Luke is furious about Noah’s date and comes to Dr. Reid Oliver’s aid on “As the World Turns”

What I really loved about Friday’s episode of As the World Turns is that Van Hansis got the chance to remind us of what a superb actor he is.

There’s a reason he has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award three years in a row!

Things come to a head for Van’s character of Luke Snyder when he finds out that blind and very annoying ex-boyfriend Noah (Jake Silbermann) has a date with another guy.

“Look, it’s just easy to be with Richard … and I don’t feel any pressure to be the old me.,” Noah tells Luke. “… He doesn’t love me but he doesn’t try to fix me.”

Says Luke: “This sucks. … I want you to get what you need more than you will ever know but I’m not going to sit here and watch it happen.”

He storms out then later when he runs into the diner to get some takeout food, Luke sees Noah and Richard having their dinner and he is clearly angry and devastated. He’s made so many sacrifices for Noah only to be pushed away and now he feels the sting of rejection and possibly betrayal.

But as one door closes, another is opening if Luke lets it: He has come to the aid of Dr. Reid Oliver (Eric Sheffer Stevens) who finds himself  on suspension while a malpractice suit against him is investigated by the medical board.

It becomes clear to us that without the ability to be a surgeon, his life feels meaningless. It’s as if he is naked and gone is the sarcasm and ego.

“If I can’t work … you might as well shoot me,” he tells Luke.

Luke asks his grandmother to help out, she pulls strings and gets an emergency hearing scheduled. As the episode ends, Luke and Reid are jetting off to Texas together. What will happen in the Lone Star State?