The veteran Lantern makes his return to the series through his 2006 backup.
In Lanterns season 1 episode 7, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) endures through his ring’s consciousness, revealing a striking reversal of his relationship with John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). Unlike their dynamic in 2016, a younger, kinder version of Hal now finds himself opposite the more foul-mouthed present-day John.
In the somber penultimate episode, the Halogram gives John a chance to understand, respect, and appreciate the man Hal was at his core.
The return of the ‘Halogram’ marks a new take on Jordan’s relationship with Stewart.
“The Jordan Boys’ Legacy” opens in 1975, where a young Hal (Henry Samiri) is punished by his baseball coach for not being a team player and for not letting go of the ball. His father Martin (Jake B. Miller) stands up for him, and gives him a key to a safe containing the ‘Jordan boys’ legacy’—something his grandfather also prepared before his death. Months later, Martin dies, after which Hal recovers the ball.
In the present, John catches up Halogram to the real Hal’s murder and that he is not the current Green Lantern. The backup remains distrustful of John after he catches a lie about his funeral. When he learns about Hal’s relationship with Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald), Halogram agrees to help only after he meets her.
The Halogram’s sameness and differences from his present day self are on full display.
For the most part, John resents answering Halogram’s demands. He refers to the backup as a tool, but takes out his anger for present-day Hal on him. He refuses to catch the backup to the present or his real self’s actions, and even raps to de-summon him. This Hal hasn’t fully succumbed to cynicism, though. There are still small moments between the two, such as Halogram complimenting John’s ability to keep him summoned without wearing the ring.
John visits Noah Macon’s (Shea Pritchard) hat ceremony to find Kerry. Halogram’s subsequent ‘reunion’ with the sheriff is tragically bittersweet. The sheriff reveals they shared a lot with each other, including Martin’s death and Hal’s feelings towards John as someone impossible to fully root against. Meanwhile, the backup lacks the history with somebody his counterpart grew so close to.
After walking away from the conversation, Halogram concludes Kerry killed him and they should open the device ahead of her.
The Manhunter’s sins return to light as Lanterns season 1 episode 7 explores its second-ever alien world.
At the vault, the Lanterns find a gun, a poncho, and an Einstein-Rosen bridge leading to a desert planet. They move to an abandoned tower before entering the bridge. John recognizes it as the planet of the late Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor), who recalls the Manhunters released a gas that instilled fear so strong that the people killed each other and themselves.
As they continue to explore the planet, John suffers a vision of his father (J. Alphonse Nicholson) and his younger self (Cairo Cash Lee), who yell at him for his cowardice and for never truly wanting to be a Lantern. After Halogram saves John from killing himself, they realize it was a hallucination caused by the gas in the rain.
As the Lanterns continue, Hal reveals his father killed himself. His safe contained money but also a confession that he believed his family would be better off without him. This cyclical pain was the Jordan boys’ legacy, and the real reason Hal’s fearless. The Lanterns wonder if Hal committed suicide, which Kerry covered up. At this moment, John apologizes, calling Halogram ‘Hal’ for the first time.
The Lanterns reach an island, entering a giant structure. The episode ends when they encounter Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen).
Another strong character-driven Lanterns season 1 episode sets up for the show’s finale and second season.
This episode clearly shows the setup for Lanterns’s second season. Noah Macon being a Manhunter, for instance, has yet to be confirmed or resolved. Sinestro as a Yellow Lantern is also being set up, given his appearance on a planet literally infected with fear. However, the episode still works amazingly as its own story.
Much like the last episode, the acting and character writing is what shines through, especially around Hal Jordan. Kerry’s acting shines through their scene even with minimal dialogue. Meanwhile, John vents his frustrations to Halogram, who in turn shares enough for him to understand who Hal was.
None portray better than Kyle Chandler himself. He describes Hal and Halogram as “What one was and what the other became,” respectively. Executive producer Damon Lindelof describes Hal’s cynicism as “who he is when he feels threatened.” Pierre says about John’s feeling towards Hal, “He may never understand all of the nuances of who this individual is, but he can discover who this man is at his core.”
Lanterns season 1 concludes on Monday, 9am PST.
