incredibly hard.

So, the show gave the LuRe fans what it wanted, sort of: Luke and Reid remained in love and would have lived happily ever after except that Reid died a noble, heroic death.

They also gave the Nuke fans what they wanted, sort of: Noah and Luke didn't end up together, but the possibility of Luke eventually joining Noah in L.A. after he'd grieved Reid was very much hinted at.

Instead of making both sides happy, I suspect that it actually left everyone unsatisfied. Still, I greatly appreciated that the very last scene we ever had of Luke Snyder was of him placing his head on Chris Hughes' chest to listen to Reid's heart beating.

I bemoaned the awful writing on this show many times but in the end there is no denying that Luke's story broke a lot of ground. Like many pioneering stories, it won't be as good as what comes after it, the stories (like the much superior Kish storyline on One Life to Live) that don't have to break down the same taboos themselves.

Those stories, though, would never be able to exist if Luke's story hadn't lead the way. Let's recap here:

Luke was the first out gay male character from a core family on a daytime soap. This means that the character wasn't a disposable one, easy to remove when his purpose had been served.

Luke was the first gay male character who remained a leading character on a daytime soap once his coming out storyline was finished.

Luke and Noah shared the first romantic kiss between two male characters on a daytime soap. In fact, they shared the first several.

Luke and Noah were the first two male characters to make love on a daytime soap, though of course we didn't get a scene of them in bed together before or after (that ground was broken by Kish).

Luke, Noah, and Reid were the first true all male love triangle on a daytime soap (one in which both sides of the triangle had fans rooting for them).

Luke and Noah were, in fact, the first gay supercouple on daytime TV.

In the end, these milestones will be what truly matters, not the awful plot twists that cluttered things up along the way.

None of this would have happened, of course, without Van Hansis. His talent was what made people care about Luke. Van quickly developed a legion of fans that championed Luke and then the Nuke pairing, bringing the show the sort of attention in hadn't had in years.

If the writing had been up to the level of Van's talent, this attention could have been parlayed into ratings and the show might still be going strong today.

With the end of As the World Turns, there are no longer any out gay characters on daytime television. A truly sad state of affairs given that just a year ago we had Luke & Noah, Oliver & Kyle, Nick, Mason, Philip, and Rafe spread out over three different soap operas.

With all the talk of ground being broken, it's a bitter irony that we're suddenly back to where we were before Luke ever came out of the closet.

LuRe Day: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Today's As the World Turns was a LuRe day, though not an overly eventful one. It began with Luke arriving to visit Noah at the hospital with some lunch and his ipod. Luke asked Noah if there had been any changes with his eyesight, and Noah said that he could still see light and dark, and colors, but that shapes were still mostly blurry.

To give an example, Noah explained that he'd heard Luke and Dr. Oliver arguing in in the hall the other day and had tried to focus on them but that they'd been too blurry. What, Noah wondered, had they been arguing about?

Luke claimed that he couldn't remember, exactly, but said that they'd probably been arguing about Noah since they did that a lot. Noah took Luke's hand and told him that if Luke wanted to worry about him, that was okay with him. Luke was surprised by this, since that had been the last thing Noah wanted before the surgery. Noah explained that he'd realized that this was just who Luke was and part of why he loved him so much.

Luke told Noah that he loved him, too, and Noah asked him to try and stay away from Reid since, as difficult as he could be, he was the reason that Noah was going to be able to see again. Luke agreed to try and at that moment Reid came in the room to examine Noah.

Luke pulled his hand away from Noah's and stood up pretty quickly, but the clasped hands hadn't been missed by Dr. Oliver. Reid gave Noah's eyes a cursory look before saying that he'd come back later to do a more thorough exam. There was definitely an intense vibe between Luke and Reid which Noah picked up on but completely misread. He asked Luke to go after Dr. Oliver and apologize to him for their argument, for Noah's sake.

The contrast between Nuke and LuRe is pretty telling when they all share a scene together like this. Luke and Noah have a very warm vibe between them, they clearly care for each other, but you'd have to be as blind as Noah was not to notice the off the charts chemistry between Luke and Reid the minute they're in the same room together. You can almost literally feel them wanting to be together the second they're in each other's presence.

Luke wasted no time in following Reid out of the room and telling him that he couldn't do this anymore, that he hated lying to Noah. Reid suggested he not lie to him, then, but Luke said that he already had and explained that Noah had seen them in the hallway the other day.

Luke: If his vision had been any clearer, he would have seen that we're-

Reid: That we're really hot for each other?

Luke: That's not funny.

Reid: You'll know when I'm trying to be funny.

Luke said that he had to tell Noah about the two of them, but Reid wondered what, exactly, Luke was going to tell him? Luke himself wasn't even sure, but said that he and Noah didn't keep secrets from each other.

