Whodunits are difficult to solve when the story keeps its rules hidden. That is the central problem with the first-season finale of HBO’s Lanterns, which finally identifies Hal Jordan’s killer and explains the motive. Sheriff Kerry shot him in a split-second decision after Hal discovered that her son, Noah, is secretly a Manhunter. Apparently, Noah was implanted in—or somehow conceived by—Kerry through technology belonging to Zoe, his so-called “grandmother.” Kerry then gave birth to the Manhunter child and raised him through adolescence.
I’m sorry, but I had no idea Manhunter reproduction was part of the mythology.
Were we really expected to know that ancient shapeshifting robots could reproduce through some kind of artificial virgin birth, creating new shapeshifting robots who look, behave, and age like humans? That feels less like a reveal than information the show forgot to mention. Surely the Guardians could have brought it up.
Still, the twist is difficult to stay angry about when it leads to one excellent performance after another. Aaron Pierre remains utterly convincing as John Stewart, a detective carrying profound moral conflicts—and seemingly the entire series—on his shoulders.
He is matched by Kerry Macdonald, who is at her most striking when she welcomes Hal home after his release from jail in flashback, and at her most affecting when she tells John that she killed Hal instinctively to preserve her son’s ordinary life rather than force them both into an existence as fugitives among the stars.
Kyle Chandler plays two versions of Hal Jordan: the older, remorseful Hal of 2026 and the genial digital backup from more than two decades earlier. In both, he captures the character’s singular chip-on-the-shoulder charisma. The original Hal dies trying to save Noah and Kerry, while also refusing to hear what Kerry is telling him—a quintessentially Hal mistake. His backup, by contrast, dies after baiting John Stewart into saying “Love you too, Junior,” then returning the sentiment. They are radically different endings for radically different Hals.
As Noah, Shea Pritchard has to hold his own opposite Pierre for much of the episode, a daunting assignment for any performer. He rises to it, framing Noah’s battle with his fascistic programming as a choice familiar to many young white men in America: pursue an ordinary life, or enter the business of hurting people deemed inferior. The difference is that a Manhunter like Noah could choose the second path, enter politics, seize control of the country, and become—well, the Trump Administration. (Seriously, there is very little an evil overlord could do that is not already happening, though, like many shows, Lanterns has not quite caught up with reality.)
Noah asks John to kill him after his championship football game. John refuses. Instead, he tells Kerry that he knows Noah’s true nature and pressures her into confessing what happened to Hal. Then he leaves mother and son to continue their lives, trusting that the better angels of their nurture can overcome Noah’s programming. Drawing on his own experience of relentless conditioning, John decides that anyone capable of questioning their programming is also capable of rewriting it.
After resolving the crisis in Rushville, John heads home to reunite with his brothers—and, for reasons the show never adequately explains, his violently abusive mother. Perhaps, like many adults, he is attempting to forgive and move forward. But the series should at least acknowledge that what it depicted was abuse.
Before leaving, however, John has one final responsibility. He calls in the stubborn, casually racist Guy Gardner to announce that a new Lantern is operating independently. Guy may be assigned to protect Sector 2814, but Earth now belongs to John.
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How can John claim that authority? Earlier in the episode, he and Hal’s clone tortured—sigh—Sinestro by repeatedly dunking him into the fear-filled lake on the planet Zoe destroyed. Their goal was to force him to explain Noah’s portal. Noah had freed Sinestro from a space prison and brought him to the planet to forge a new Lantern, hoping to acquire a ring and complete the set. Sinestro once used these weapons to kill a Guardian, so Noah understandably wants one of his own if the situation turns against him.
John leaves Sinestro stranded on his island and returns to Earth carrying Hal Jordan’s ring and Sinestro’s Lantern. The weapon is marked by yellow streaks, a side effect of the fear-producing properties of the planet where it was forged. No one knows what John might unleash by charging his ring with it. He does so anyway.
The act becomes a declaration of independence—from Hal, Guy, the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians, his parents, and even his own demand that he remain fearless at all times. When he charges the ring, John creates an oath of his own.
In brightest day, in darkest night
I’ll embrace my fear, I’ll do what’s right
I choose this ring, I choose this fight
In service to this Lantern’s light
He replaces “blackest night” with “darkest night,” for reasons that seem self-evident. More significant is what follows: John embraces fear instead of trying to eliminate it, chooses the ring rather than waiting for the ring to choose him, and pledges himself to this Lantern’s light. What happens if that light is more yellow than green? What if Sinestro’s influence is embedded within it? Those are compelling questions if the Green Lantern mythology interests you in the first place. It interests me, so I am willing to admit that the show has me waiting for more.
Even viewers who have never considered the Yellow Lanterns, the Sinestro Corps, or anything beyond an army of green heroes may find the cast compelling enough to stay with the series. And if Pierre is the only principal cast member returning for the next season, he has more than enough presence to keep the story revolving around him. Lanterns has plenty to recommend, provided you are willing to overlook its flaws. For season two, I would prefer a show that gives us fewer flaws to overlook.
Sean T. Collins (@seantcollins.com on Bluesky and theseantcollins on Patreon) has written about television for The New York Times, Vulture, Rolling Stone, and elsewhere. He is the author of Pain Don’t Hurt: Meditations on Road House. He lives with his family on Long Island.
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