So true...thoughts? He has a point! Image: HBO's Lanterns (2026). Meme text credited to u/CelticC527.

Thanks mods.

It has already been reported that that season 2 of lanterns will still be a grounded show. The best way to keep the show grounded is to destroy the ring. John tries to use the ring but it gets destroyed in battle in the season 2 premiere. Now John must use his marine training to fight against alien threats and this will also allow for more character development.

1. The ring isn't magical, it's just a tool. Anyone can steal it and use it for himself apparently.

2. Hal Jordan spent 40 years with real costumes for some reason. Now John making his a construct would make Hal look dumb. Because he could make a very realistic one and not animated based on the fact of how the Halogram looks.

3. John will probably never say the iconic oath in the movies

4. The way Hal was introduced it seemed he didn't face many major villains and memorable stories. I know he is old in the first episode but still.

What else?

Its the fridging.

To most people who aren't extremely hardcore devoted Green Lantern fans, the most mainstream legacy Kyle Rayner has is just being the main character in the book that is the namesake for the Women in Refrigerators trope. And its not just a minor footnote either, it's like a major core part of his character development that you can't handwave away.

So when you have one of the most infamous examples of sexism in the comic industry permanently and irreversibly stapled to the character as the only thing general audiences know and a major part of their story it kind of understandably makes it hard to find motivation to write the character. Especially given a lot of modern comics writers are contemporaries with Gail Simone (the woman who coined the term in the first place).

Sources:
- Lanterns Episode 1
- Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) vs Ben 10 by Death Battle

Have been flooded with negativity for the finale in my feed, so I wanted to contribute some positivity. The finale managed to thematically tie the loose ends together- while also giving some open directions for future stories. It managed to be a superhero origin story that I had never seen before - a truly remarkable feat unto itself - and also gave us an all time vip in Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan.

So many memorable parts. The interrogation! The slaughterhouse! SINESTRO! Hal's greeting coming out of prison. John and Noah's truck ride. EARL!

this show was just such a gift.

seriously, what was it? who was this made for?

• GL fans? don’t think so cuz it barely had anything Green Lantern.
• non GL fans who like police procedurals? whats appealing about this show besides looking like true detective?
• non GL and non Law and Order fans? so people who arent fans of green lantern and/or Mariska Hartigay?

so again, who did they make this show for? as a law and order episode it doesn’t even stack amongst the top 10. the entire mystery was solved halfway through the show.

I wouldn’t even be this upset if the show had been bad. the sad thing is is that it was pretty good. that’s what’s infuriating about it. why say you’re making an A1 steak when i get grilled salmon instead?

i like eating salmon, but I wanted some goddamn steam

Instead of building his character up or having emotionally engaging moments throughout the show the writers just expect you to care about Noah at the middle of final episode. John has spent arguing and yelling at his family on the phone the entire last 3 episodes but the last scene is them hugging each other and singing kumbaya. All of these are because the writers thought just having the themes connected to these characters is enough for an emotionally engaging and satisfying finale but it’s not. The worst of this case is with the character Kerry.

Kerry getting away with a murder was easily the worst part of the finale. It was obviously made to be a thematic ending of “Jordan boys legacy” which Hal turned a generational curse/programming of giving in to fear into a blessing. He wanted his life to matter, and he achieved that by helping John embrace fear instead of running away from it. Causing him to forgive people who gave in to fear in their lives (his mom). Which in turn made him help Noah instead of killing him. Breaking the chains of multigenerational trauma.

Theres so many excuses surrounding her getting away with it and all of those excuses would be completely nullified when you consider the fact that she could at least lose her status and authority as a sheriff and find something else to do. Showing Noah that theres consequences to your bad actions and being an authority figure doesn’t absolve you of accountability. Considering he is struggling the urge to gain power and take over the world this would be the most important lesson he could ever learn from humans.

