I know that a lot of people don't like this episode, you know, what with Luke seeming to choose Noah over Reid, and all that guilt-ridden, oh-my-God-I'm-scared jazz, but count me among those who love it. This could be due to the utterly ridiculous optimism that is one of my main personality traits. You show me a half-rotten strawberry and I'll show you food for the birds! You show me piss in a pot, and I'll show you the way the Romans washed their clothes! You show me a stupid, homophobic train-wreck, and I'll show you a Chris-Hughes-devouring heart and stupid hats in Malta. It is who I am! It can't be helped!
With that in mind, omg, I love this episode!
It begins with The Douche squinting in misery at the glorious and ridiculously hot sight of Reid and Luke making-out like they are going to combust in orgasmic frenzy. Noah has no idea what that kind of passion feels like, and is momentarily confused. A crazy turned-on Luke is something he's only contemplated in theory and with a great deal of apprehension and fear, which is why he'd avoided having sex with Luke for so very long, and had been oddly relieved when the sex had been pretty tepid at best. It's so much easier to stay in control of the relationship (and Luke) when he's not overly invested in the carnal aspects of it all.
*cough*
OKAY. SORRY. I might have gone a little off into some Noah-has-issues-and-sucks-in-bed land that has dubious roots in what was actually shown during the opening scene of today's clip. I'll try to focus. It's just...Noah sucks in bed and has issues, okay? Okay.
So! Noah gazes pitifully upon the hottest thing he's ever seen, and his dick twitches in response, but he tamps it down by deciding that a pity party is in order. He turns sadly to Richard, and asks who's in there with Luke, and Richard delivers his awesome lines: "That's your doctor, dude! Told you he was hot." Oh, Richard, you were too good for Noah. But who isn't?
Let's pause in my Noah-bashing for a moment to say: THE KISS! THE HANDS! THE GRAPPLING! THE HEAT! THE GUH!
Meanwhile, while Noah gets hit by a clue bus going 10,000 miles an hour round the bases of Luke Snyder's big gay pants, Reid has morphed from the vulnerable and shy Attack of the Science Nerd Guy to Mr. Sex On A Stick; he's in control of that mega-hot kiss, and he says the words to end all words, in a voice to end all voices: I wanna be alone with you.
That's Daytime TV speak for I WANNA FUCK YOUR BRAINS OUT OVER THE BACK OF YOUR MAMA'S LEATHER COUCH, AND I PROMISE YOU'LL LIKE IT!!!!
Luke doesn't say no, y'all. He. Does. Not. Say. No. djflkdjfkladjfkldjflkajflkjdflkdjasfkl!!!!
SLOW KISS:
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Direct link:
http://youtu.be/oUxnmuaBje0 And then Luke sees Noah outside. The Douche. Always the party pooper. Always bringing the room down. *sigh*
Reid does the sexiest thing, though. Well, several sexy things:
a) he puts his hand on Luke's chest, kind of possessively, but also protectively it seems to me, and,
b) tells him to be relax, (and mentions shapes and colors, everyone drink!) and,
c) turns to wipe Luke's spit off his lip as Luke heads to the door.
It is canon, y'all that the reason Reid doesn't follow immediately is because he's adjusting his cock, so that he doesn't go out there with a massive hard-on distorting his pants. JSYK. As for Luke, I guess his hard-on shrank the moment he saw Noah -- so, you know, the usual for him. Poor guy.
Luke goes out and lies, saying that he didn't know Noah had been released, and poor Richard waves awkwardly as he greets Luke. Love poor Richard. Noah says he knows that Luke's not alone because he can see shapes and colors (DRINK!!!) and Luke looks guilty and anxious.
I'd love to know more about what Luke is thinking here. Probably a lot of blind panic. (Ha! Blind! I could've said Shapes and Colors Panic and we could all drink!) A lot of guilt. I think it was in last week's comments that the brilliant
peggin pointed out that Luke may have broken up with Noah, but there does seem to be a part of him that doesn't actually feel free from Noah (in other words, he does feel like Noah's cheating boyfriend) until Noah actually ends things with him. I can see that.
Reid comes out, says hey, and Noah makes a good choice for someone who just saw their ex-boyfriend making out with someone else, he tries to leave. But then Luke does the most irrational thing of all time and asks Noah to go get celebratory drinks with him. You can see Reid look at Luke like he's lost his ever-loving mind.
