DC Studios' Lanterns wasted little time in gripping audiences around the world. The HBO original series, which also streams on HBO Max globally, has quickly etched itself among the greatest programs centered on a DC Comics character ever and it's in no small part down to its exceptional pacing, gritty core narrative, and the performances of Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre.
You won't find a better example of how well these two work than the previous episode of the season, which saw Hal Jordan and John Stewart attempt to figure out who the Manhunter truly is. And even though the show has been trying to tell us that two Green Lanterns are not better than one (because of the conflict that it secretly means), it turns out that they actually are as the pair figured out the Manhunter's identity pretty promptly - albeit separately.
Unfortunately, this undid the rapport that they had finally begun to build with one another. And, in the process, resulted in Hal crashing the rental car to slow John down - all so he could reach the Manhunter before him (who we now believe to be Zoe Macon). With the questions surrounding Hal Jordan's death in the future (and who killed him), we have to wonder if this week's fifth episode of the DC Universe series will play into that. Let's find out, as we recap the events of "Lights Out" LIVE as they happen.
The Rushville Apocalypse
The high-stakes ending of episode 4 set the stage for even higher stakes in episode 5. John Stewart understandably found himself recovering from the car crash that Hal Jordan set in motion while Earth's original Green Lantern took it upon himself to corner the race of aliens led by Antaan that were threatening to blow up Rushville. Oh yeah, and figuring out where Zoe Macon - a.k.a. the Manhunter - was at the same time.
Zoe, meanwhile, located John as the car caught fire. Instead of saving him right away, she allowed it to blow up, engulfing him in flames before she rescued him. Then, she took him to the hospital and promised to heal him if he allowed her to kill Hal without a fight from him, therefore guaranteeing him his life back and the Green Lantern ring. He agreed, officially done with Hal after everything he had done to him. Or was he?
Nevertheless, Zoe's manhunter technology healed John's skin, restoring him to his original self. Upon awaking, he revealed that he knew she killed Abin-Sur - the Lantern that brought her to Earth - because, despite his good intentions, she could never be sure that he wouldn't reveal her location to the Guardians.
Hal, meanwhile, sent the invaders to Macon, claiming that he was the Manhunter. That ended exactly as everyone - including Macon himself - predicted it would, with Antaan killing him and discovering that Hal was indeed lying. And as the Green Lantern attempted to subdue Zoe himself, he disposed of Antaan as he attempted to blow himself up on Macon's land - enveloping his detonation within the Lantern ring's shield.
This allowed Zoe to free herself, while John attacked Hal back at the motel. He overpowered him and attempted to take the ring (which Hal desperately needed to charge), but Hal momentarily managed to save them both with its shield as Zoe attacked the motel and sought out the Lantern. John ran off through the rubble before Zoe could arrive (she could never know that he was there!). She attempted to kill Hal, who was wounded on the floor below, but the Green Lantern didn't think John would be a coward. And with that, Zoe figure out the truth: She was simply the bait.
She turned, saw John waiting to shoot her, smiled, and awaited her fate. With that, John shot her dead, cut out her crystallized heart and took the ring from Hal. But this wasn't a victorious man, it was an angry one, an empty one. And with that, he reunited with the Guardian (Laura Linney) who was waiting for him at the bar and returned the ring to her. He didn't want it as it made him feel empty. He didn't want to become what Hal did.
The final shot of the episode is John walking away from the bar, leaving the Green Lantern ring behind as all of Rushville burns around him. Now, there is no Green Lantern... but we know that won't always be the case.
Episode 5 was always going to be a big one but that's just the beginning of the shenanigans in Rushville. The best - or, perhaps more appropriately - the worst - is yet to come from Lanterns.
The DC Universe's Green Lantern is coming
Ever since Lanterns began airing, we have all had one question: Hoe does this fit into the wider DC Universe? Oh, we know that, technically the events have all taken place in either 1997, 2007, 2016 and, indeed, the present day 2026. But how do they fit in? After all, the show has established that each section of the galaxy can only have one Green Lantern and Earth's present-day Lantern certainly isn't Hal Jordan or John Stewart... right?
Hal Jordan is the Green Lantern in Lanterns while the show is setting up John Stewart to become the next one. And yet, 10 years later in the present day, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) is the Green Lantern. Yes, the same, odd, strange Guy Gardner that played a major role in James Gunn's Superman, Peacemaker season 2, and is indeed expected to cameo in a future episode of Lanterns. That Guy Gardner.
It seems that now we know how Guy got the ring: Hal is no longer the Green Lantern and John didn't want to pick up the mantle. That left the Guardian with no choice but to find a new champion to command the power of the ring as Earth's new protector. And, let me say it once again, that guy is Guy Gardner.
This might also explain how the events of the first episode's flash-forward sequence came to be. You know? The scene in which Hal Jordan is seemingly dead in the snow, with John Stewart discovering his body after being shown where it was by Sheriff Kerry Kane. It looks like this series of events may have unfolded because Hal no longer had the ring to protect himself and John didn't take up the mantle either - notice how John didn't arrive from the skies or brandish a ring during the moment. He arrived by car and walked up to his old mentor.
The original battle of Rushville may be over but there are a lot of places for the story to go in the remaining three episodes of the first season. It looks and sounds like the story may be moving to 2026 as a new mystery in that small town unfolds.
Lanterns releases new episodes on HBO and HBO Max each and every Sunday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google