Reid suggested that Luke think about someone other than himself and sarcastically pointed out that telling Noah that they'd kissed a couple of times and almost had sex the very day of Noah's surgery was really going to make him feel better. That way, Noah could push both Luke and the doctor helping him get his sight back away, but then what did Noah's vision matter compared to Luke's 'confused little feelings'?

Reid is clearly quite frustrated with the fact that Luke is sitting on the fence about all of this. Then again, when does Reid need a reason to be sarcastic and snarky?

Luke said that he had to be honest with Noah, and Reid demanded to know what it was about illness that made people feel like it was the time when they had to confess their secrets to that person? What Luke needed to do was to be there for Noah and help him deal, Reid said, even if that meant lying his butt off.

Noah, meanwhile, was having a chat with Ali about his relationship with Luke and acknowledging that it was all his fault for pushing Luke away. While Luke may understand why he did it, that's not the same as forgiving him for it, Noah explained. Ali made a comparison to her failed relationship with Casey and said that they were trying to be friends again now, which left Noah declaring that he didn't want to be 'just friends' with Luke.

Later, Reid returned to finish his exam of Noah and when he was done Luke came in and asked if Noah was well enough to go outside. Reid said he didn't think so, but Luke promised that it would be just for a few minutes and that he wouldn't leave Noah's side.

Reid returned home to brood over the situation, looking incredibly sexy while doing so, and Katy tried to take his mind off things by asking him to come with her to the park to get some fresh air. Reid refused, saying that he wasn't fond of air, and Katy left him alone with his thoughts.

Meanwhile, at the park, Noah was raving about being able to see colors again and finally having something positive in his life. Luke was distracted by his own thoughts, and Noah noted that this was a perfect time for him and Luke to really talk to each other. Noah told Luke that he could tell him anything and Luke looked incredibly torn.

As I said, there wasn't a great deal going on in the story today. Luke is still not fully facing up to the way his feelings have changed and what that means for him and Noah, while Reid has fallen pretty hard for Luke but is growing frustrated over the mixed messages he's getting from him.

I really like that they're taking some time to show what each of these three characters are feeling. I just hope that they don't drag this whole "We can't tell Noah until his eyes are better" angle out too long.

Aaron's Story: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Aaron's story on the British soap Emmerdale continues to pack an emotional punch and I'm loving every second of it. When I last wrote about Aaron, he'd returned home from the hospital and was being watched every moment of the day by his mother and Paddy, but his friendship with Adam had grown stronger than ever.

Aaron tenuously started to resume his daily life after a walk with his dog lead him by the garage and he was invited in for a drink by Cain. I loved the way Danny Miller played this particular scene, the hesitation on Aaron's part to enter the place where he'd tried to kill himself and also the underlying fear that he was going to be treated differently by his co-workers. His relief when Cain treated him exactly as he always had was almost palpable and by the end of the visit Aaron had agreed to return to work the next day.

There was still the not so little matter of the charges pending against Aaron for assaulting Jackson, though. Aaron himself seemed resigned to whatever punishment came his way and even refused to go with Paddy to meet with his solicitor.

Paddy returned with the news that Aaron was looking at six months in prison because his attack on Jackson was being viewed as a hate crime. If, however, Aaron told the court the truth about himself and what he was going through, he'd likely only get community service.

Paddy and Chastity both begged Aaron to admit the truth, but Aaron remained adamant that he was going to stay silent and take his punishment. When Aaron wouldn't listen to them, a desperate Paddy went to see Adam to fill him in and ask his help in convincing Aaron to open up about his sexuality to avoid time in prison.

Adam tracked down Jackson on a work site to ask him to withdraw his statement against Aaron, but Jackson refused. He softened a bit, though, when Adam revealed that Aaron had attempted to kill himself. Against his better judgement, he even let Adam talk him into going with him to see Aaron.

It wasn't exactly a harmonious meeting. Jackson told Aaron that things weren't all right between them, but that he didn't want to see Aaron go to prison.

Aaron: Oh, so why did you go to the police and tell them what I did?

Jackson: Well, you decked me so what did you expect?

Aaron: Well why didn't you tell them the rest of the truth then?

Jackson: You know why!

Aaron: What, because you wanted to get me done for gay bashing?

Jackson: I never wanted to out you! I mean, I wish I had now. If there's a way out of this, you've got to take it.

Aaron: Yeah, well, I can't.

Jackson: Why not?

Aaron: Do you want me to spell it out for you?

Jackson: Look, I'm trying to help!

Aaron: And I don't need your help!

Jackson decided he'd had enough at this point, and when Adam tried to keep him from leaving he said that if Aaron would rather go to prison than admit to being gay, he deserved what he got.

