Episode 6 of Lanterns brings us to present day, and a John Stewart who resembles the one many of us know from DC Comics. John now runs Stewart Brothers with his brother, Marcus; here, they build high-grade impenetrable panic rooms. They successfully complete a softball pitch to build underground bunkers to save members of their city in the event of recent disasters in Rushville and Metropolis. Everyone knows that John was once, briefly, the Green Lantern. However, John has moved past that. With a $30 billion deal on the table, John is looking to expand and leave the past behind him. Or so it seems.
A call from their mother, whom John now calls Bernadette, throws John for a loop. He finds out that not only has Bernadette become friends with Hal Jordan, but now she wants John to visit Hal. John is clearly upset, but per Bernadette, Hal has an apology to give to John.
John heads to Rushville, where Hal has been living since the government released him from federal prison. He meets Hal at the Cafe, which is surprisingly still standing. Oddly enough, Hal has no idea about the supposed apology John came to receive. But after ten years in prison, there is something different about Hal. He is still a little cocky, but he’s reading John like a book. He notices that John’s mannerisms have changed and calls John out on it. However, when Hal calls out John’s fear of the ring, John snaps and breaks Hal’s nose. As John walks out, Hal begs him for one last thing: John can tell no one he came to see Hal.
John returns home (which may look familiar to This Is Us fans), but following a call from Sheriff Kerry, he heads back to Rushville. This brings us to the scene from episode one where Sheriff Kerry and John see Hal dead on the bleachers. Kerry notes that whoever broke his nose probably killed Hal but reveals that the whole town wanted to kill him. She called John because she knew he would care that Hal was gone.
Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros. Discovery
We find out that Kerry and her husband have split, and since Hal got back from prison, Hal and Kerry have been dating. Hal moved back to Rushville after his release and spent his time offering to help the residents as a form of amends. His offers were never taken up, but he never stopped. The town never recovered fully from the events ten years ago. John might be here a while, so Kerry gives John the keys to the place Hal rented while he was in town.
John arrives at Hal’s rental home; Hal had the front door booby-trapped to have his shotgun fire on any unwanted visitors. As he moves through the home, John finds Earl waiting and hungry. As he feeds Earl, Marcus calls and wants to know what John is doing in Rushville. John’s mention that Hal passed away causes Earl to sadly whine. Hal might have been unwelcome in Rushville, but Earl cared for him.
In the morning, John joins Sheriff Kerry for coffee at the Cafe. As he walks in, he sees the one person who saw him meet Hal there, just a day or so before. This is Maggie, and she is the waitress for the Cafe. Sheriff Kerry is asking who Hal saw at the Cafe the night he died; yet, Maggie does not reveal that John was there. Sheriff Kerry gets a call that the medical examiner needs her at the morgue. She deputizes John, and they head over together.
Bitsy, the medical examiner, pulls no punches on how she feels about John and Hal. She doesn’t care for either of them or for the fact that Hal is dead. It’s clear that the shooter shot Hal at point-blank range. Hal’s nose is broken too, but that could have happened up to two hours prior to the shooting. John’s nerves show when the trio discuss the FBI testing the swab samples from Hal’s nose for the blood of whoever punched him. However, those results will take four months; the most Bitsy can do is delay the media finding out about Hal’s death until Monday. The medical examiner could not identify a next of kin, so they will most likely cremate Hal. Sheriff Kerry and John recover Hal’s belongings and head to the storage unit Hal had a key for.
Inside the storage unit, they find Hal’s vault. They try to use his voice through a voicemail to open the vault, but it’s denied with a stern warning about the method of access used. They must use a live voice to access the vault. Sheriff Kerry invites John over for a meatloaf dinner (John now eats meat again) and to see Noah. John then suggests they bury Hal, and Sheriff Kerry agrees to call in a favor to make that happen.
While picking up the beer, John gets a call from Comfort Cove, where his father is staying. John’s father is upset and demands to talk to John. John refuses to speak to his father. His father’s response: there will be consequences. But it seems like John doesn’t care much about that threat anymore. John heads to the Green Lantern distress signal put up by Guy Gardner, near the memorial for those lost ten years ago.
