I. Jason Says Good-bye (1/17)
Jason: "Permanently. It's my turn to disappear."
Sonny: "Oh. Well, I understand, you know. I mean, after what I did--"
Jason: "No, no, no. That's not why I'm going."
Sonny: "That's the first time you ever lied to me."
Jason: "I don't lie to you, Sonny. Look, I hate that you slept with Carly, but I don't hate you. I never could. Sorel's using Elizabeth to get to me and he's using me for an excuse to go for you. To keep her safe, to keep the peace, I have to go."
Sonny: "There's an alternative."
Jason: "What, what, the F.B.I. watching every move you make? We got lucky with Moreno. It's not going to happen again."
Sonny: "You came here to tell me that I'm losing my right hand because of that bastard? That's not--that's not acceptable."
Jason: "Sorel is only part of it. Carly's starting to use Michael against me."
Sonny: "Oh, see, I knew it. You know what? You got to understand about--"
Jason: "Sonny--"
Sonny: "She's going to--"
Jason: "Hold on, Sonny. She's sorry. Just like you. But you got to understand--Carly does not comprehend when to give things up. She--she knows that I can't turn Michael away, so she keeps bringing him to me. And I know it's confusing this kid. And sooner or later, you know, A.J.'s going to find out."
Sonny: "Since when do you give a damn about a.j.?"
Jason: "He is Michael's father. Carly won't sleep with him. She's doing everything she can to destroy a.j., and a.j. hates her for it, and Michael is stuck in the middle."
Sonny: "How will any of this be any better if you leave?"
Jason: "Because Carly thinks that she's fighting for her family, that somehow the three of us are going to end up together, and it won't happen. If Carly and Michael could walk out of the Quartermaines' tomorrow, I could not love Carly the way she wants me to. We're only good as friends, but she can't see that. So if I stay here, she's going to keep fighting to be with me. And if I go, you know, she'll start paying attention to Michael and she'll do what's best for him."
Sonny: "So you really think it's better for the kid to be in that house with nobody to depend on but Carly?"
Jason: "No. But it's better than Michael being torn in two, which is happening right now. Look, when you left, I didn't agree. But I accepted it. Now I need you to do the same for me."
Jason: "Power of attorney for my share of the warehouse. E.L.Q. stocks. I got--I got everything in trust for Michael. Along with the apartment. Here's the deed, the key, and most of my legitimate cash. You're the trustee."
Sonny: "You sure you don't want somebody else--Alexis, maybe Mike?"
Jason: "No, you're the only one I trust."
Sonny: "All right. Anything else?"
Jason: "Yeah, Sorel--once he finds out that I'm gone, he should back off Elizabeth. But if he doesn't--"
Sonny: "I'll look out for her. Yeah, I'll look out for her."
Jason: "And just take it easy on Carly. I mean, when she finds out I've left, she's going to want you to find me. Just, you know, try not to rip each other up too much. Neither one of you are as bad as you think."
Sonny: "How can you say that after what we did to you?"
Jason: "I say it because I know."
Jason: "This is for--it's for Michael. Um--ahem. I'd like you to give it to him when he's old enough to understand. I want you to watch out for him and make sure he's ok, and if he's not, you find me because I believe in my heart that this is the right thing to do. But if I'm wrong, I need you to take care of my son."
Sonny: "I will. You have my word."
Jason: "Thank you."
Sonny: "Will you stop thanking me? What the hell have I ever done for you? I brought you into a life that I knew damn well could get you killed. I let you do my dirty work. I send you out to get shot for me, and when your back was turned, I, uh, slept with your woman. I got to tell you something, Jason. I turned out to be the worst enemy you ever had."
Jason: "You know, you sat over there once and you asked me if I could forgive. You know, and you said you couldn't because you never learned how. I learned. I forgive you."
Jason: "All I want in return is for you to forgive yourself."
Sonny: "I've never forgiven betrayal. How can I forgive it now? You're my best friend. You were loyal to me. You risked your life for me."
Jason: "Like you risked yours for me. It's all right. You made a mistake. You're sorry. That's enough."
Sonny: "Yeah. It's good you're going, though, you know? I mean, not for me but for you. You got to see what's out there. Maybe you'll find something better than you ever dreamed of, maybe you'll realize this is where you should be after all, but you got to go and try. Right? Otherwise, you'll wonder, you know, if it could've been different."
Jason: "Yeah, I grew up here. Couldn't say that before. It would've meant admitting how little I knew when I woke up. You know, I always said I wasn't a kid, but I was."
Sonny: "Smartest, most talented kid I ever saw."
Jason: "I learned from a lot of people. But most of all from you. I mean, you taught me that I was worth something. You taught me to believe in myself. Wherever I go, whatever happens, you gave me my life. And you're the only father that I'll ever have."
Sonny: "Don't you die on me."
Jason: "Don't die on me. Give me your word."