Adam sadly told Aaron that he'd just realized the truth: Aaron wanted to be punished because he couldn't handle what he was, and the saddest thing was that he was going to get his wish now that he'd thrown away his last chance.

After Adam left, Aaron silently buried his face in his hands.

In the days that followed, Paddy and Chastity kept trying to convince Aaron to tell the truth and save himself while Aaron alternated between pushing them away and readying himself for his prison sentence.

Aaron told everyone that he didn't want them coming to court with him, so when the morning came he said his farewells to his assembled family at Paddy's place and departed in a taxi.

He'd convinced himself that he was strong enough to survive in prison, but had his eyes opened before he even got in the taxi when his Aunt Lisa (who recently did some prison time herself) told him that they weren't going to allow him to take his ipod in with him, since it could be used as a weapon, and that even if they did let him, someone would steal if from him within minutes. Aaron tried to play the tough guy and said that no one would be messing with him, but his Uncle Zak advised him that he had to keep his head down and not draw any attention to himself if he wanted to make it through this.

Paddy put an end to the prison talk, reminding them all that he'd not even been sentenced yet. As Aaron was getting in the car, he noticed Adam watching sadly nearby and the two shared a nod. Once in the Taxi, the brave face Aaron had been putting on dissolved as tears began to spill down his cheeks. I have to say that Danny Miller cries better than any actor I've ever seen. You'd think with all his tears lately I'd be used to it, but every time he cries he manages to make it seem so raw and emotional that it feels like a punch to the stomach. You just want to wrap your arms around him, not that Aaron would ever let you, and tell him everything is going to be okay!

At the courthouse, Aaron's solicitor (and here's a nice little tie in to gay characters past, by the way: the solicitor was played by Scott Neal, the actor who played Ste in my very favorite gay themed movie, Beautiful Thing!) made one last attempt to get Aaron to see sense about his plea, but Aaron was still set on remaining silent.

Aaron looked so small and alone as he ascended into the dock to face the magistrate. Before the hearing actually began, though, Chastity called out Aaron's name and he turned to find Paddy, Chastity, Cain, Zak, Lisa, and Adam all there for him, in spite of his insistence that no one come. Instead of being angry, his eyes filled with tears and he nodded gratefully at them all. I loved how Danny Miller was able to convey, without saying a word, that their presence meant everything to Aaron!

The charges were read and Aaron was asked for his plea. Before he could answer, the door opened and Jackson walked in and took a seat up in the gallery, behind Aaron's family. The two of them shared a long look before Aaron plead guilty.

The prosecutor (or whatever they're called in the British court system) laid out the case that Aaron had targeted and attacked Jackson simply for being gay. Paddy and Chastity both had little outbursts up in the gallery (which the magistrate didn't seem to mind too much, merely shooting them a rather withering look; in an American court there would surely have been a lot of gavel banging and threats of contempt!) urging Aaron and/or Jackson to speak up.

They both remained quiet, though. The magistrate told Aaron that this was a clear cut case of a homophobic attack and that such a thing could not be tolerated. Aaron, his eyes red with tears, mumbled that it wasn't like that, and the magistrate ordered him to speak up if there was something he wanted to say.

Aaron: I can't. I can't say it. (Aaron turns to look at Jackson). I didn't target him. He came to see me.

Aaron's solicitor requested a recess called so that he could discuss all of this with Aaron before he spoke any further, but Aaron stopped him, saying that he'd already messed his life up this badly, so he might as well finish the job.

Aaron: He came to see me because he thought we were mates. He was in the pub, with my friends and my family, it just freaked me out. I needed to shut him up, so I hit him. But it wasn't like what you said. It wasn't because of what he was. Or what he is. I swear I didn't do it because he's gay.

I did it because I am.

I'm gay.

Needless to say, this was an intense moment for Aaron and I can't stress how beautifully done these scenes were. How many ways can I possibly find to say that Danny Miller is incredibly talented? There surely aren't enough words in the English language. Please, watch these scenes here if you haven't already!

Up in the gallery, Paddy, Chastity, and Adam all looked incredibly relieved and proud of Aaron, while Zak and Lisa looked dumbfounded by this piece of news. The magistrate asked Aaron to continue.

Aaron (crying): I didn't want to hurt him. I just... I just thought that he was gonna blurt it out. I thought that's what they did. They made you tell everyone, and if you didn't then they'd do it for you. But he was different. He was all right. I wanted to see him. But then when I did, I couldn't handle it. What I was thinking. About him. About me. I hit him. And I'm sorry.

