Lanterns Episode 1
We were guaranteed by HBO a superhero series and here we have a murder mystery set against a backdrop of a corny bar room scuffle and a glowing ring. Good one. But it actually worked.
“Lanterns,” the latest addition to the list of James Gunn’s DC Universe films, has finally found its way to HBO and HBO Max, without waiting even a moment to be gentle about it. No flying around in capes while fighting cosmic enemies for you here “Lanterns” begins with an interview on 60 Minutes, makes a stop at a bar fight in Nebraska and ends with a dead body on the football ground. If you had been expecting “Green Lantern: The Ryan Reynolds Film, But Make It A T.V. Series,” think again.
Let’s go over exactly what happens in episode one, entitled “Pilot,” and then we’ll get to the exciting stuff, crazy, yet responsible speculations about episode two.
Spoilers: If you have not seen this show, here is your last chance to bail before plot twists start flying faster than a Green Lantern construct.
A Show With Three Timelines And Zero Chill
With the emphasis being more on mystery in small-town America rather than on space opera, “Lanterns” takes place in a fictitious place called Rushville in Nebraska and features Kelly Macdonald and Nathan Fillion among the supporting cast. This right away hints that this is not some ordinary space team-up show. You definitely do not have some sort of a glowing space committee telling everyone about the strength of their will for ten whole minutes straight in the beginning.
In terms of plot, the premiere introduces the viewers to three different timelines at once, which does not seem overwhelming but instead, quite enjoyable. Firstly, it is 1996 when the young John Stewart witnesses Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, making his first ever TV appearance as a superhero, which is a man claiming that he is just an ordinary person even though he has managed to stop the meteor falling on Victoria Falls. The thing that is really great about it is that the show makes sure that the viewer understands that Hal has created a whole legend around him based on how normal he is, which is pretty ironic considering his state after twenty years.
Flash forward to 2016, and adult John is now being trained by Hal as his prospective replacement as Green Lantern, with Hal treating the entire thing as some kind of internship that he completely forgot he was doing. Hal arrives in an ear-splitting sedan and apologizes for not being contactable for two out of their two months of training, while simultaneously telling John not to “get hung up on the jewelry, Junior” when John complains about the lack of use he’s getting out of his ring. And then, without even an ounce of subtlety, Hal takes off the ring right there in the car, sets it on the dashboard, announces he’ll be meeting John at a taco stand, and drives off the road, forcing John to grab the ring before the car crashes. John, naturally, is pretty mad about it, and calls his father to tell him that “Jordan just tried to f**king kill me.”
Nebraska Was Never Just A Pit Stop
However, the 2016 story line soon begins to lose its light touch. Hal ends up summoned to Rushville, Nebraska, where he takes off using the power of his ring. In the setup of this presumed crisis, the situation apparently looks like a mysterious shooting incident, which right away seems to Hal as not being what it first appears to be. It is in this way that the show officially reveals its true genre.
In true fashion of an intergalactic peacekeeper, Hal takes it upon himself to get arrested for starting a fight in a bar so that he is put in a cell close to a suspicious looking fellow arrested at the same time, while John uses his charm to worm his way into another kind of local investigation entirely. The following morning, John rescues Hal, who was locked in a broom closet by a sheriff who clearly recognized Hal’s entire ploy right away, and when Hal is brought up for his arraignment, a local attorney named Billy Macon appears to defend Hal, who is married to the sheriff who arrested him.
Billy’s father, William Macon, bails Hal out and invites the Lanterns for dinner at the Macons’ highly guarded ranch, only to find that it is bristling with a private militia force. William is convinced that aliens have anything to do with the Rushville affair, making him an unlikely partner for Hal as he comes to suspect the same. This suspicion is verified in a rather violent manner when the mysterious man confesses that he is not human and explodes a device hidden inside himself, blowing a hole in the sheriff’s office. The scene is an extremely chilling one, but it is funny and disturbing at the same time, and it proves that the series knows exactly how to use Kyle Chandler’s charm and then take it away.
The Gut-Punch Ending
It certainly is. The season uses its most shocking revelation in a third timeline ten years ahead of the present timeline, in 2026. There, John comes to Rushville, and finds Hal’s dead body, with a gunshot to the head and with no ring on his finger anywhere. One single fact raises the entire season into one of dual intrigue whose work was it, and who now owns Hal’s ring?