Noah then says, "Drink? Luke, you're not drinking again are you?"
And while most of me wants to just say that's a douche move, and it is, to out Luke's alcoholism to Dr. Oliver and Richard like that, and you can see that it momentarily makes Luke uncomfortable, I can also understand that in Noah's mind this is a perfectly reasonable explanation. After all, the last time he caught Luke making-out with an older guy, he was intoxicated. Still, okay, my attempt to be generous to Noah failed! DOUCHE MOVE! Pull Luke aside, ask to talk in private, but don't announce to all and sundry that your ex is an alch-y, okay?
And then Noah joins Luke on the irrational bus by asking Reid to join them for the drink, though...well, it's a bit different because it's got a tinge of maliciousness to it, what with Noah keeping the fact that he can see from them. Reid at first declines, since, ya know, that is the most rational thing to do in this cluster fuck of a situation. And then the Oakdale air gets to him, and he allows Noah to convince him to come along.
Well, we all know Reid went along because GAME ON, DOUCHEY and all that. I mean, he's not going to walk out right this second, is he? To do what? Go back to Katie's and clutch his moping-pillow while he imagines all kinds of things? No, of course he had to go and see for himself what was said and done, and see if Luke had truly meant it when he kissed Reid.
I also think that part of Reid didn't want to leave Luke alone in all of this. You know, part of being in something with someone is to go be part of any fall-out for it, too. (Uh, note to Noah!!) So, I think it was more than just keeping his foot in the door, but also a bit of caring about how Luke is feeling and not wanting him to deal with it alone. (Though, yeah, foot in the door is another huge reason.)
In the next scene at Yo's, Luke says he can't keep on lying to Noah (who is currently having no problem lying to Luke about his sight) and Reid says to call off the charade then. It seems pretty clear to me that Reid thinks that Luke's moved on to him at this point. I think that he sees Noah as basically out of the game for the most part. From his point of view, it's clear that Noah's not wanting to be in a real relationship with Luke, and Luke's just kissed the hell out of Reid (again?), with all the seeming intent of starting something with him. So, I think he's under the impression that they're on their way.
But, well, Luke's wigging out. He's looking at the devil he knows and comparing it to the terrifying (but sexy as hell, neurosurgeon, genius) devil he doesn't know. I can't really blame Luke for that. *Rhi puts on her 'let's get personal' hat* Anyone who has been in a long-term relationship can tell you that there are temptations, there are people who seem like maybe, just maybe they would be worth giving up what you have in order to give it the old college try with them instead, and you take a look at your life, and the person you're with, and you measure the risks, and you make your choice. For me? I've always chosen to stay.
Of course, my husband isn't an abusive douche, but bear with me.
When Luke is looking at his options, here's what he sees:
Option A: The Douche: a man he's been in love with for two years,whether we want him to be or not, who has been telling Luke for months that once he gets his sight back things might be like they were before between them. Luke also has a lot of guilt and responsibility associated with Noah. He feels bound to him by hope and ridiculous optimism. (Hey, I relate to that!)
Option B: The Hot Doctor: a man he barely knows, who has touched him emotionally, and ignited passion in him (like he's never known, imo), and made him feel amazing, and special, and attractive, but...there must be a large part of him that feels doubts. Is the attraction just because things have been so hard with Noah? And if things there got better with Noah, maybe Luke would find that this attraction was just superficial and not as deep as what he could have with Noah. And maybe it's also super terrifying to be swept into something this impulsive and passionate and sudden and fast. I can't blame him for looking at the brightness and thinking that he might go blind.(Or, ya know, just see shapes and colors.)
Um, wow, sorry. I'm off the path again, aren't I? MOVING ON.
Richard confronts Noah asking when he's going to let Reid and Luke know that he can see, and Richard is treated to the now patented Noah-douche-treatment, and basically told to scram. Oh, and thanks for the ride. Poor Richard.
In the meantime, Luke says to Reid that he's not sure that now is the time to tell Noah about "what is going on between us, I mean, if it even goes anywhere." And Reid's, "You don't think it will?" Gah. Kills me. He's clearly disappointed, and even surprised, which, again, makes me think that he's there under the impression that he and Luke have initiated something, and Noah is done.
