Episodes 1-5 of Lanterns explores a galactic mystery in a small-time town.
The third show of DCU’s Gods and Monsters chapter is more than halfway done, but still manages to bring suspense and mystery. The show features Green Lantern Corps recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) training under the superhero Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler).
Interestingly, this series on intergalactic enforcers mostly takes place on Earth, rather than in space. Lanterns offers a fresh take on the Western and buddy cop genres in a superhero setting, grounding the machinations of a galactic conspiracy in a town filled with very human characters.
Episode 1 of Lanterns: “Pilot”
Lanterns opens with a young John who idolizes Green Lantern. His father John Sr. (J. Alphonse Nicholson and Sherman Augustus) instills fearlessness into his son by shooting apples off his head. As an adult, John is a reserve Lantern under Hal, who is far more jaded than his backup consciousness in the ring from 2006. The backup directs them both to Rushville, Nebraska.
They discover the aftermath of a mass shooting which Hal suspects is related to aliens. Their investigation is stifled by the local Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald), who arrests a suspect and keeps Hal away from when he gets himself arrested to interrogate them. It’s not until Kerry’s father-in-law William Macon (Garret Dillahunt) bails Hal out that they can finally interrogate the suspect. Their relationship is complicated when John discovers his wife Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan) is a woman he hooked up with.
During the interrogation, Hal confirms the suspect is an alien. It tries to blow itself up, only for the Lantern to contain the explosion. In a flash forward to 2026, Kerry calls John over to Rushville to discover a deceased Hal.
Episode 2: “Trust Fall”
Back in 2016, Hal instructs John to retrieve his Lantern in Coast City to recharge the ring. While John cannot fly, he manifests a bird to keep alive. However, aliens led by Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor) abduct John. They explain Rushville is harboring a genocidal alien species called a Manhunter. They coerce John into discovering the alien in 48 hours or they will destroy the town.
Meanwhile in Lanterns episode 2, the ring’s energy depletes, leaving Hal powerless. Despite this, he discovers Rushville has advanced technology for detecting aliens. He confronts Macon and his militia on where they got the technology, but receives no concrete answers. When Hal refuses to leave, snipers shoot and hospitalize him.
When Hal and John reunite at their motel, they realize Hal’s predecessor Abin Sur brought the Manhunter to Earth before dying. Hal notes the bird remained manifested, pointing to John’s immense willpower, before flying off-planet. He visits an imprisoned Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) for information on Manhunters.
Episode 3: “OutKast”
Flashbacks reveal after Abin Sur’s death, John Sr. failed the Ring’s test to become a Green Lantern, traumatizing him and ruining his life. His wife Bernadette (Jasmine Cephas Jones and Nicole Ari Parker) is visited by a Guardian of the Universe, a founder of the Green Lantern Corps. The Guardian, Lianna (Laura Linney), offers John Jr. a chance to become a Lantern. His parents train him to become fearless in different ways, from shooting apples off his head to military training.
Later in adulthood, John is a fully-fledged Marine. He is assigned an assassination mission which he spends 9 months on, only for Hal to intervene and capture the target. To prevent conflict with the Russians, John is dishonorably discharged. His mother enrolls him to art school, where the Guardians interview and recruit him.
John ultimately becomes Hal’s replacement, rather than a trainee. The veteran makes it clear he will not give the ring to John until his death. The episode recontextualizes Hal and John’s relationship greatly.
Episode 4 in Lanterns: “The Weenie”
During his talk with Sinestro, Hal acknowledges John’s purpose as his replacement. His old mentor suggests the Guardians will keep him if he delivers the Manhunter. When he returns, John identifies a compound—or as he and Walt Disney call it, a ‘weenie’—he believes the alien is hiding in. They bring Kerry into their schemes, theorizing Macon’s benefactor is the Manhunter. Lianna privately visits John, who urges him to recite the Green Lantern Oath to officially replace Hal the next time he takes the ring.
At night, John takes the ring and tunnels into the compound. However, militia guards nullify the ring’s power and capture them. There, Macon implies the Manhunter is his benefactor and protects Rushville against all alien threats, including Lanterns. Kerry takes the pair out and to the motel.
After their near arrest, Zoe hooks up with John before supposedly dying to an orbital laser. Kerry traces the technology to Hector Hammond (Jason Manuel Olazabal), who they suspect to be the Manhunter. Hammond threatens to kill John’s parents, but Hal calls his bluff and forces him to admit he is a decoy, who identifies Macon as the Manhunter.
After John calls Antaan to Rushville, Hal confronts him on the truth—Zoe is the Manhunter and withheld this information. Afterwards, he jumps from the car and leaves John to crash.
Episode 5: “Lights Out”
After the crash, Hal leaves John for dead in an explosion. Zoe saves and heals him in the hospital with alien technology. As they talk openly, John reveals he never trusted the Guardians for not letting Hal know the truth, and that they created the Manhunters. Zoe confirms this, describing the Lanterns as her kind’s replacement. John realizes Abin Sur spared her only to kill him, just as she leaves to kill Hal.
Meanwhile, Hal meets with Antaan points them towards Macon. Aliens and militia kill each other, ending when Antaan kills Macon and confirms he is human. Zoe then begins destroying Rushville, forcing Hal to further deplete the ring’s energy to save civilians and killing Antaan in the process.
Hal returns to the motel, only to fight with John until a laser destroys the motel. When Zoe arrives to shoot Hal, John kills her and takes the ring. As he meets with Lianna, he refuses to become a Green Lantern and returns the ring. Many have likened the episode’s feel to a season finale. Yet many stories and questions within this corner of the DCU remain.
Future Episodes of Lantern
With three episodes remaining, audiences wonder what will happen next. The Lanterns already solved the Rushville case in five episodes, but 2016 isn’t the only time period explored in the show.
Jordan is the center of most of the remaining mysteries. First is the deeper backstory of how he was chosen as Earth’s Green Lantern. He may have explained himself already in TV interviews, but half-truths and subtext are everything in this show. The idea that he was simply privileged is the Stewart family’s view on the matter.
Next is what happened to Hal in 2006. It’s the only time period within 1996-2026 that doesn’t cover what either of our protagonists were doing then. One possibility of what embittered Hal in that timeframe is Sinestro’s betrayal, but there’s no confirmation of this yet.
Another question is what happened between him and John since Rushville, since his old trainee seemed to genuinely mourn his death in 2026. Last but certainly not least amongst Jordan’s mysteries is his own murder, and whether it was caused by one of the Manhunter’s contingencies, the Guardians, or something else entirely.
After that are the events since 2026, including how Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillon) become a Lantern. While he could have changed before than, his portrayal in Superman puts him far from the obedient soldier the Guardians were hoping to make John into. Then comes Sinestro’s plans, since the first thing he did when reunite with Hal is pit him against John. And even though he is imprisoned, with how much sway the former Lantern still holds over his old trainee, he is far from powerless.
Lanterns streams on HBO Max every Sunday at 9pm ET (6pm PT).
