LuRe/Nuke Day: Towel Boy

Last Thursday's episode of As the World Turns was a LuRe day (or a Nuke day, if you're so inclined, since Noah did have one scene) and even though there wasn't a lot going on for the guys, it was the first time we've seen Van Hansis showing some skin as Luke in a very long while.

Now, I don't mean to sound completely superficial here. You know by now, I hope, that I love soaps primarily for the storytelling (at least when it's good), but I'd be lying if I said that all the beautiful guys showing off their bodies wasn't some part of the appeal!

In fact, when the shows are as awful as almost all of the American soaps are right now, the hot guys can quickly become the primary reason for watching. There's a fine line to be tread, of course. Take, for instance, the late, not-so-great Passions, which was chock full of incredibly hot guys to distract from the worst plots ever seen on Daytime TV. The writing was so bad, in fact, that the guys hardly ever wore shirts at all and eventually you just became completely immune to how hot the actors were!

I think Van Hansis is an amazing actor, as I've said many times. I also happen to think he's incredibly sexy and the fact that he's only had a small number of shirtless scenes during his time on ATWT makes me appreciate them all the more!
Thursday's episode featured Luke and Reid sequestered in Luke's hotel room in Dallas, where they'd been rehearsing Dr. Oliver's testimony for the hearing before the medical board. Luke told Reid that while he had all the facts down perfectly, he needed to show a more human side as well, especially considering that this case revolved around the death of a child.

Reid argued a bit about not letting his feelings become involved in his work, but after Luke told him that he came across as cold Reid opened up about how the little girl had been the only one of his patients who, no matter how awful the treatment he'd had to put her through, always greeted him with a smile. He told Luke that he missed that smile.

I thought this was a great scene for Eric Sheffer Stevens. Luke was clearly moved by the way Reid opened up to him, but when he tried to reach out in return Dr. Oliver instantly became his snarky self again.

Luke pointed out that after all this time Reid still hadn't called him by his first name, always referring to him instead as 'Mr. Snyder', (I think that is awesome, by the way, because you know that first use of "Luke" is going to come at a pivotal moment for the couple and be a huge deal!) and noted that he called Noah by his given name.

Reid explained that this was because he and Noah had a clearly defined doctor/patient relationship. What, Luke wondered aloud, did that make him and Reid? An awkward silence followed before Reid thanked Luke for his help and excused himself for the night. Once they'd parted, each man paused for a moment of solitary thought, no doubt considering exactly what they wanted their relationship to the other to be.

The next morning, Reid knocked on Luke's door and Mr. Snyder, expecting room service, answered it wearing nothing but a towel. Oh, to be the bellboy he was expecting! (pics borrowed from Superherofan)
Reid played it remarkably calm and handed Luke some coffee with a comment about getting his butt in gear so they wouldn't be late for the hearing. As Luke headed towards the bathroom and dropped the towel (just as he was barely out of Reid's sight, of course) Dr. Oliver did look a bit hot under the collar.

When Luke was dressed and they were ready to head to the hearing, the two shared another nice moment when Reid mentioned that he appreciated Luke's help, even if he wasn't doing it because he cared about Dr. Oliver's career. Luke said that he did care, but before they could discuss it any further they were interrupted by a call from Noah, who was worried about where things stood with the hearing.

Reid assured him that it was just a formality and Noah said that he shouldn't have to go through the hearing alone. Dr. Oliver told him that he wouldn't be alone and promptly handed the phone to Luke. Noah expressed surprise that Luke & Reid hadn't killed each other on the flight and Luke, sounding more like he was trying to justify his reasons to himself than anything else, told Noah that if Reid lost his license, he wouldn't be able to perform Noah's surgery.

Noah thought that sounded just like Luke: putting aside his personal feelings about Dr. Oliver to help Noah. Yeah, because we'd all want to dump a guy like that, right Noah?

Luke told his ex that it wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be and then got off the phone, saying that it was almost time for the hearing. After hanging up, Luke told Reid that he was going to be great and the two shared another smile packed with barely concealed longing.

I can't wait to see things progress between these two! The pairing of Luke and Reid has ignited in a way that I thought ATWT was no longer capable of.

I can understand why Noah fans are upset, of course. As a few of the people who left comments have pointed out, the writers have gone out of their way to truly create an interesting, dynamic character in Reid, whereas the character of Noah never got anywhere near that much effort.

I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride, though, and hope they'll go all out with the LuRe pairing and end on a high note in September.