Then Luke destroys Reid's fragile hope by saying that, yes, he has feelings for him, but he's still in love with Noah. Reid is gruff in his hurt, and says that Luke has a decision to make and walks out. *heavy, sad sigh*
Okay, I have a hard time recapping the next bit, because ugh. Noah. (Also, LOL! Recapping! I think I longcapped this!) All right, I'll try.
Luke lies and says that Reid got paged, and Noah says it's just the two of them, and Luke is uncomfortable, so Noah gets started on his emotional manipulation/guilt and says, "Why is that so awful?" And Luke rushes to reassure him, no, no, of course not. Now they can talk.
Luke tells Noah that he knows things were rough between them for a long time, since even before the accident, but he wants Noah back. A lot of people call this pure guilt, and I think it plays a role, but I honestly think that is more about fear than anything else. I think Luke is choosing safety/familiarity, and maybe even what he thinks he deserves. I think the line where he says, "I want things to go back to the way they were before everything got so crazy" is key. It is the main reason, imo, that Luke says these things. He's young. He's in scary waters. I can understand that.
Noah is suitably shocked by Luke's proclamations given what he saw Luke doing with Reid. Luke's response is so typical of Luke, "You can see?" The focus is on Noah's sight. Because Luke always puts other people first. And notice that Luke never makes a big deal out of the fact that Noah lied to him, and sat there watching him, letting him think he could still only see shapes and colors (drink!), whereas if the tables had been turned? Noah would've made a big, fat deal over that, you just know it.
Anyway, I actually totally and completely adore their conversation here. I love Noah pointing out that things looked intense between Reid and Luke. I love Noah demanding to know if they'd slept together, and then bringing up Dallas specifically as a possible time that could have happened. I love that Luke honestly didn't sleep with Reid (yet), and I adore Luke's wide-eyed, terrified expression as Noah interrogates him. I love his face when Noah says exactly what I think: "I'm not going to be your safe choice, your fall back guy."
Something I find interesting about Noah is that sometimes he does peg Luke exactly. It's just that his emotional spin on it is different from mine. He finds it to be a bad thing that Luke is turning to him out of a desire for things to not be so crazy (overwhelming, intense, passionate, unexpected) and I suppose he would, given that it means that Luke doesn't really want him. I, however, find it awesome that Luke's so scared of the intensity of the world-view shake-up that he's undergoing due to the intensity of his feelings for Reid and the end of his innocent love-with-Noah-is-forever loyalty, that he's momentarily turning back to what's familiar, even if it's not what's best for him, or what even feels the best to him. It's all about the optimism, kiddos. You show me Luke declaring his love to Noah, and I'll show you Luke terrified of how hard he might fall for Reid.
Thankfully, Noah's a douche, and Luke holds his coat to his mouth in this gorgeous, stunned way that kills me. LUKE = LOVE. Confused, terrified, stupid-choices love at the moment, but LOVE all the same.
Then we have Luke doing something that seems kind of cruel, but is, to me, indicative of just how much he's already come to rely on Reid for reality checks, and ego boosts, and just being a kind of touchstone that Luke desperately needs as he transitions out of his old life and onto a new path. Luke goes to Reid's apartment.
This scene kills me in so many ways. When Luke first arrives, you can tell that Reid thinks that maybe Luke has chosen him. He's nervous, tense still, but there's a kind of readiness to him, too. And then...and then Luke makes it abundantly clear that, no, he'd tried to choose Noah, but Noah (thank God) wouldn't let him. And you just see Reid go hard, and walls slam down, and his voice goes all gruff with hurt. (GUH!!!) And he does that face/nose touch/wipe thing he does when he's anxious, or trying to act like something hasn't hit to the core.
And, as for Luke, I ache for him, too, because he's here at Reid's because some huge part of him knows that only being close to Reid can make this right, can make him feel better again, but he doesn't know why. And he has to logically know that coming there, asking Reid to commiserate with him is the wrong move to make, that it's borderline cruel, but his own need for Reid just obliterates that. Stupid, stupid, denying, lovable Luke.
And then Reid does just what he should do. What any man with any self-respect would do. He kicks Luke out. I admit, I applauded. Go, Reid! And, oh, Luke. :( BB, you need to search your heart. I know what you'll find. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Uh, finally, the actual clip! Here you go!
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Direct link:
http://youtu.be/W_bFwUnTqsQ Oh, and, in addition, this part of the storyline always makes me think of this vid by lilrippy:
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Direct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqGN6_kUQT8&feature=player_embedded