Who Was Patient 6 On General Hospital?

"General Hospital" has dabbled in science fiction over the years, including a massive storyline involving memory mapping — transferring memories from one living being to another — which has actually been performed in real life, per Silicon Republic. 

As Soaps in Depth explains, Dr. Arthur Cabot (Time Winters) performed clandestine memory transfer experiments on several Port Charles' citizens, specifically twins, without their knowledge. For example, secret agent Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) discovered she had some memories from her twin sister, Alex Devane (also Hughes), which led her to believe she was Peter August's (Wes Ramsey) mother. Other twins were involved in Cabot's experiments, too, including Ryan Chamberlain and Kevin Collins (both Jon Lindstrom). This group would later become known as Patients 1-4, but there was another pair involved that no one knew about at the time — and in 2017, Ava Jerome (Maura West) found herself up close and personal with one-half of the final duo, the mysterious Patient 6.

According to Celeb Dirty Laundry, Ava was severely burned after an altercation with mafia don Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). When she recovered, her face was horribly disfigured, so Ava traveled to the Boronsky clinic in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the promise that its doctors could restore her beauty. Her boyfriend at the time, Dr. Griffin Munro (Matt Cohen), was displeased that the clinic recommendation had come from the devious Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) and grew concerned when she left town (via Soap Central). Little did anyone know Ava was about to be dropped in the middle of Dr. Cabot's nefarious plot.

In Port Charles, Dr. Griffin Munro questioned the legitimacy of the Boronsky Clinic and their ability to restore Ava Jerome's looks after a colleague questioned why they hadn't published any papers on their so-called breakthrough (via Soap Central). Meanwhile, at the clinic, Ava saw a mysterious-looking patient in a wheelchair, wearing a mask, dark glasses, and a hoodie. She was told that "Patient 6" had been shot and fallen into open water — details eerily similar to how Nikolas Cassadine (then Tyler Christopher) had died.

Hoping against hope that Nikolas was somehow Patient 6, she inquired about why he was sedated so often. The doctor in charge of her procedure, Dr. Klein (Gene Farber), explained, "He's a danger to himself and to others. Especially to others. The man was subjected to a severe trauma, and his mind broke. He perceives anyone that comes near him as a threat, any gesture they make as an attack. He fights back. And Patient 6 is a formidable fighter." Klein claimed that sedation was more humane than restraining the patient all the time.

When caught trying to get Patient 6 to talk, Ava was told that he was a "dangerous psychopath" and she should never ask about other patients.

Ava Jerome eventually learned that Patient 6's sedative was a horse tranquilizer called Ketamine, and despite having that in his system, she caught him attempting to stand up. Ava considered blackmailing him with that information but knew she could be punished since she'd been warned to stay away from him by the doctors.

Since the clinic "only caters to the elite," Ava asked Patient 6 if he had a family, and he nodded but then shook his head when she asked if they knew he was there. She then wondered who could have put him in the clinic. Ava gave Patient 6 a pen and paper and asked him to fill her in on his situation. When he refused, she revealed that she'd overheard Dr. Klein on the phone discussing his sedation. Patient 6 then wrote down a phone number, and Ava recognized that the area code was from Port Charles.

Dr. Klein then came in and saw the two communicating, which prompted Patient 6 to stand up from his wheelchair (via Soap Dirt). The doctor instructed orderlies to subdue him, and after a brief struggle, he was restrained and handcuffed to a bed. Dr. Klein planned to have him moved and ordered all of his digital records to be expunged. Patient 6 tried to pick the lock on his handcuffs but dropped his paperclip — which Ava came in and picked up for him in a gesture of solidarity.

According to Soap Central, Patient 6 freed himself and instructed Ava Jerome to hide when a guard approached. Ava witnessed him jump the guard and knock him out, then asked him, "Who the hell are you?" Patient 6 didn't offer up any information about himself, so Ava wished him luck on his escape, and he told her that he owed her. After Ava left, Patient 6 removed his mask, dropping it on the floor. As he made his way out of the clinic, his face was finally revealed to viewers — and he looked just like Jason Morgan (Steve Burton).