Sonny: "You got my word. Go ahead. Go. Don't look back."
Jason: "You going to quit giving me orders?"
Sonny: "Yeah."
Jason: "I get to miss you if I want."
Sonny: "Yeah."
I couldn't stop noticing that Sonny wouldn't look Jason in the eye. I also think that this was the first time they'd mentioned what happened in a direct way. I loved their goodbye, and I loved request for Sonny to forgive himself. Jason's "I learned" was the summation of his character, I thought, delivered in that practical way he has about him. Sonny grew more and more choked up, while Jason remained calm. But we didn't get a hug! Jason only patted Sonny's shoulder.
Jason also gave Johnny a card--or maybe an envelope of cash. I thought it was nice, but I also thought it showed how far Jason has come in the manners department, since there was a day not so long ago when he wouldn't have known what a gift was for. And besides, I love Johnny.
Sonny: "'I, Jason Morgan, do hereby appoint my business partner and friend, Michael Corinthos jr., as trustee of all my property, both real--' [knock on door] '--and personal.' yeah?"
Johnny: "Hannah Scott to see you."
Sonny sat at his desk to read the papers Jason left him, and he paused before he read the words, "and friend." Maurice Benard makes some beautiful, subtle choices as an actor, and sometimes that goes unnoticed for all the scenery chewing and Brando-esque mannerisms. This day was great stuff. Then Hannah arrived. Blah.
At this time, Carly was sitting on her bed waiting for the pregnancy test results, by the way.
Sonny: "You know, miss agent Scott, out of all the times you could come by, this is--this is probably the worst."
Hannah: "There's something you should see. Your F.B.I. file. The complete record of everything that they have on you."
We cut from Carly and AJ fighting to a shot of Sonny at the window. He came to sit in the chair at the head of the dining table, and then the shot moved slowly closer into his face until it filled the frame.
II. Taggert Comes Looking for Jason (1/20)
Sonny: "Go ahead. Check his door. Do a stakeout 24/7. He's not coming back anytime soon. He split."
Taggert: "Well, good things come to those who wait. One down. One to go."
Taggert: "Actually, I'm feeling kind of sorry for you, you know? Coffee business is never going to be the same. You don't have a lot of friends. I mean, do you have any friends at all?"
Sonny: "I'll manage."
Taggert: "Maybe."
Sonny: "Brownie?"
Taggert: "Then again, maybe not. I mean, Morgan's a hard act to follow. Who you going to get to take those bullets for you now?"
We cut from Taggert's line to Hannah. I could only hope, at this point. Besides, we'd get great grieving and vengeance stuff from Roy if she died....
III. Mike Comes Looking for Jason (1/21)
Mike: "Look, if he's hurt or he needs something--he's been a hell of a friend to me, and I want to help."
Sonny: "Mike, he's gone. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Mike: "For how long?"
Sonny: "He didn't say."
Mike: "He just left? I mean, no good-byes, no way to reach him?"
Sonny: "That's the way Jason wanted it. He had his reasons."
Sonny: "I finally--I finally learned something, Mike. The greatest pain in the world is hurting the person who's closet to you. You can't fix it. You can't even look at it, so you leave. As you know. Or worse, they leave."
Mike: "No one was more loyal than Jason. I mean, he would never, never desert you unless you sent him away. I mean, did something happen between the two of you?"
Sonny: "Like I said, Mike, Jason didn't give a lot of explanation. He did tell me to tell you whatever note you gave him, he ripped it up, threw it away. Whatever you owe him, you don't. Now, I got a--I got a meeting with a coffee broker, and I'm late, so I need to get out of here."
Mike: "Look, just give me a cell phone number. Maybe I can smooth things over. You know, when you were gone and he was running the bike shop, sometimes he'd listen to me."
Sonny: "No, no, Mike. This is not what you think it is."
Mike: "Let me try."
Sonny: "There's nothing you can change."
Mike: "I can try, Michael."
Sonny: "We've discussed--I don't want to get upset here. We've discussed enough already. What I did, I have to live with. And so does everybody else. Could you just lock up when you leave?"
I wish I could give an accurate count of the times we cut from Sonny to Carly on some appropriate line about kids or him doing people wrong.
From Terry's Update:
"Sonny's on the phone to Benny about Roy picking up the casino profits. Mike shows up, wanting to know why Jason has disappeared and what he can do for Jason."
"Sonny and Mike talk about Jason. He wants to know how to contact Jason, and volunteers to try to smooth over whatever has come between the mobster and his former second-in-command. Sonny tells Mike to drop it. (A signature exchange that ranks up there with 'it's my house,' 'I gave it to you.' If Mike and Sonny talk for more than 10 minutes, Mike is going to get concerned about something bothering Sonny and Sonny is going to tell Mike to stay out of it.)
Sonny has to leave, claiming he'll be meeting a coffee broker. 'What I did, I have to live with, and so does everybody else,' is his parting shot.