The magistrate called for a ten minute recess. Out in the hall, Zak and Lisa questioned Cain about how long he'd known, while Chastity told Aaron how proud they were of him. Aaron, though, was wondering what his Uncle Cain and Uncle Zak were thinking about him. Paddy, meanwhile, had gone to look for Jackson but came back to report to Aaron that he'd gone. Aaron's solicitor warned him and Chastity that Aaron's last minute confession may have been too little, too late as far as sentencing was concerned.

Back in court, the Magistrate told Aaron that the attack was clearly a violent one, but that his genuine remorse and his admission, which had taken strength and courage, had convinced her that a prison sentence was not in his best interest. She sentenced him to 150 hours of community service instead.

The entire clan returned to Paddy's, but Aaron remained outside with Adam, not wanting to face a family gathering after his very public coming out. Inside, Zak was trying to make some sense of the news and asked Paddy if Aaron dating Holly had been all for show.

Paddy told Zak that Aaron had been trying to work things out in his head then and Zak said the boy must have had some idea, since you don't go 'that way' over night. Paddy told him that Aaron had been fighting his sexuality for years.

Lisa asked if Jackson was Aaron's boyfriend and Chastity chimed in, telling them all that Aaron hadn't had a boyfriend yet. Zak took this as evidence that Aaron couldn't know if he was really gay, then, because not having tried it he might find that he didn't like it!

Cain asked Zak if he'd ever looked at another guy and fancied him and when Zak told him to watch his mouth, Cain said that they could bet that Aaron had. This seemed to get through to Zak, at least a bit. Cain told Paddy to tell Aaron that he was expecting him at work the next day as usual. One thing they all agreed on: they'd protect their own, no matter what.

Adam and Aaron, meanwhile, had gone for a walk and Adam asked what had changed his mind about telling the truth. Was it Jackson? Aaron admitted that maybe it was, but also noted that Jackson hadn't stuck around afterward. He told Adam that he'd texted him to apologize and say that it would be cool if he wanted to go for a drink sometime.

Aaron said that he thought Jackson had only shown up to make sure he'd gone to prison, though, and Adam told him to get over Jackson and move on if that was the case.

Aaron admitted that he was worried that everyone was going to be acting differently towards him now.

Aaron: I just hate people knowing.

Adam: Well, they do, so get over it! Look, mate, I'm not going to lie to you. It's big news now. But it's not going to be for long, all right? At least it's over now. You've done it.

Aaron: And what if I've made the biggest mistake of my life?

Adam: Come on.

With that, Adam put his arm around Aaron and they walked off together. Can I just say, once again, how much I love the friendship between these two? It's really something special. I'm still trying to find good screencaps of the two of them together. This one is from last winter.

The next day, Aaron called in sick to work and spent the day lying on the sofa, staring into space while all around the village, people were discussing the banner front page headline to be found above a large photo of Aaron in the local paper: 'Hoodie Comes Out Of the Closet'.

At the garage, Ryan was trying to get his head around the fact that Aaron was gay, but really only seemed surprised, not truly bothered by it. When Chastity came by and showed them the paper, Ryan assured her that he and Cain were both 'cool with it'.

Chastity took the paper to Paddy's, where against Paddy's wishes she showed it to Aaron, feeling that he had to know what everyone was reading. Aaron was far from pleased, but a bit later, after he'd had a shower, he came back down and told Paddy and Chastity that he was going back to work the next day. He seemed much more at peace with himself than he's been in a very long time.

Aaron: It's out of my hands. I can't change anything. This is the way its got to be from now on, whether I like it or not.

Well, Aaron is officially out. I think he's got a long way to go before he's truly okay with who he is, of course. Will he find someone special to help him with that? I for one can't wait to find out.

LuRe: Five in One

For the past two weeks, fate seemed to be conspiring to keep me from getting my LuRe fix, but I've finally managed to catch up with five episodes worth of Luke & Reid scenes on As the World Turns.

The first episode found the big day finally arriving- it was time for Noah's surgery. Luke showed up at the hospital for moral support and brought along Noah's video camera to document the momentous occasion. The two guys had a kind of sweet moment together on Noah's hospital bed before Reid walked in.When the nurse and Reid were taking Noah off for the operation, Luke asked Reid to take care of his ex and Dr. Oliver, clearly nonplussed by the closeness between Luke & Noah, snapped that this was what Luke had dragged him here for, wasn't it?

Luke & Katie chatted in the waiting room and Katie said that she thought that Reid liked living in Oakdale- and liked Luke- more than he'd let on. Luke mentioned Reid being rude to him again earlier and said that he thought the doctor had just been grateful for his help but that it had passed. Katie pointed out the obvious connection between Reid's rudeness and him having just seen Luke with Noah and said that she thought her roommate had become a bit more human lately and they both knew why that was.