It appears the townsfolk have vandalized the signal, and we soon see why. Upon turning it on, a group of four men in a pick-up truck pull over to make John turn it off. John’s attempts to show he understands their anger fall on deaf ears, as Billy Macon approaches them. Clearly, Billy has been through some things; he looks run down. Billy tries to intimidate John to turn off the signal, which leads to John beating up all five men before leaving, Billy included. John leaves the signal on; he needs to get in contact with Guy.
At dinner, John, Sheriff Kerry, and an older Noah discuss John’s panic rooms. Noah has taken a liking to politics and eventually wants to become president. Sheriff Kerry gets a call regarding the fight between John, Billy, and the other four men. Sheriff Kerry books John and puts him in a cell to keep him “safe.” John uses his one call to ask his brother Marcus to wire bail money. Marcus notes that John must make it back soon. Their final pitch for the $30 billion contract to Colonel Draycott could happen at any moment.
John gets his first visitor during his stay at the jail house: Guy. We find out Guy and Hal didn’t get along, but when Guy finds out Hal is dead, his tone changes. John has called Guy to help get Hal’s suit and decommissioned ring from the planet Oa. Guy is not keen on this, but John pulls the “you owe me” card. If John hadn’t turned down taking the ring, Guy wouldn’t be the Green Lantern now. Before leaving, and not promising to help, Guy tells John Sinestro has escaped his space prison.
When John leaves the jail, he turns on his phone to a list of voicemails. Bernadette has called to explain why she asked him to see Hal. Marcus has left word that their presentation to the Colonel is that night. And Comfort Cove left a message that his father has shot a hole in the window. John Sr. needs to be picked up immediately or the authorities will be called. John calls his brother Aaron to help with their father. We see the seeds of resentment Aaron had towards John have fully grown, and there is strain in their relationship. However, since John is funding Aaron’s album, Aaron must help.
John arrives at Hal’s rental to find Maggie, the waitress from the Cafe, waiting for him. As they sit down for a cup of coffee, he acknowledges that she could have told the Sheriff he was with Hal, but she didn’t. Maggie then asks for “reparations” in the form of $314,536.27 and his watch, in exchange for her silence. Maggie is the little girl John said “sorry” to when he left the obliterated motel ten years ago. John has until midnight the next day to pay up, or Maggie will tell the Sheriff everything she knows.
As Maggie leaves, another knock comes to the door, where Noah stands with a suit for John to use for the funeral. Noah is under his own form of pressure: he must decide which college he will play football for. John tells Noah that the only bar he needs to clear is the one he sets for himself. To this, Noah asks John if he is happy now. There is a look of doubt on John’s face, before he says “Absolutely.”
Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros. Discovery
Hal’s funeral is small, but Guy does bring the suit and the ring. Besides John, two other people are there, Sheriff Kerry and another woman. Marcus calls John, and John admits that he will need to close the meeting over the phone. While Marcus doesn’t agree with this decision, he believes in John, so he will go along with the plan. The other guest comes out and greets John and she is none other than Carol Ferris. She asks John to deliver the eulogy, and she notes that Hal probably liked John, even if he never said it. Hal himself wrote the eulogy, and it ends with heart-breaking words: “I hope I mattered.”
Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros. Discovery
John tells Sheriff Kerry he will be around for a while, jokingly as her deputy. Later that evening, John gets to work and begins digging up the grave. As he is digging, he gets a call from Marcus; Colonel Draycott is waiting for their pitch. As John begins his pitch, the line cuts; John calls back and Marcus tells him the Colonel hung up and walked out. Marcus knows his brother and he tells him clearly: Rushville has had a mental hold on John. John needs to finish what he started before he can fully come home. John retrieves Hal’s ring, and gets that 5% charge. First order of business is to summon the Halogram, who closes us with two words: “God dammit.”
John will need all the help he can get to solve Hal’s murder, so the Halogram might be his best bet. The episode touches on a few themes. One of them is the rift left between John and his siblings who now call him “Chosen” both affectionately and begrudgingly. Also, there is this feeling of trust. Hal basically warns John not to trust anyone, but does this include Sheriff Kerry? Noah? Something is keeping John in Rushville; he could walk away and not care. Earth has a Green Lantern, so John does not need to stick around. But justice for Hal is important to John, so he stays. Let’s hope Marcus’ prayer for John’s safety is heard.
