Warning: This post contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Lanterns.
Lanterns has taken the superhero world by storm. The opening episode of this HBO series has drawn more than 20 million viewers since its release, while episode 3 hit an all-time peak by averaging 10 million viewers in its first three days alone. Everyone is eager to discover the twisted and dark secrets of Rushville, Nebraska, and what truly happened to one of DC's greatest and most iconic heroes: Hal Jordan.
Lanterns takes place mainly across three different years: 1996, 2016, and the present, 2026. In the far past, we see how the Guardians and Hal Jordan's Green Lantern shaped John Stewart's entire life. The main Manhunter mystery took place ten years ago, and that's when our two heroes reluctantly worked together to prevent the destruction of an entire city. However, we have spent very little time (if any) in the present at all, only catching a glimpse of a devastating event: Hal Jordan's death.
The corpse of the first Green Lantern to protect Earth was sitting in the same football stadium where the whole Manhunter mystery first started, completely cold and with a bullet wound in his forehead. When John arrived at the scene, he quickly realized Hal didn't have the Green Lantern ring on, but aside from this little detail, there was nothing out of place about this scene. It truly seems like the iconic hero met a terrible fate. However, mystery shows usually play with audiences' expectations, and it's very likely a similar scenario could happen again. After all, we just received the biggest clue about how Hal could've survived.
Hal Jordan's corpse could have a crystallized heart in Lanterns, revealing that the body belongs to a Manhunter
During the second episode of Lanterns, it is revealed that the Manhunters may have a role to play in all the strange events unfolding in Rushville, Nebraska, despite being believed to be extinct for years. As soon as Hal Jordan finds out about this possibility, he decides to fly into space and pay a visit to a very familiar face: Sinestro.
Hal wanted to know what the villain knew about the Manhunters, and while the two don't get off to a great start, Sinestro eventually starts talking. Audiences never see the conversation play out, but at the end of Lanterns episode 4, Hal finally reveals what he learned about the murderous androids.
Manhunters are "nearly perfect" at replicating other organisms and hiding themselves in plain sight. However, they have one small, almost undetectable flaw: Whenever they try to copy carbon-based life forms, they can't get the heart quite right. Of course, this detail is impossible to perceive when the Manhunter is alive. But if they were to die, then their heart crystallizes.
The Manhunters do not revert back to their original form after they meet their end. Instead, they stay in whatever form they had shaped into, and their heart simply crystallizes. With that in mind, there are two things off about Hal's death at the end of episode 1: first and foremost, if Earth's first Green Lantern didn't have the ring, and John isn't wearing it either, then where is it? Who else could have it? Secondly, why is the body on the same football field where William Macon's men killed four aliens ten years ago? (We'll get into this question later.)
There's a chance the show will unveil that Hal's corpse has a crystallized heart, confirming it was simply the Manhunter in disguise. The real Hal could be miles away, still wearing the ring and protecting Earth from many different threats. However, this raises the question: Why would John Stewart shed a tear while looking at Hal's corpse if he knew there was a chance it was merely a decoy?
Interestingly, John Stewart only sheds a tear after discovering the body didn't have the ring, potentially indicating that he knew at that very moment he was looking at the Manhunter in disguise. Well, in 2016, John and Zoe have a very complicated relationship, even being lovers despite the fact that the latter was married to William Macon. It's clear John felt some affection towards Zoe (who was the Manhunter all along), and it isn't far-fetched to assume that their relationship will keep evolving through the last remaining episodes of the series.
Maybe the Manhunter wasn't as evil as everyone claims. Perhaps, near the end of the show, John decides to let the android live on Earth, hiding among other people without causing trouble or raising suspicion. However, things may have gone sideways, and the group of aliens looking for the Manhunter could've crossed paths with it, only to shoot it and leave its corpse on the football field. After all, four members of this group of aliens were shot and left to die on that very same field, so this retaliation would be a stroke of poetic justice.
John could've shed a tear because he knew Zoe died (for real, this time). However, this would mean that Hal is alive and well, still using the ring all these years later.
New episodes of Lanterns are released every Sunday on HBO Max.
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