It gets weirder. In the past, when John survives Hal’s car trick, a hologram emerges from the ring John wears on his finger, a back-up consciousness of Hal whom John calls “Halogram”. It is a plot device used quite effectively, making it easy to keep Kyle Chandler around even if his character dies further down the road. So, yes, Hal Jordan does die, but Hal Jordan does not die either.
The reaction to this whiplash style has been rather positive. In fact, one critic was so impressed that he claimed that if all future episodes of the season continue on this trend, then “Lanterns” would soon be considered among the best comic books TV shows ever made along with “Watchmen,” Netflix’s first season of “Daredevil,” and “Loki.” That’s quite a lot of weight to place on episode two, but what can you do; being a beginner Green Lantern is not an easy job.
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 1 Review
“Lanterns” had every reason to embrace all of the hallmarks of space opera and provide us with Oa, The Corps, alien wars, and everything else. However, in the script by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, under the direction of James Hawes, a lot of restraint was shown. This is very much characteristic of Lindelof, if one has seen both “Watchmen” and “Lost” and is familiar with Lindelof’s penchant for revealing major secrets through minor events.
This strategy works well, thanks to the mystery premise allowing every character enough time before the mythology comes into play. Hal can be reckless and charismatic. John can be the frustrated straight man who is being forced into a situation he does not want to be in. And Rushville, Nebraska, has the chance to become an actual place with its own mysteries.
Lanterns Episode 2 Predictions
Now onto the fun where we put our detective caps on and act like we know what we’re talking about.
1. Investigation intensifies without reaching a conclusion. No huge twist in episode two here! Considering how methodical the show’s pace is, it seems reasonable that the season report predicts the second episode intensifying the investigation rather than pushing towards conclusion. It’s a show that wants you squirming in your seat for a while before you get the answers!
2. More conflict between Hal the legend and John the rookie. In episode one, John was being ignored by the mentor he supposedly had, and it is unlikely that this relationship is going to change overnight. In episode two, expect the tension between the wild veteran ways of Hal and the by-the-book mentality of John to continue to build as the alien angle introduced in the first episode gets broader.
3. Hal experiences repercussions for his own chaotic ways. Based on the 2026 timeline, we already know that Hal doesn’t live long enough to make it out of this mission. Fans have come up with anything from a long and painful mental breakdown to a total fall from grace as the reason behind his fate, and this could be the perfect time for the creators to begin revealing the clues behind such an ending for a famous Green Lantern, on a football field of all places.
4. Rushville is the key focus for now. The creative minds behind the production have made clear that they are working towards developing an earth-based mystery in this season instead of giving viewers a cosmic journey, and one of the reports about the show’s development plan stated that there won’t be any trips to the Lanterns’ home planet of Oa in the first season. This shouldn’t be taken for granted considering that this claim hasn’t been officially confirmed by the creators, but the rhythm of the show suggests otherwise.
5. It’s only a matter of time before Guy Gardner shows up. Nathan Fillion will play the role of Guy Gardner in the season and has even appeared in the marketing campaigns of the series, making this point less about whether he’ll appear and more about when. While the second episode may wait to preserve the Hal and John relationship dynamic, don’t be surprised to see Earth’s most obnoxious Green Lantern show up soon enough.
6. The Macon family proves more consequential than appearances would suggest. Billy Macon is a small-town lawyer whose wife is the detective trying to solve the mystery, while Billy’s dad, William Macon, leads a militia and has some ideas as to what kind of creature lurks within Rushville. This level of connection between motives isn’t something you can expect to stay in the background for very long.
7. Halogram becomes a larger story-telling element. With John now able to access the digital copy of Hal’s consciousness that exists on the ring, episode two would be a logical point for the show to introduce this dynamic, either for exposition, or for a rather uncomfortable discussion between the novice and the digital ghost of his teacher.
Final Thoughts
What “Lanterns” managed to accomplish in the already saturated space of superhero TV series is something quite unusual – to make it exhilarating not to reveal too much of the cosmic plot points and give room for the investigation to flourish. Thus, the first episode deserves its shocking revelation.
The second episode will be available to watch on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, August 23, at 9 p.m. ET. Based on what was promised by the premiere episode, there should be some more town secrets, Hal and John confrontation, and at least one situation worthy of your anger on the screen. Popcorns and Green Lantern conspiracy theory board, maybe?
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