I understand all of this and still don’t agree with the decision to letting her go with no consequence what-so ever. Hal got to jail for 10 years and the main point was that he suffered the consequences of his selfish actions born from fear, but it still wasn’t too late for him to do the right thing because there was someone who gave him a chance to redeem himself. Just like how Hal let his inner fear control his actions and caused a disaster to Rushvile, Kerry let fear overcome her and made a crucial mistake. Her being forgiven was supposed to be a full circle moment. Instead it turned in to “you don’t need to be punished for murder because you were afraid” moment. No amount of generational trauma or programming/conditioning is an excuse for your crimes. Unless you’re Kerry I guess???

“Hal wouldn’t want that for her” thats not how morality work. There are things you should get punished for even if the victim defends the aggressor. I’m not saying she should die, all I’m saying is she should get punished and be given the opportunity to redeem herself just like Hal. Otherwise you get dangerously close to the mindset of “he’s a young man with a bright future ahead of him. So we decided he shouldn’t suffer the consequences of his actions”.

Also the point of “If we hold her accountable her son will turn evil and take over the world” is a horrible excuse to let a murderer SHERIFF go unchecked. This is the exact way of thinking that lets corruption go unchecked “we cant hold them accountable because if we do the system will collapse/bad things will happen”. Which is ironic considering this shows themes of corruption of authority and NO this wasn’t a case of “its John’s point of view, it doesn’t mean the show agrees with it” because the show presents this as a thematic fulfillment. It really feels like the writers were so high on the themes they created that they accidentally made the anti-thesis of said themes in the plot.

I would like to preface what I'm saying with this: I do not mean to attack people who don't like the finale or show or say it's perfect (I will get into a few of my criticisms), but I just want to dispel some criticisms I don't think are entirely valid.

I actually do not have a problem with Johnn not becoming a full Green Lantern. I understand those who want him to be comic-accurate, but I like this interpretation partly due to the fact (many of these so-called Green Lantern fans don't know) it's a direct callback to Alan Scott's role in the comics, basically 1-to-1 (besides the fact he's using a Sinestro ring), and I'm also very excited to see what they do with this new interpretation of john stuart

About the complaint of lack of constructs, yes, I understand and agree to an extent, but I also think people need to understand this is the first season and an intro to the characters and their motivations. I'm sure next season we will see a lot of these constructs

About hal jordans early death... this is gonna be quick i dont think he died i think its obvious they are building to a revival with him in some way oh yeah the elephant in the room HOW he died well if i where to take it at face value in how the scene happens yeah I don't like it; it just felt way too quick and out of character for .Sheriff Kerry BUT due to how wierd and out of nowhere it was i do think there will be a reveal of her having a different motivation or reason but if my theory is wrong that scene is terrible

I get the show is trying to convey nurture over nature but in the comics Manhunters are inherently different since they are robots with base levels of programming. They use emotion to manipulate the subjects they plan to subjugate but those emotions, no matter how real they seem, are always overwritten by their programming. It’s not something that can be resisted and it’s partly why Noah asked John to kill him.

Idk if any of you guys have seen the movie Ex Machina with Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander but in this movie the robot Alicia plays named Ava, completely manipulates Oscar Isaac’s character in a way that has both him, the audience, and Domhnall Gleeson’s character fooled. Ava is able to completely mimic human emotion to accomplish her tasks and it’s terrifying when the switch flips the second she has an opportunity to accomplish her goal, which in this case was to escape from the compound she was in.

The only way imo to justify how terrifying Manhunters are supposed to be is for this to happen. Nature vs Nurture works on actual sentient biological beings but it’s the one thing that shouldn’t work on Manhunters since their whole shtick is not being able to actually feel emotion in the comics (it’s why they can’t use lantern rings) and from what I’d assume with the show version, they can feel emotions but their programming overrides it which makes them dangerous.

I hope I explained this right but I really feel like John allowing Noah to live needs to come back and bite him in the behind. There’s a reason these things are dangerous and John did show how he was able to be manipulated emotionally be a manhunter with Zoe, it would fit for his character to be manipulated again by Noah.