Luke claimed to believe that living with Katie and baby Jacob had been what humanized Reid, and also suggested that working with Bob Hughes had probably helped, too. Katie thought that it would take more than friends and a cute baby to change someone like Reid, but Luke asked her to stop with the matchmaking while Noah was in surgery, saying that even though they weren't together he still loved Noah and wanted him to get his sight back.

In the operating room, Noah's blood pressure was high, but Reid got him to relax by telling him to think of all the things he'd see when he woke up. Noah noted that he'd finally get to see what Reid looked like and Reid joked about having a comb over, buck teeth and a potbelly.

Once Noah was under, he started dreaming about directing a film starring Luke and was zooming in for a close up on Luke's smiling face while he started to flat line.

Reid sought Luke out in the waiting room and broke the news that there had been some damage that hadn't shown up on the CAT scans or MRI, and that there had been complications. Luke asked if Noah was going to be all right, and Reid told him that there could be some brain damage and that they wouldn't know the extent of it until Noah woke up. Luke didn't take the news very well, and when Reid started talking about there always having been risks involved with the operation, Luke went off on him about his earlier arrogance about being the only one who could perform the surgery.

Reid countered that both Noah and 'Mr. Snyder' had been fully aware of the risks and Luke did not react well to Reid reverting to the old form of address between them.

Luke: Mr. Snyder. Really? After all of this, I want you to talk to me like a human being and I want you to talk to me like someone who gives a crap about what happens to Noah you selfish son of a bitch! What have you done?

Seeing such a passionate outburst from Luke was strangely hot, but it was tempered by seeing Reid's reaction. Eric Sheffer Stevens did a great job of using body language to convey the fact that Reid was very upset by what had happened and was falling back on his arrogance to cover it up. Reid was throwing the wall back up between him and Luke because he felt like he'd let Luke and Noah down.

Bob Hughes found Reid going over Noah's MRI results again, wondering how he'd missed something so important. Bob told Reid that he'd taken his responsibility to Noah seriously and that what had happened wasn't his fault. Reid continued to obsess over Noah's case, so Bob ordered him to leave the hospital and get some rest since Noah wouldn't be conscious for awhile.

Luke, meanwhile, sent Holden and Lily home, promising that he'd call them as soon as he knew anything. He then went to see Bob Hughes, who suggested he go home and get some rest and mentioned that he'd ordered Reid to do the same.

Bob reminded Luke that the surgery was what both he and Noah had wanted and that he shouldn't question that decision now. Luke rather bitterly noted that he'd trusted Dr. Oliver and his judgement and then stormed out of Bob's office and headed straight for Reid's place, where the good doctor answered the door shirtless (pics borrowed from Superherofan).
Luke demanded to know how Reid could have left Noah, asking if he even cared if his patient died. Reid told Luke that he'd been ordered out by his Chief of Staff and Luke wanted to know when Reid had started obeying anyone else's orders.

After all, he was the Great Doctor Oliver, and he never failed, unless he wanted to.

Reid: Excuse me?

Luke: Just tell me the truth. Did you do this to Noah on purpose?

The look of hurt on Reid's face was pretty intense. I thought Eric Sheffer Stevens really did a great job here.

Reid: Did I.. you're asking if..

Luke: Just answer the question!

Reid: Answer what? You want to know if I deliberately tried to harm your boyfriend while I was operating on him?

Luke: That's just it. Even though Noah and I are broken up and have been for awhile, you can't stand the fact that I still have feelings for him. You were so angry wen you saw him with his arm around me before the surgery.

Reid: What are you talking about?

Luke: You can't stand the fact that I haven't fallen at your feet. You don't understand it because you get whatever you want, whenever you want, and the fact that you haven't gotten me is driving you insane!

Reid: The only person insane in this room is you.

Luke tearfully accused Reid of having feelings for him that he'd let affect the outcome of the surgery.

Reid: After all the time that you've spent with me, the care that I've given to the man that you told me you loved, whether you're with him or not, you really think I have an investment in seeing him harmed? Or dead? That's who you think I am?

Luke (quietly, almost brokenly): I have no idea what I think about you. I have no idea who you are.

Reid: Yes you do. You can't look at me and tell me that you don't know who I am.

Luke: How did this happen?

Reid: I wish... I don't know.

Luke: You told me that you'd fix him. You promised. Noah couldn't handle being blind, so I gave him the one chance in the world he thought he had by bringing you here. And now this. If he's never the same again, if he doesn't make it through this, then I just...

Reid: You what?

Luke: I can't...

Reid: You can't what? You can't what, Luke?