Dr. Klein was horrified to find his guard chained to the bed and the mask on the floor. Realizing that Patient 6 had escaped, the doctor alerted security and ordered his capture. As a barefoot Patient 6 fled into the city of St. Petersburg, viewers heard Dr. Klein saying, "If we don't reclaim him tonight, we may never get him back." Patient 6 entered the back of a church and met a priest (Herman Sinitzyn) who spoke English. The priest offered to help him by giving him donated clothes and shoes but informed the mysterious man the train station he was looking for was several kilometers away. When the two heard a strange noise, the priest showed Patient 6 where to hide.

The noise in the church turned out to be Griffin Munro, who had made his way to Russia after being unable to get in touch with Ava (via Soap Central). Patient 6 lurked in the shadows as Griffin sat to pray. Eventually, he approached the man, mentioning he was also an American, and asked to borrow his phone to make a call. The person on the other end was the man who had been living in Port Charles as Jason Morgan (Billy Miller) for several years. They each asked who the other was, but the call was interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Klein's henchmen.

Patient 6 hid while the clinic guards asked Griffin Munro if they had seen anyone matching his description. He told them he had but that the man had run out of the church. After the lackeys left, Griffin asked Patient 6 if he knew where the Boronsky Clinic was because he was "looking for someone." Patient 6 gave him directions and reluctantly took the money that Griffin offered. The priest then returned with clothes and shoes for Patient 6. When asked if he needed anything else, Patient 6 said he needed to get home but didn't have a passport. The priest said he had a better mode of transportation than the train and asked Patient 6 where he wanted to go.

According to Soap Central, Patient 6 hid in the hold of a ship with a British man named Huxley Lynch (Trent Dawson), who was running from a bad business deal. Huxley showed Patient 6 a newspaper to prove he didn't work for Klein, and the other man was shocked to learn that five years had passed while he was in the clinic.

Upon returning to Port Charles, Patient 6, who believed himself to be Jason Morgan, found that everyone he knew had moved on without him. This included his wife Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco), who was now with a man who everyone thought was Jason. Though both men seemed certain of who they were, Patient 6 was eventually revealed to be the real Jason (via Soaps in Depth).

The other man turned out to be Jason's long-lost twin Drew Cain, and the pair discovered they were victims of Dr. Cabot's memory mapping procedure. Drew had unknowingly been implanted with his twin's memories, which explained why he believed himself to be Jason. They later learned that Drew had escaped from the lab where the experiment was performed and was hit by a car. Afterward, his face was reconstructed, revealing why the twins were no longer identical. Although Drew no longer looked like Jason, he still had his brother's memories.

Drew Cain and Jason Morgan were confirmed as Patients 5 and 6 in Dr. Cabot's experiment. After the real Jason returned to Port Charles, everyone had to adjust to the reality of two men with, essentially, the same brain (via TV Overmind). The transition was no easy feat as Jason tried to reacclimate to his life after five years away while Drew was forced to come to terms with a whole new identity. Not to mention, Sam McCall was put in the precarious position of deciding between two men she loved deeply and who were the fathers of her two children.

In 2017, Steve Burton was interviewed about his return to "General Hospital" on KNTV Channel 13 Las Vegas. He said he was excited about the Patient 6 story and would read ahead in the scripts to see what happened next. Morgan also explained he was humbled by the fans who supported the show and applauded his return. He also told Michael Fairman TV that there was no drama between himself and actor Billy Miller. He said Miller was "Gracious enough to call me when he got the role [of Jason Morgan]," and when Burton found out he was returning in 2017, he revealed, "The first thing I did was call Billy."

Now that Jason is presumed-dead yet again, fans hold out hope that he'll make another miraculous return someday.