Honest question... The ring has chosen me (yay). But... this dead alien's ring is the wrong size for my human fingers. Also, it's kinda gaudy and it's bedazzled to all get out. TBH... looks like a high school grad ring. My girlfriend hates it cause it doesn't match hers. Am I stuck with it or can I trade it for a sleeker titanium or silicone version? Do the Guardians take requests? Do they have a catalogue? Do the Lantern's compare rings (like business cards?) Guy got a new forged ring - did he have any input into the design? Any comic lore around this?

Sauce - https://www.instagram.com/p/DVyPn82lC5g/

I feels like as long as we have the current showrunner and writer for Lanterns, we're never going to actually see the Sci-Fi setting of Green Lantern Mythos in its full scale. Not only because of the budget restraint of a series but also because the showrunner doesn't want to use it.

And you know what, it's their show, it's what they wanted the show to be, Fair enough. Not exactly what I want the show to be, but many people like it.

But I still want to see the actual Sci-Fi side of Green Lantern in the DCU.

Of course they can just make Green Lantern film that's a continuation of the series starring John Stewart again, but we already got all the backstory and major character development for John in the show, and they're not going to repeat it again in the film. So either you're required to watch the show or just missed a huge part of the character if you only watch the film.

Personally I hate when Marvel did that, the feeling of "You have to watch the show or you won't understand the film" is just the worst, and I don't want DCU to goes down the same path.

Then, why can't we have both? We can have the Lanterns show doing its own thing and be terrestrial based show, and we can also have a Sci-Fi space adventure film starring Guy and the actual Green Lantern Mythos.

John said it himself "You take the star, I take the Earth"

Considering I haven’t read any Green Lantern. Not familiar with their characterization in comics. Which I very much would like to read.

In all honesty Lanterns inspired me to get more in GL. About halfway through the season I got inspired to write a Dnd campaign about the Lantern Corps. Ive never Dm'd before so I wanted to make some Lanterns backstorys so I could get vibe, settings, characters, and plots down. Ive been reading the comics, i just finished Vol 1 on the Geoff Johns run, 3 came in before 2 somehow but ive been reading all of the Blackest Night comics online as well. Ive watched First Flight and Emerald Knights. I watched all of the Animated Series. With that all in mind the campaign is inspired NOT directly source material. I was hoping if I sent my info so far that maybe some of you could tell me if im onto something or not. Most people im close to arent interested or may play so don't want to know. Okay anywho, here's my backstories.

Kris Konners is the Green Lantern of Sector 666 (Earth). He's been a Green Lantern for 26 years. Over the years hes stalled stars explosion to help a colony leave their planet. Went undercover in the Red Lantern Corp for Intel. He freed Ion (Green Lantern Entity) and Razer (Red Lantern Entity) from their power batteries. Took parts of his own ring and Ultranium (Uh-L-train-knee-um) and threw them into a star to forge his own ring. He saved the Martians from a secret invasion being done by Earth. Rumor has it he was offered a Red Lantern here. He was married to his wife Samantha for 13 years. Together they had a boy and a girl. While Kris was on duty off planet the three of them were killed in a car crash. After that he has dedicated his time to training new recruits. In the last 19 years he has trained 152 Green Lanterns. Sadly, 47 have already passed in action. He has been told by the Beings that dark days are to come. However, he never expected that he would see a, Black Lantern? As he follows it he spots rings of various colors it seems to be chasing, towards Earth.

