Mason Morgan


Mason Morgan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Orpheus Pledger. The actor relocated to Sydney from Melbourne upon being offered the role. He began filming his first scenes in early December 2015. Pledger made his first appearance as Mason during the episode broadcast on 7 June 2016.
Mason was introduced to the show along with his three older siblings; Tori Morgan, Justin Morgan and Brody Morgan. Mason is portrayed as being a positive, family orientated "free spirit". He is studying to be a doctor like his sister, who he shares a close bond with. For the first few weeks after their arrival, Mason and his siblings concealed the fact that they were in witness protection. Mason was the first member of the family to reveal the secret, which resulted in them being held hostage.
Subsequent storylines for Mason have revolved around his romantic relationships with Evelyn MacGuire, Olivia Fraser Richards, and Beth Ellis, with the latter helping to bring awareness to organ donation in Australia. The character has also been used to show the effects of temporary paralysis, after he is injured in a car crash with his brother Brody. During the 2019 season finale, Mason is shot dead in a hospital siege.

Casting

On 5 December 2015, Jonathon Moran from The Daily Telegraph reported actors Orpheus Pledger, Jackson Heywood and James Stewart had joined the cast of Home and Away as brothers Mason, Brody and Justin Morgan respectively. The family drew immediate comparisons to the show's Braxton brothers, who were introduced to the show in 2011. All three actors began filming their first scenes during the following week, ahead of their on-screen debut in 2016. Pledger was living with his mother and brother in Melbourne when he was offered the role of Mason, which required him to move to Sydney, where the show's studios are located. Pledger said his 2011 role as Noah Parkin on fellow Australian soap opera Neighbours helped him prepare for the workload and the pace of filming. Pledger made his first appearance on 7 June 2016, alongside Heywood and Stewart.

Development

Characterisation and introduction

Ahead of his screen debut, Pledger described Mason as having a "positive outlook on life", being family orientated, and "a hopeless romantic". He also said Mason "leads with his gut and stands up for what he believes in and will always stick up for the little guy." Pledger later called his character "a free spirit" and a positive person to be around. The actor explained that following the death of their parents, Mason's siblings helped him to grow up and unlike them, Mason has not had to take on many responsibilities. Of the comparisons to the Braxton brothers, Heywood said the Morgans had a different dynamic, while Pledger added that family comes first for the Morgans. Mason is a medical student, who struggles to fit in a social life in between studying and working out in the gym. Pledger called Tori a good role model for Mason and as a result, they share a very close relationship.
Pledger shares some similarities with Mason, particularly his dedication to attaining his dream job. The actor explained, "I've done that in my life with acting. Maybe it's not the same formality as studying to be a doctor and having to do a seven-year introduction to it before you even start but, definitely, if I was passionate about it, I would definitely do it." The character's appearance changed in 2017 when Pledger shaved his "trademark" curly hair in favour of a shorter haircut. Pledger later said that he thought a shorter haircut was best for his character at that point, but that he was beginning to grow it longer for Mason again.
Mason, Justin and Brody, along with their dog Buddy, are almost involved in a car crash with Martin "Ash" Ashford while they are driving to Summer Bay to join their sister, Tori. Ash swerves across the road in front of them while texting. After coming to a stop, Justin immediately gets out of the car to confront Ash, and Brody and Mason desperately try to keep them from getting into a physical fight. The Morgans continue their journey to the Bay, where they find Ash talking with Tori and Alf Stewart on the beach and another fight almost breaks out, until Tori reveals that Justin, Brody and Mason are her brothers. Ash accepts that he was in the wrong, while Justin is glad his family have made it to the Bay safely. The siblings also wonder if they will be able to stay in their new home, leading to the start of their first major storyline.

