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To: GHR
From: Anita Komareth

The reason I am responding to you so belatedly about a situation that happened months ago is because I only recently discovered this site. I agree with a lot of what you had to say about character and/or plot developments, but I had to disagree about the pairing of Jason and Elizabeth. (This was in the issue in which you reviewed January 2000.)

First of all, I was tired of seeing Liz mope and cry about losing Lucky. I was happy when Jason came into her life. Rebecca Herbst is far too good an actress to be thrown into the background. I remember the night when Elizabeth went to Jake's, simply wanting to forget. I remember her desperate need to simply become who she used to be. I have watched this character from the beginning, and watched her develop from a bratty little girl into a mature young woman. I watched her that night at Jake's, trying to flirt with an older stranger and being saved by Jason. I liked their chemistry from the very second it began.

I have liked the Carly/Jason pairing, and I have watched it from nearly the very beginning. I have watched it go for months, and seen its effect upon the lives of other residents of PC. However, my like for the pairing was severely decreased by watching the pairing of Jason and Liz.

The differences in the pairings, I believe, are due to two things: 1) Jason shows different sides of himself when with one woman then with the other. 2) The differences between the two women are vast. With Carly/Jason I've noticed that Jason is always defending Carly. He is constantly making excuses for her, or lying for her. He even told Michael one time "Your mother loves you...in her own way." Carly's idea of love often includes lying, betrayal, and misguided attempts at turning a situation to her advantage. She called Jason a kidnapper, she accused him of emotional abuse in court, and she badmouthed him to AJ.

I understand all of these things were possibly done out to destroy the Qs however, and were misguided attempts at having her "family" back. However, it all blew up in her face. I think Carly has security issues: she is obviously insecure, because I think what she wants more than anything is to be wanted. She felt her biological mother didn't want her; she feels all the citizens of PC call her a tramp; she feels has to use betrayal to get what she wants. I think Jason understands this. Jason/Carly for me worked because Jason was perhaps the only one in PC who could bring out a likeable side of Carly. I didn't realize, however, the toll it was taking on him. Still I accepted it, because I felt Jason could not do any better. Carly seemed to be the only woman in PC he could be paired with--she had her down side, but she also provided him with love.

Then came Liz. It was strange watching a Liz/Jason relationship, partly because the Carly/Jason arc had been spinning for about two years. I watched the Jason/Robin relationship and noticed that it was a relationship of pupil to teacher. I know Jason loved her, but I also saw Robin patronizing him. I thought it would be better for Jason to be in an equal relationship with Carly than a patronizing one with Robin. But with Jason/Liz, I noticed that, for her, Jason didn't have to lie. I noticed she wanted nothing from Jason but comfort and friendship. I also noted that she was willing to stand up to all of the people who she loved, but who thought they knew what was best for her, just to defend Jason. He didn't ask her to; she did it because she genuinely cared about him.

I think that Jason realized that he didn't love Carly because he went from a relationship that was constantly compromised to a relationship that was completely open, and completely honest, between the two people involved. In your review, one of your editors states that Jason/Liz made Jason realize "Gee, Liz is nice--guess I don't love Carly after all." I disagree. I think it was more than Liz being "nice." It was that Liz was an uncomplicated, uncompromised friend to him when no one else would be. I think Jason realized how good this felt, and that he could never have this with Carly.

I view Jason/Liz as a sort of reverse Lucky/Liz. With Lucky/Liz, Liz was the only one who could help Lucky with the shame of knowing Luke raped Laura because she had experienced rape herself, while Lucky, being as gentle and sensitive as he was, was the only one who could offer Liz uncompromised, uncomplicated friendship. With Jason/Liz, Jason was the only one who could help Liz with the anger and shame of being controlled by those she loved because they felt they knew what was best for her because he had experienced being patronized himself. Liz, being as gentle and sensitive as she was, was the only one who could offer Jason uncomplicated, uncompromised friendship.

The departure scenes, I must agree, were a bit disappointing. I get the feeling that the editors were Jason/Carly fans. I can understand why you would want to see Jason kiss Carly. I, however, thought it unfitting. I think Jason learned from Liz that he didn't have to be in a relationship which was compromised or which he had to accept lies and betrayal. I don't view Jason/Liz as being a replica of Jason/Robin. I never on any occasion saw Liz patronize him; I saw it as an equal relationship based on truth, mutual learning, and respect. I thought it fitting that Jason say to Carly, "We are friends--the best friends in the world. I hope someday you'll be happy." I think Jason realized that he did care for Carly, but needed trust and respect in a relationship, something that I believe their relationship lacked. I don't think Carly will ever fully trust someone--not even Jason. I also liked that he wanted her to find happiness--just not with him.

I think Liz was a lot more than a "leach" to him. While I agree she was not nearly as important as Carly, I think what she represented--trust and respect--was. I saw it fitting that Liz ask Jason, "Do you know what it feels like to lose the one person who thinks you are in control of your life?" I saw Liz losing Jason as Liz losing Lucky, but in a different form. I don't believe she was in love with him, but I do believe she loved him. I believe he was, to her, someone who would respect her, take her seriously, and never judge her. I know that Jason, having known Carly for two years, should have had a longer goodbye with her, but I also found it fitting that Jason would kiss Liz's forehead. I think Liz made quite an impact on him in the short time that she knew him because she showed him respect and trust. I find him kissing her important, because where he kissed her (on the forehead) showed he loved her, but was not in love with her, and he did want to show her she had made a large impact on him. I also think Liz was very impacted by Jason in ways she is still dealing with now.

I agree the Sonny/Jason goodbye was very well done and provided some much needed closure to the relationship. I also found the parallels interesting: As Jason rode out on his motorcycle, ending a two-year relationship with Carly, a new one was beginning. This new relationship was shown by Carly taking a pregnancy test, and having it come out positive--this fueled the Sonny/Carly romance. I am pretty much satisfied with the way things ended for the characters and Jason seemed to me very in character. I am sorry Jason/Liz didn't turn to actual romance. I am glad Steve Burton is returning to General Hospital in August, and I hope to see a continuing Jason/Liz relationship, especially now that Lucky is alive.

Thank you for reading.

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