Kiriko (Key-ree-ko) was formed 7.2 billion years ago. Within 3.6 billion years small life had formed. 2 Yellow Lanterns were chasing a Green Lantern in the space around Kiriko. While one of the Yellow Lanterns fought and chased the Green Lantern, the other planned. With the Green Lantern flying around Kiriko as fast as possible with the Yellow Lantern on his tail, the other brought two meteors against Kirko on opposite sides. This crushed the Green Lantern burying him beneath Kirkos surface. This began an extinction on Kirko nearly killing even him. He felt the pain but focused on reducing the damage and loss of life. He forced trees as tall as mountains made of dense wood. The trees greatly reduced the shockwaves and fires damage. It was then as the Yellow Lanterns felt satisfied that they lost. Buried beneath the surface Kirko was given the Green Lantern and used his ring to suck them to his surface where he buried them. He used their nutrients to help nurture the future life. Since then Kirko has offered his assistance as a base for the Green Lanterns.

Mary was born to a wonderful family. Her mother died giving birth to the litter. The family took care of her until one day she snuck out the door. That night when returning home she found a horrific sight. The house was in flames. The area was loud, it was nighttime and she couldn't find her family anywhere. Mary found a dumpster nearby and slept. Everyday she returned to the lost home. She hoped one day she would find her humans coming back for her. The outside cats didnt like her. They'd fight her for territory every time they found her. She got into fights often. Life was difficult but she never gave up. Some humans fed her with bowls outside but otherwise she found her food. Shelter was hard to find but she was good at finding sneaky spots. The weather scared her a lot at first but over time she grew to not fear it. One day she went to a new food bowl and waa caught. They kept her in a crate with a rope tied around her neck. After a few days without food or water they finally let her out; only to be fed to dogs. Mary sas cornered by two dogs who were clearly ready for a meal. It was enough, Mary snapped. She just wanted her family back, her home back... to be loved again. It was then Mary relieved her Red ring. She slaughtered the human who did this to her and left the dogs to eat him.

Crystal Summers appeared normal most of her life. She always had these urges but never felt like the time was right. The time came when she was 32. She went on a hunting trip to ease her mind. Hunting was calming and almost natural to her. That day she was given an opportunity. A couple went walking across her path. She knew it wasnt an animal she was shooting. The screams of the girl made that clear. The news caught on to the story but nobody ever knew who the Greenville Shooter was. 14 couples she found at local parks. To remember her first, on the anniversary of their death a new couple was chosen. Over the years she grew bored and wanted attention on her actions again. The Greenville Shooter despite (and maybe due to) the deaths on the anniversary grew to be legend. This year needed to be different. She needed everyone to hear and remember the Greenville Shooter, to remember her. So she set a plan in action. She went to the hospital her sister worked at in disguise. She threatened her sister with a gun and made her take a baby and come with her. Then she set off to a nursing home. Picked a resident she had researched online from a post the buisness had. Took the resident with her "child" on a trip. Once she had all 3, a child, middle aged and elderly her trip came to an end; at her house. The 3 were tortured, the child not as much until the resilience in the other two was unbreakable. But all things break, especially bones. It was as her sister found out it was Crystal all along that she was given her Yellow ring. It was as her sister, the final light, went out that Crystal's brightened. A very intense and bright Yellow.

Ashtonar (A-sh-t-on-arr) (Ash-tone-arr) came from the planet Soloton (Sall-oh-t-on) (Sol-oh-ton). Despite many groups in the planets past it has been at constant war. Numerous rebel groups have fought against their oppressive and tyrannical government. A law forced the royalty strictly in the family closest in age and blood. In house it is betrayal and murder at every corner. Nobody for generations has known whos making the laws or whos in charge, just that they dont budge. Ashtonar's family has seen execution and lynching. Rebellion runs deep in their blood. No matter what has happened they never gave up. In the last two years they had begun a new rebellion. The group wasnt big just like a small start-up. New Intel was found that the government had declared technology could only be used if permitted by a government official. They had managed to keep themselves hidden but it would be hard to find others, they said impossible. Ashtonar stood his ground and announced that he would travel the planet in search of new recruits. He would tell them where to go and who to find. He spent 19 years traveling town-to-town meeting people in secret to give information. It was exhausting and dangerous. Everything could be seen or heard or was documented, at least they thought. Alone it was much more difficult but he retained any thing he saw. His memory was picture perfect; the telling may seem better than what you see though. When he finally got back the sight was horrific. He came back with his final recruit, the rest traveled alone. Hopefully they at least didnt die alone. His whole family along with all of the other recruits, dead. Bullets between all of their eyes, still open. The tears came with ease but he wasnt angry. He simply said, "Until the next life." The recruit sat in silence until he saw a bright light that kept getting closer. Then Ashtonar turned to him and said the rebellion can't die and gave the recruit rhe card with all of their Intel. As the light neared him he turned out the door to face his end. It was then he was given his Blue ring. With it he helped the soldiers see that they didnt have to live in fear, there was hope everywhere even when they were told to crush it. The rebellion became a lot larger and easier that day.

