Lanterns has wrapped up its first season and its future is looking bright. DC is beginning to establish its characters into their revamped cinematic universe and is already looking into having their characters continue to cross over into their respective films and shows. With Aaron Pierre set to reprise his role as John Stewart in the next installment of the Superman films Man of Tomorrow, as well as the return of Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific. Lanterns was able to achieve a very successful run, averaging 19.3 million global viewers per episode, with 12 million of those viewers being from the U.S. Hopefully, the success of the show will lead to DC further expanding on the stories within the Lanterns franchise and possibly introduce more characters from the Green Lantern Corps, as well as the other Lantern Corps.
Episodes 6-8 Synopsis
Through the final three episodes of the season, we see the culmination of John’s journey. As ten years have passed within the time line we see that John has built a career and life for himself away from the expectations of his parents for him to be the Green Lantern, resulting in a rocky relationship between the two parties. However, John is pulled back into Rushville when he goes to see Hal, but after their meeting, John learns that Hal has been murdered. Now John takes it upon himself to figure out who may have killed Hal, while also uncovering what Hal may have discovered that led to his death. After John manages to trick Guy Gardner into retrieving Hal’s ring, John works alongside Hal’s old consciousness within the ring to solve the case. During this, we see a side of Hal that is more encouraging of John and praising him for being able to maintain the construct of Hal’s consciousness without needing to wear the ring, something that Hal admits no one has ever been able to do. As a real mentor-trainee relationship forms between the two, John and “Hal-ogram” discover Sinestro being kept prisoner and being forced to build a lantern for Noah, the son of Sheriff Kane and the grandson of the Manhunter, Zoe Macon. John discovers that the real Hal had learned that Noah was a Manhunter and is able to uncover who killed Hal. Noah, aware and afraid of his true nature, asks John to kill him and to not let him see it coming, which John promises to do.
However, John decides to leave Noah and Sheriff Kane alone, but accepts the fact that he may one day need to follow through on his promise. John has a final meeting with Guy Gardner, showing him the lantern that he now possesses and stating that John will protect Earth while Guy handles the rest of his designated sector. John also tells Guy to pass along the message “If the Guardians could find it in their HEARTS to let him be,” ensuring that the Guardians remember that John knows about what they did with the Manhunters. John reconciles with his family, bringing them all together after the hardships that he had endured throughout most of his life. Finally, John takes on the role of being Earth’s Lantern, the job that he had trained for his entire life and rejected when he saw what it did to Hal. John takes on the mantle of Lantern on his terms and when he is finally ready, with his will strong and steady, while also embracing his fear of the dangers that come with being a Lantern.
Takeaways
John’s journey has certainly been incredibly captivating to watch. From the beginning, the animosity between Hal and John was very clear, often causing a lot of tension between the two. However, as John bonded with “Hal-ogram,” the two found an appreciation for one another, allowing the audience to enjoy the friendship formed between John and Hal. While we know that John will be back in Man of Tomorrow, the fans are already wondering what DC will do with Hal. Kyle Chandler’s performance as Hal Jordan has been incredible, with many considering it a generational casting. Fans are clamoring with theories as to how they could possibly bring Hal back and what potential storylines could be in store. The most popular theory that many believe DC will take is where Sinestro infuses Hal’s body with the fear entity, Parallax, a comic book storyline released back in the 90s. Hopefully, we will see Kyle Chandler reprise his role as Hal Jordan in the future and return to be one of Earth’s Green Lanterns once again.
