General Hospital’s Steve Burton Sounds Off About the Changes to Jason That Have Fans In an Uproar

Things have been getting a bit dark on General Hospital lately. And no, we’re not talking about the Willow/Michael/Drew drama! The war with Sidwell is bringing out the worst tendencies in Port Charles’ most prominent citizens, from Jason holding Marco hostage to Sonny going to war with his father.

And that’s gotten some fans a bit on edge. Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) chatted a bit about this in the latest episode of their podcast, Stone Cold and the Jackal. Anderson even mentioned how some folks feel like Jason’s becoming too dark; maybe even as bad as Sonny. The whole Marco hostage situation definitely had them worried! But not Burton.

“I just don’t know what that means exactly,” he replied, “because we can’t really forget what Jason’s job is. Fifteen years ago, nobody would have any questions about this at all.” Jason’s job, who and what he was, “was very clearly defined.”

He was Sonny’s enforcer. His hitman. And that meant getting his hands dirty and getting violent. But now, as Anderson pointed out, Jason’s doing that less than ever. And therein lies the problem, Burton pointed out. “That’s why I think people are having a hard time adjusting to it,” he said. “I don’t really do any of that anymore.”

In fact, when pressed, Burton had to struggle to remember the last person Jason killed. There was the sniper who was trying to shoot him on the docks when he first came back. “I feel like I’ve maybe shot somebody else, but I can’t really remember. “

And it’s not just Jason who’s pulled back. Things just aren’t quite the same as they were back during General Hospital’s mob heyday. Though that has swung back a little recently.

“I think they were trying to make Sonny, Sonny again — the old Sonny, compared to this Sonny — when he killed Jagger,” Burton mused. “I think they were trying to reinstate that edge. He’s in charge.”

And that was just fine with Jason’s portrayer. As far as he’s concerned, there “needs to be more of that, quite honestly, of Sonny in charge. Of Sonny going, ‘Hey, go take care of this problem.’ And I go take care of the problem. This is what we used to do. I don’t know if it’s been watered down, the power. Before, when Sonny would say, ‘Hey, go take care of this,’ the audience knew it would be taken care of. Now you’re just not sure if Sonny will follow through, or Jason’s going to say, ‘Hey, maybe there’s an alternative here.'”

At the end of the day, though, he acknowledged that nothing stays the same forever, and that includes people — both real and fictional. Ultimately, moving on is OK, “because there is progression in life and people do grow. Sonny’s talking about and I’m talking about getting out of the business.”

Whether or not that actually happens, though, is another thing. But you know that old saying? It’s always darkest before the dawn. Maybe we’re just hitting that darker point, before the light of day finally returns.