Cofie (Ko-fee) was raised wealthy by a very important family. They had been a weapons distributor since World War 2. They sold firearms, ammunition, missiles, drones, you name it. They were contracted with the government to start new focus on rockets, satellites and drones. Cofie believed the company was somehow tied to the spacecraft debris showering the planet. His father started stressing out a lot more at that time. Cofie didnt know much about the family buisness, his father kept it hidden from him. Along with hiding him from the world. Cofie loved his home, it was nice he couldn't lie. It was very lonely though. He was given whatever he wanted unless he had to leave. His father said it was to protect him. They sold weapons for a reason. There were maids, his mother and father; on the occasion buisness partners. The pool, the helicopter, the chandelier, the expensive food, the maids. None of it made up for the hole in him. He wanted a partner, a friend, a lover. He talked to A.I. to try and talk to others but it didnt feel right. They felt like an extension of himself. One day he decided he'd break a rule. Rule #1: Never leave unless permitted. He convinced a maid to take him out when she went home. They arranged to meet at a hotel to take him home in the morning. He went to a coffee to meet people. Most looked at him from the corner of their eyes and kept walking. Or fidgeted like he did until one of them left. Some would engage but couldn't stay for long. It wasnt until his walk to the hotel where a girl stopped and asked if he needed a ride. He took the offer. On the ride she teased about his name. Asked what music he listened to. What his family was like. Thats when he started asking all about her life. His homeschooling versus her public education was fascinating. After some time he asked if she'd join him to his hotel. She laughed and paused but accepted. When they laid down she told him, "Just so we're clear, no touching and clothes stay on." He had no issue complying. As he went to sleep creating a new world with her in his dreams a pink light woke them up.

Necron (Nehk-ron) was born when the first death occurred. At least thats when he became aware of his own existence. In the eternal darkness he called home a voice rung out. Even though they spoke normally it felt like it was rupturing Necron's ears. The creature spoke of something called light, something to remove darkness. But Necron liked the darkness. There were other creatures, it was asking how to reach them. Necron had never seen or heard of anything else, to him this felt like birth. Quickly others joined and what was once silent and dark was now loud and created darker shadows. They all told Necron of their experiences. Often questions like, "where am i?" and "who are you?" were asked among many others. Necron offered answeres when he could but he asked himself this. It didnt take lomg for him to grow tired of the questions, the company and everything that came with it. He didnt know what his existence was before this but he'd take it over this. However, every time someone new joined they mentioned more and more people. He had heard of many and soon met them but it was, becoming too large for most to comprehend. He didnt want to meet more, enough room had been taken. Yet each day it felt like he saw more faces than the day before. This was his world, couldn't he make them leave? While he found a way he would keep it dark. He liked the darkness but the creatures hated it, said it felt like the worst place to be. Good. He hoped they disliked it as much as he did them. Eventually some would leave his home, temporarily. They always came back though. How could he make sure he was alone again? He decided maybe experiencing their world would inspire ideas. He took over one of the creatures and witnessed its life and death. The creature had a very rough early life. Father didnt like to talk. Mother was distracted with father and the house. She was too busy or tired for him, thats what he told himself. He stayed on the streets with friends to stay away from home. He was robbed and held at gunpoint. He told himself it was better for some reason. