All good things must come to an end, and with Episode 8 of Lanterns that time has come with the season finale.
The writers saw fit to fill in some gaps by taking us back to the end of the Battle of Rushville in 2016. Sheriff Kerry finds a badly wounded Hal at the motel. They discuss the impact of the Battle of Rushville. Here, Sheriff Kerry asks Hal the same question Hal asked John after John killed Zoe. “Was it worth it?” The question prompts Hal to share what he knows will happen to him next. He will take the blame for the deaths and destruction, but he is prepared to face whatever comes.
The next time jump takes us to 2026, where Hal is released from prison and picked up by Sheriff Kerry (roses and beer in her hands). We next encounter Hal and Sheriff Kerry at Pasgetti’s Pasteria in Rushville. It’s an awkward setting, as the other diners watch Hal with hate. Meanwhile, Sheriff Kerry happily munches on garlic bread. We learn the two have been seeing each other romantically for some time. However, the town has not been receptive to Hal’s return. Sheriff Kerry makes a brief speech, expressing her feelings for Hal and asking the town to give Hal peace. Later in Hal’s bedroom, Hal and Sheriff Kerry discuss whether Noah is ready for their romantic relationship. They close the conversation with Sheriff Kerry inviting Hal to Noah’s game that Friday.
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In the next scene, Hal is getting ready to feed Earl when his home is fire-bombed. He tries to get Earl out but falls through one floor and passes out. Hal wakes up on the floor with a scar on his arm (remember when John was healed by Zoe in Episode 5?). Noah is there; he reveals he is a manhunter and knows about Sheriff Kerry’s relationship with Hal. Sheriff Kerry doesn’t know that Noah is aware of his true nature. Noah tells Hal that he saved Hal’s life, but Noah’s price is that Hal cannot tell Sheriff Kerry.
Who is filling in these gaps for us? Sinestro. On the dead planet, we find out the events from 2016 to 2026. We also learn that Noah was the person who freed Sinestro and brought him to the dead planet using Zoe’s portal. Why? Noah wants a lantern made, and Sinestro is able to do it. But this lantern is imbued with fear from the planet. Since Sinestro is chained and at John and Halogram’s mercy, he tries to turn them against each other. He tells John to charge Hal’s ring, and then he tells Halogram he can bring Hal back to life. Halogram and John don’t give in to the temptations offered to them. They leave Sinestro chained to the chair, taking the new lantern with them.
John has a dilemma; Hal’s ring needs a charge. Per Sinestro, if John charges it with the new lantern, he will lose Halogram. Before John goes through the portal, Halogram warns him that Noah will kill John if John does not charge the ring. John follows his gut: he doesn’t think Noah will hurt him.
Hurt is relative because as soon as John steps through the portal, Noah attacks him. Noah removes the ring from John’s finger and asks John to drive. On the drive, Noah asks why John killed his grandmother. The anger in Noah is apparent to John. John reveals that while he cared about Zoe, she was a manhunter by nature. He believes Zoe wanted him to kill her because she was unable to stop her nature. John also reasons that if she were gone, no one would come looking for Noah. At a crossroads, John asks Noah which way, and there is a visible struggle on Noah’s face over an apparently simple question.
Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros. Discovery
When they arrive at the game, Noah says that he saved Hal from the fire. He then says he killed Hal after Hal followed him and found out what Noah was planning with Sinestro. In a heart-to-heart, John lets Noah know there is always a choice in what we become. Noah tells John he sometimes feels pulled toward a normal life and other times he is pulled toward a life of power. Noah then gives John the ring back and asks John for a favor. John has revealed he killed Zoe out of mercy; now Noah asks for the same act of mercy once the game is done. After that conversation, John tries to call up Halogram for guidance, but Halogram does not answer.
John meets Sheriff Kerry as she watches Noah’s final game of the season. The stadium is full of college scouts and fans. While they watch, Sheriff Kerry mentions that Noah delayed his selection for a college so more scouts could come and see his teammates. John uses the story of his own mother’s love for him to reveal he knows that Sheriff Kerry killed Hal.
She walks John through the events that led to her shooting Hal in a split-second decision. When she is done reliving Hal’s death, John realizes that Sheriff Kerry called him to Rushville for a reason. Sheriff Kerry wanted to know whether Noah is good, and she needed John’s help.
From what John has seen, he believes Noah is good. After all, Noah tried to take the blame for killing Hal to save Sheriff Kerry and gave the ring to John. John decides not to kill Noah. Also, he doesn’t take Sheriff Kerry in for shooting Hal. John reasons that Noah has the potential to be good if he has the right guidance. In John’s eyes, Sheriff Kerry is the guidance Noah will need. As John leaves, Noah makes the winning pass for Rushville and accepts the Nebraska college offer from the school’s visiting scout.
John heads back to the center of town and turns on the Green Lantern beacon to call Guy Gardner. Guy sees that John has Hal’s ring on, and the two exchange some heated words about what John has been up to. John shares that he found out what happened to Hal, and that he has a message for the Guardians. Moving forward, John will be the protector of Earth, and Guy can have the rest of sector 2814. John is no longer concerned about the chain of command set by the Guardians. He is confident the Guardians will not interfere with the arrangement he has put in place.
After an on-brand flip-off to John, Guy flies off and Halogram appears. Halogram states that he appears when John’s subconscious needs him, not just when John calls. They discuss the risk that John is taking: Noah can be dangerous one day.
Halogram says he believes John can be better at the job than Hal was. It’s time to charge the ring, and John is hesitant because of the oath; the words do not feel right. Halogram tells John he can write his own oath. As John prepares to charge the ring, Halogram asks him for the last words Hal said before he died. John hesitates for a second and his voice breaks, but he manages to say it: “I love you.”
Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros. Discovery
“And I love you too, Junior,” Halogram says with a wink and vanishes. As John prepares to take the oath, we see glimpses of his next moves. He returns to the vault and places a bag within it. Then he visits Maggie at the cafe to drop off the blackmail money, with a note: “I am still sorry.” And he returns home to his father, his brothers, Earl (yes, Earl), and of course his mother. We see and hear Bernadette take a breath as she hugs her son. And we hear the oath.
“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.”
Then we see John take flight: no green suit, but with all the power and energy of the ring.
Honestly, since this series is going off the beaten track of the original John Stewart story, I think this season has been the perfect opening. And the ending was top-tier. Season 2 is not confirmed, but the series is one of the top five HBO launches in the platform’s history, per Deadline. Fans are waiting with bated breath for the announcement. However, while we wait, we can speculate.
First, John’s role as a Lantern is unique; he might become something of a cross between a Green Lantern and a Yellow Lantern. What will become of Noah? Sheriff Kerry is doing her best to raise him to be good, but the thoughts of his manhunter programming still exist. Can nurture beat out nature in this case?
And then there is Sinestro; Halogram and John left him chained to the chair on the dead planet. Will Sinestro escape on his own? He did manage to build a yellow lantern while there, so anything is possible. Can Sinestro really bring Hal back to life? And if Sinestro brought Hal back to life, what would Hal be like? Would he fully lean into the teachings of Sinestro? And lastly there is Halogram; did John really lose him? Personally, I hope not. Being a solo crime fighter gets old quickly (ask Batman). I get the feeling John will need that support as he takes on the role of Earth’s protector.
Either way, we need Season 2 sooner rather than later.
