How Will Jason Leave General Hospital? A Look at His Previous Departures From Port Charles
As Steve Burton prepares to take another break from General Hospital, where he has been playing Jason Morgan on and off since 1991, fans are already speculating about how the character will exit the canvas. Jason has previously left Port Charles of his own accord, but he’s also been presumed dead on more than one occasion. How will things play out this time, and how will his departure impact his current storylines? Does the past hold some clue to the future?
Born to Ride
Jason had grown closer to Liz (Rebecca Herbst) in the wake of Lucky’s apparent death, but in January 2000, he feared for her life and those of others close to him when mobster Joseph Sorel (Joe Marinelli) targeted his loved ones, even planting a bomb in Liz’s studio. She tried to insist that they could still be friends, but Jason wasn’t willing to put her or anyone else he loved in danger. He said tearful good-byes to Liz, his mother, Monica (Leslie Charleson), Carly (then-Sarah Joy Brown) and Sonny before hopping on his motorcycle and riding out of town.
Taking Care of Business
Liz was happy to see Jason again when he returned at the tail end of August 2000, but her boyfriend, Lucky (Jacob Young) — who hadn’t died, but only been held captive by Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) — wasn’t quite as pleased to see him again. Carly was thrilled by Jason’s return and attempted to spark something romantic with him, but he made it clear that he wasn’t interested and managed to persuade her to marry Sonny. After playing hero and rescuing Emily (Amber Tamblyn), Jason left town again in October to handle some dangerous business for Sonny in Puerto Rico.
Conflict Resolution
Jason turned up in Port Charles again at the end of January 2001 and hid out at Liz’s studio as his return was meant to be kept a secret. This naturally led to Liz keeping secrets from Lucky, raising his suspicions. Using her hypnotic control over Lucky, Helena got him to attack Jason with a knife, and Liz was shocked to come upon the two men brawling. Everyone found it hard to believe Lucky would hold a knife to Jason’s throat, and, witnessing another altercation between them, Liz again believed Jason the aggressor. After discovering a bomb in one of Sonny’s birthday presents, Jason realized he had to leave town again and asked Liz if she would come with him, but she declined.
A Watery Grave
Coming home again in May 2002, Jason remained in Port Charles for many years until his luck ran out one fateful night in 2012. When Duke sent Joe Scully Jr. (Richard Steinmetz) to kill Sonny’s accountant, Bernie, Joe shot Bernie, and then Jason shot Joe. Then, as Jason checked on a dying Bernie, Duke (Ian Buchanan) came up behind him and shot Jason in the back before kicking him off the pier into the water. It was later revealed that this wasn’t really Duke, but the evil Faison (Anders Hove) impersonating Duke with the help of a high-tech mask. Having recently reunited with Jason, Sam (Kelly Monaco) refused to give up on him and dove to search for his body herself, but only retrieved the phoenix figurine she’d given him earlier in the evening. Monica was heartbroken when Michael (then-Chad Duell) told her of Jason’s demise, even when he suggested there was still hope because they hadn’t found a body.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
In truth, Jason hadn’t died and he resurfaced (no pun intended) again in 2017, leading to the revelation that the man everyone had thought was Jason Morgan for the past three years was actually his twin brother, Drew Cain (then-Billy Miller). In 2021, Jason was able to use the Chariot tarot card to break Peter’s (Wes Ramsey) mind control on Drew (Cameron Mathison) so they could rescue Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) and Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) from Cassadine Island. But as they escaped into the tunnels, Peter began shooting at them, and when Jason moved to get a better angle to fire back, the tunnel collapsed on top of him. Robert (Tristan Rogers) and Anna (Finola Hughes) arrived with backup and took Peter into custody, but scans of the area where Jason had been buried showed no signs of life, and Britt was devastated.
Unfinished Business
Jason once again proved he was a hard man to kill when he turned up again in Port Charles in 2024, still very much alive, albeit under the thumb of the FBI. He’s currently concerned about his friend, Anna, who has suffered a mental break and believes that Faison is still alive — and that Jason is the only one who can stop him. In addition, he’s been establishing a stronger father/son relationship with Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) as well as feeling part of the Quartermaine family again. Unfortunately, Jason only recently managed to convince Britt that she could trust him and he wouldn’t let her down again as he promised to help get her out from under Cullum’s (Andrew Hawkes) thumb. Can he manage that before he leaves, or will he let Britt down again?
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