(Luke kisses Reid)

What amazing scenes. Seeing Van Hansis take Luke from lashing out in anger to being on the brink of breaking down in tears and guilt for his part in Noah having the surgery, to finally facing up to his feelings for Reid, reminded me all over again of what an incredible actor he is. I think that working with Eric Sheffer Stevens just pushes him to be even greater. These are two truly talented guys, and these scenes would win them both Emmys if there was any justice in the world.

When the scenes picked up where they'd left off the next day, Reid began unbuttoning Luke's shirt while they kissed. Luke pulled back, wondering what the hell they were doing and reminding Reid that Noah was in a hospital bed. Luke though that they shouldn't have done any of this.

Reid: So, what, you kissed me out of anger? Out of fear?

Luke: Look, I don't know. Both, yeah.

Reid: I don't buy that and neither do you.

Luke: I've got to go.

Reid: Go ahead, run away.

Luke: I'm not running away!

Reid: You can't get out of the room fast enough.

Luke: Well I never should have come here! I never should have left Noah!

Reid: You can blame what just happened on your fear about Noah if that's what makes you feel better.

Luke: This is not about me feeling better.

Reid: Okay, then let's be honest.

Luke: How am I not honest?

Reid: Something has been brewing between us for a long time, and deep down you wanted it to happen just as much as I did.

Reid asked Luke to at least admit that this was true, but Luke said even if it was, Noah had to be a priority now for both of them. Reid pointed out that they'd been about to have sex, not move out of the state. If there was a change in Noah's condition, they'd both be there.

Luke said they couldn't be there for Noah if something happened that they couldn't take back. Reid reminded Luke that Noah had pushed him away and been unwilling to give him what he needed. He told Luke not to beat himself up for wanting to move on, but Luke replied that he couldn't do this and walked out the door.

Later, at the hospital, Luke sat with Noah and told him that he just wanted him to wake up so that he could do everything he wanted to do with his life. Reid came in to examine Noah and Luke tried to talk to him about what had happened between them earlier. Reid said they didn't have to talk about it, but Luke had to apologize for what he'd said about Reid wanting to hurt Noah.

Luke: I know that you'd never do anything to hurt Noah, no matter what your feelings were.

Reid: You're not all that, Mr. Snyder.

Luke: No, I guess I'm not. He was the first person I was ever in love with.

Reid: One's not such a low number.

Luke: I never thought I'd be with anyone except him.

Reid: That explains a lot.

Luke: So, yeah, about earlier-

Reid: You don't have to say anything about it. I get it Luke.

Reid told Luke that Noah's vitals were strong, but that they still wouldn't know anything for sure until he woke up. Luke asked if he should stay with Noah and Reid said that since there was a lot they still didn't know about states of unconsciousness, that sitting with Noah and letting him know he was there could help.

I really liked this scene because of the way it highlighted that Luke & Reid are relating to each other on a more mature level, and also the way that Luke spoke about Noah being his first love and never thinking that he'd be with anyone else demonstrated that he has started thinking that way now.

A day or two later, Reid woke Luke up in the hospital waiting room and told him that Noah was showing some signs of coming around and that they were going to run some tests. Luke started freaking out a bit about what they were going to do if Noah did have brain damage and Reid touched the side of his face, telling him to calm down.

Lily walked up in time to see the close moment between the two men and after Reid left she asked her son if there was something going on between the two of them. Luke admitted that Reid had told him he had feelings for him, and Lily was outraged that Noah's doctor would take advantage of Luke while he was worried about his ex.

Luke told his mother than Reid wasn't taking advantage of him and that he'd been completely honest with him the entire time.

Lily: So you're encouraging him? What about Noah?

Luke: Mom, we broke up. You know that. He said he needed his space, he couldn't have that with me there, so we ended things.

Lily: You said that Dr. Oliver has feelings for you. What about you? Do you have feelings for him?

Luke: Yeah, but I'm not really sure what they are right now. Reid's sure, though. (Lily makes a face) What?

Lily: I just can't imagine you with anyone other than Noah.

Luke: Yeah, I used to think that, too.

Lily: He doesn't seem like a very nice man.

Luke (an adorable grin spreading across his face): Dr. Oliver? He's not. He's rude and he's cold, and he's rude.

Lily: And you find that attractive?

Luke: No, it's just, he's in your face. He's like, 'Okay, here I am, and this is what I'm feeling, deal with that', and to have a guy like that, a guy who says exactly what he feels at all times, to have somebody like that say that the likes you, feels nice for a change.

Lily looked like someone had run over her puppy, indicating that she's clearly in the Nuke camp and not feeling the LuRe.

Luke asked why she was so sad and Lily told him that she wanted things to work out for him and Noah, and then the whole conversation became about how Lily and Holden were supposed to last forever, too, and didn't.

Lily asked if Luke wanted forever with Reid and he side stepped the question by saying he wanted Noah to wake up.

Luke went back in to sit with Noah, who of course has come out of brain surgery with a full head of hair like all people do in the real world. Noah promptly opened his eyes and Luke asked if he could see him.

Noah slowly focused in on his ex and then told Luke that he could see his eyes and that they were the most amazing thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Reid came along shortly afterward and asked Luke to step out so that he could examine his patient. Noah's vision was still blurry, but Reid assured him that it would improve with time. I have to say, Jake Silbermann was looking particularly hot in this scene, laying in bed with a tight gray t-shirt on. I think he's been working out even more than usual.

Noah went on about how Luke had made all of this happen by bringing Reid to Oakdale and how he'd been pushing Luke away and needed to make it up to him. Reid left the room, telling Luke that Noah was all his.

Noah asked Luke to sneak him outside so that he could see the world, so Luke took him up to the roof. Don't worry, folks, as long as you come out of brain surgery with a full head of hair, it's totally okay to be mobile within a few days!

Noah apologized to Luke for how hard he'd been on him and said that a lot of people talk about love, but Luke really does it, and Noah was grateful for that.

Luke told Noah not to apologize for not wanting to be with him anymore, that it happens sometimes. Noah said that it hadn't had anything to do with Luke, that he'd just been so afraid that he'd never see again. Luke looked decidedly less than enthusiastic to hear this, especially after Noah said that he knew they had a lot to work through but that he hoped that their relationship was strong enough to survive.

I'm sorry, I suppose I should feel some sympathy for Noah, but he's so selfish! He pushes Luke away for months, and suddenly he's got his vision back and just expects that they can still be together after all he put Luke through! Yes, Luke got a token apology, but come on!

Luke tried to avoid the issue by telling Noah to focus on his health, not on their relationship.

Noah: Okay, I know I may not be able to see the expression on your face, but I can feel it, somethings changed. What is it?

Luke tried to talk about everything had changed since Noah could see again, but Noah shut that down, saying that he could tell that something had changed with Luke, that he was being different with Noah.

Noah: So I'm asking, has the way you feel about me changed?

Luke: Yeah. It has.

Noah: Wow. I know I asked, I just never expected you to say yes.

Luke reminded Noah of how he hadn't cared that Noah wasn't able to see, that he'd just wanted to be with him, but Noah hadn't felt the same way.

Luke: Noah, I was in this one hundred percent. And I asked you, remember, all or nothing? And you chose nothing.

Noah: I know what I said then, but-

Luke: You told me to go on with my life and now you're acting like that never happened. What happens if you change your mind tomorrow?

Noah: I didn't push you away because I stopped loving you, because I haven't, I couldn't!

Luke: Who cares? When things got rough, you were you. You weren't us. And I know you were hurting, Noah, I was hurting too. But the difference is that I didn't abandon you.

Yes! I'm so glad that Luke is finally calling Noah on all of this. I was worried that as soon as Noah had his sight back and expected Luke to fall into his arms again, Luke would act as if all the hurtful things Noah said and did weren't important, would just give him a free pass. I'm so glad that isn't happening and that Luke is finally growing up.

Noah told Luke that when he couldn't see, he'd felt cut off from the world, but now that he had his sight back, he felt connected to Luke again. Luke explained that while Noah had felt like he was somewhere else, Luke had been right there the whole time, begging him not to leave.

Luke: Noah, we haven't been happy for a long time. I can't go back to the way it was before the accident.

Noah: I don't expect you to. I mean, I can't either. But I still want to be with you. We can find a new way to be together if you want to.

Luke: A few months ago, I think I would have known what that meant. Now I'm not so sure.

Before they could talk any further, Reid stormed onto the roof, a little ticked off that his patient was out of bed and up on the roof. Reid called Luke an idiot and said that while Noah had a reason for not thinking clearly, Luke had no excuse.

Reid examined Noah and went on again about Luke's stupidity. Noah remarked that he'd thought Reid and Luke were getting along better since their trip to Texas and then Luke walked in just in time to hear Reid telling Noah that he'd wanted something from Luke and now that he'd got it, he didn't have to fake being nice any more.

Luke demanded to know if that's all it was, if Reid had been using him, and Reid sarcastically said that he was sorry he couldn't be Luke's new best friend, but that at least he had Noah. After Reid left, Noah remarked that Reid was a great doctor but a lousy person, and then noticed how upset Luke seemed. Before he could put two and two together, though, Casey and Allison arrived for a visit.

Luke took the opportunity to give Noah a copy of his film and asked him to be kind if he didn't like his final edit. Noah took Luke's hand and promised to be as kind to him as Luke had been to Noah. Reid, watching through the window, saw the gesture, and came in demanding to know what part of 'the patient needs rest' they didn't understand.