Witness protection

An Inside Soap columnist observed that the Morgans had been hiding something about their past from the Bay's residents. They initially keep to themselves and Justin warns Tori against befriending local doctor Nate Cooper. Stewart explained that there were a set of rules that the Morgans had to live by, which related to their secret. While studying at home one day, Mason is visited by his former girlfriend Lara Adams. Lara tells Mason off for not staying in contact with her. Justin arrives home shortly after and finds Lara and Mason together. He orders Lara to leave, while warning Mason that he has compromised the family. Stewart confirmed that Justin's reaction had something to do with the family's secret. Lara comes to the hospital to see Mason, who asks her to leave in case she is seen. Later, while he is looking for Lara, Mason comes across an upset Evelyn MacGuire and he comforts her. Lara sees them together and assumes Mason is also dating Evie. In an effort to reconnect with Lara, Mason tells her that his family are in witness protection. Later that day, Brody mentions that he is being followed, so Mason admits that he told Lara about their secret. Justin decides that they need to pack up and leave.
After Tori is threatened by Spike Lowe, the family's police liaison officer Atticus Decker has them moved to a safe house. As they wait to find out where they will be moved to next, the family agree that they are tired of running from the people who killed their parents. When his siblings begin arguing, Mason slips outside to meet up with Lara. However, he soon learns that she is working for Spike and Blaine Varden, the man who killed the Morgan's parents. Spike and Blaine trick Mason into telling them where the safe house is and they hold the family hostage. Blaine produces a gun and threatens to kill them all, before revealing that Justin knew the truth about the circumstances that led to their parents' deaths. Mason is one of nine characters involved in a plane crash, after Spike sabotages a plane being used for Tori's birthday trip. Justin attempts to warn the pilot, Duncan Stewart, but a broken pipe leaks carbon dioxide into the cabin and everyone passes out. However, Duncan does manage to crash land the plane in the sand first. While most of the passengers escape major injury, Mason is "panic-stricken" when he realises that Brody is missing.
Later developments in the storyline saw the Morgans meet Decker's nieces Hope and Raffy Morrison. They soon realise that Raffy could be their half-sister, after Decker admits to having an affair with their mother. A DNA test confirms their suspicions, but before they tell Raffy, Hope steals Mason's car and attempts to leave town with her. The Morgans eventually tell Raffy she is their half-sister and that they had to go into witness protection because their parents were killed by drug dealers. The Morgan's secret is soon revealed to the rest of the Bay in the local newspaper.

Relationships

Evelyn MacGuire

Mason shares a drunken kiss with Evie after a night out. The following week, they have dinner together and Mason confronts Evie about her drinking and partying. However, instead of talking to him about her issues, Evie just kisses Mason again and they have sex. They agree to a friends with benefits arrangement. Mason becomes concerned when Evie insists that she survived the plane crash because her deceased brother Oscar MacGuire is watching over her. Determined to prove her theory, Evie takes Mason out in her car and begins driving recklessly, as she is convinced that she will not crash. Mason is "petrified" by her stunt and when they stop, he "lets rip at her". Mason eventually develops feelings for Evie, but she reacts angrily to his admission and tells him she is not interested in a relationship with him. A reporter for The Daily Telegraph noted the arrangement would not last long, after Northeast was photographed filming a kissing scene with Alec Snow, who plays Matt Page.

Olivia Fraser Richards

Producers later paired Mason with Olivia Fraser Richards and formed a love triangle storyline with her ex-boyfriend Hunter King. Mason shows an interest in dating Olivia and she is "drawn to him". Pledger told Alison Gardner of What's on TV that Mason "really likes" Olivia and readily accepts her invitation to accompany her to the formal. The pair soon learn that Hunter is also attending, and Mason realises that Olivia still has feelings for him. Olivia leaves Mason at the bar and begins dancing with Hunter, but she explains that she was just passing the time while she waited for Mason to return. Pledger continued, "As the evening goes on, it's clear Olivia's still into Hunter. Mason's had so much to deal with because of his family's problems that he doesn't need Olivia to bring him even more heartache." The following morning, Olivia visits Mason at the lifeguard station, where he is starting his new job, to tell him that what happened with Hunter meant nothing, but Mason replies that he does not need any more stress in his life. Later that day, Mason gets into a fight with Hunter. Pledger said that Mason "acts completely out of character" when he hits Hunter and is left feeling ashamed after Alf breaks up the fight.
Olivia asks Mason if they can start their relationship over, but Mason rejects the idea. However, when they attend the Summer Grooves music festival, Mason and Olivia kiss. Olivia later admits to Mason that she is worried about Hunter's decision not to return to school and he attempts to talk to Hunter, as he is annoyed that she is worrying about him all the time. The pair have to separated by Alf again, and Lee commented that while Hunter does not have a friendship with Mason, he wants to get better at dealing with things. Mason and Olivia are soon caught having sex at the Summer Bay Auto garage by Brody and Irene Roberts. When Mason comes to The Diner to help Olivia out, he notices she is acting strangely. He soon learns from Alf that Hunter helped Olivia at The Diner the night before, leaving Olivia feeling guilty she did not tell Mason herself. Mason then confronts Hunter and asks him if he wants to get back together with Olivia, but Hunter says no. Mason and Olivia's relationship becomes strained as he worries that she still has feelings for Hunter, and when she admits that he is right, but wants to still date him, Mason breaks up with her.