The finale of Lanterns season 1 marks a new chapter for the Green Lanterns of the DCU.
The eighth and final episode of Lanterns season 1 officially brings the mysteries in Rushville to a close. It follows John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and the backup consciousness of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as the real Hal’s murder and Rushville’s story are neatly wrapped up. In its strongest character-driven episode, Lanterns ends its first season while setting up for its second.
Lanterns season 1 finale recap: Jordan and Kane’s doomed romance brings the tragedy of his murder full circle
The finale episode of Lanterns season 1 starts in 2016, where Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) meets and sympathizes with Hal, who understands the Guardians won’t protect him after the Manhunter’s rampage. 10 years later, they return to Rushville where Kerry stands up for him during a dinner date claiming that he and everybody else deserves peace after the Manhunter attack. When his house burns down, he collapses protecting Earl. Noah Macon (Shea Pritchard) saves him, revealing himself as a Manhunter.
In the present, Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) reveals Noah broke him out as the only prisoner to have killed a Guardian. He refuses to reveal more, however, until the Halogram returns. After John waterboards him in the lake’s poisoned, fear-inducing waters, he reveals he forged a lantern. He tempts John to recharge Hal’s ring, which the Lanterns initially refuse. Halogram eventually agrees after predicting Noah wants revenge against the Guardians. John refuses both, and they strand Sinestro on the island.
Powerful acting and character growth emerge as the Macon family’s darkest secrets come to light
In the Lanterns season 1 finale, John returns to Earth, only for Noah to take the ring. The pair talk about Zoe during the drive to his football game, and they wonder if she let John kill her because she was tired of fighting her programming. Noah eventually believes this, revealing he struggles against his own programming while wanting to live a normal life. He confesses to Hal’s murder and asks John to kill him after the game, surrendering the ring to him.
John meets Kerry and reflects on his childhood. He realizes his mother Bernadette was terrified for him the entire time, and that Kerry must have felt the same for Noah. Flashbacks reveal Hal confronted her after he found out, and that Zoe’s technology unwittingly impregnated her. When he pressured her to leave with him, she reflexively shot him. Still, she wanted John to make sure he wasn’t the threat Hal thought he was. After revealing Noah gave the ring and claimed to kill Hal, John assures her he has no plans to kill him but keeps the ring as a precaution.
John looks forward to a new beginning as he fully puts Rushville behind him
After the game, John summons Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillon). He declares himself an unsanctioned Lantern of Earth, and gives him a message for the Guardians implying he will protect the Manhunters. Halogram appears one final time, encouraging John along his new path before he recharges the ring, overwriting the backup. He repays Maggie (Hannah Christine Shetler) and leaves Rushville to reunite with his family.
The Lanterns season 1 episode—and by extension, the season and the show—ends with John recharging the ring, reciting his own oath and flying off.
Lanterns season 1 ending showcases strong acting and writing ahead of unconfirmed season 2
No actor fell from their previous performances in this Lanterns season 1 finale episode. The quiet moments in acting, such as the scenes between John and Noah or John and Halogram, play out spectacularly. Macdonald was especially compelling, fully tying together the tragedy of her romance with Hal. Even if her choice wasn’t a particularly mind-bending plot twist, but it didn’t have to be. It instead sets up heartbreak with a reason all too understandable and tying back to the show’s themes of parenthood, and nature versus nurture.
Few highlight this better than John, according to showrunner and co-creator Chris Mundy in an interview with TheWrap.
“The ring didn’t choose him, he was interviewed. He was raised for it. He was having to choose this thing, then he decided not to do it, and then decided that he needed to do it on his own terms.”
One thing the show sets up for next season is fear itself. Many comic followers have believed throughout the season that Hal would become a Yellow Lantern like has in so many comics. They began theorizing this as early as episode 3, where each following title card started becoming increasingly yellow.
However, between the nature of John’s lantern and his oath referencing fear, John may become corrupted instead. Co-creator Tom King simply comments to TheWrap,
“John is not 100% a Green Lantern anymore. He has a Lantern that has a bit of yellow in it, has a bit of fear in it. It’s an unsanctioned Lantern, as Guy says.”
The constant references to the Yellow Lantern Corps also hints at Parallax’s appearance next season, and Sinestro’s possible return. Given his involvement in Hal’s decisions during 2016 from prison, it’s hard to believe his story would end as simple castaway surrounded by fear. The other Lantern Corps may also make appearances, since an episode 6 cameo loosely referenced comic villain-turned-hero Star Sapphire.
It’s important to note, however, that Lanterns season 2 has not been greenlit. Mundy commented to the Hollywood Reporter on continuing,
“We feel good that we told the story in season one well. The question is whether [season two] is a story people are interested in. If that’s the case, then we’ll get to do another one.”
Whether or not it comes to pass, Lanterns season 1 has left its mark as a solid and noteworthy superhero show, not for its action-packed sequences, but the quiet but solid strength of its story and characters.
Lanterns season 1 is now complete and streaming on HBO Max.
Sources: Hollywood Reporter, TheWrap