Casey and Allison made a hasty exit and Luke offered to go so Noah could get some rest, but Noah wanted him to stay. Luke set him up with a portable DVD player so he could watch his film and then went out in the hall, where he asked Reid why he was treating him this way.

Reid: I'm sorry you don't like the way I'm treating you.

Luke: Look, it's just that I thought-

Reid: I'm being a responsible neurosurgeon, protecting my patient from his own reckless behavior. What are you doing?

Luke: What do you mean? I'm trying to support Noah, that's what he needs. I'm trying to be there for him.

Reid: No you're not. You're trying to make up for the fact that you kissed me.

Luke: We kissed each other.

Reid: But I don't feel guilty about it. You do. That's why you're pretending that you and Noah are star crossed lovers all over again.

Luke: I never said that.

Reid: You didn't have to. You're playing the devoted boyfriend to the hilt, it's sickening.

Luke: Are you jealous?

Reid: I don't have time to be jealous, okay? But just so we're clear, you're not helping your boyfriend.

Luke: Look, he's not my boyfriend! He's just-

Reid: He's what?

Luke: He's feeling better. Isn't that all that matters?

Reid told Luke that Noah still had months of recovery ahead of him and that turning his room into party central wasn't going to help.

Luke apologized for jeapordizing Noah's recovery, but told Reid that he was wrong if he thought Luke was spending time with Noah out of guilt.

Reid: But now that Noah's whole you want to pretend that none of it happened, right, forget that the whole thing went down?

Luke: I haven't forgotten.

Reid: Good to know.

Luke: Look, this isn't about medicine. You can't stand seeing me and Noah together, and you don't want to admit it.

Reid: I have an idea, Mr. Snyder. I think it would be best for everyone involved if you and I went back to the way things were before Texas.

Luke: What do you mean?

Reid: You need me to draw you a picture? Leave me and my patient alone.

Luke: I'm all Noah's got!

Reid: No, I am! I've been doing everything I can to give Noah his life back, which means that right now Noah needs me more than he needs you. I don't want you hanging around here anymore, I want you to stay out of my way.

Luke (getting in Reid's face): You're lying. This is not about medicine. It's personal.

Reid: No, it's not. Noah is my patient, you're his cheating boyfriend.

Luke: We are not back together! You know that.

Reid: Does Noah realize that?

Luke: Well, we're trying to work things out.

Reid: Good luck with that, Mr. Snyder. (starts to leave)

Luke (stopping him): No, don't call me that.

Reid: What do you want from me? Tell me. You want me to pretend that nothing happened between us? That's not the way I work. We both know it's not true (touches Luke's face).

At that point, Noah walked by, looking for Luke. It appeared that he was able to see a blurry image of Reid and Luke in that intimate position, but who knows for sure?

These were some truly great episodes for LuRe fans. I loved that they're making it quite clear that while Luke still loves Noah, he doesn't know if he really wants to be with him after everything that happened, and that he isn't at all willing to dismiss what he feels for Reid.

I've complained about this storyline quite a bit, and with very good reason, but they're finally doing something very right! The Reid/Luke/Noah love triangle makes for some pretty damn good soap opera. I can't wait to see what happens next, as long as it involves Luke and Reid living happily ever after and having at least one very hot onscreen love scene before the show ends!

HMS Daytime Continues to Sink

The Daytime Emmys are as big of a joke as daytime soaps themselves have become. The nominations were announced today and just confirm that this entire industry is content to run itself completely into the ground while maintaining the status quo.

Both Scott Evans and Brett Claywell were pre-nominated for their AMAZING work on One Life to Live (largely because new rules allowed them to submit themselves and not have to be pre-nominated by their fellow cast members), but neither received an actual nomination. In fact, One Life to Live, easily the best soap on the air over the last few years, was not nominated for Outstanding Drama Series or Outstanding Writing Team.

This is just a complete travesty and proves that the medium is dying for a very good reason. A show takes the time to write an incredibly groundbreaking story; they write it beautifully, they hire two outstanding actors who portray the characters perfectly; they hold nothing back, in fact, and give us a perfect example of what soaps could and should be like.

The end result? The network kills the story, fires the actors, brings in a hack like Jean Passanante to 'help take the soap in a new (read: old, tired, and badly written) direction', and the people who are supposed to at least reward the outstanding work of their peers completely ignore the entire thing, not even bothering to hand them a single nomination.

Brett Claywell himself had this to say on twitter today:

We tell a story that was groundbreaking and powerful, then lose my job and am overlooked for a nomination. Daytime is such a joke.

Way to fiddle while Rome burns, daytime.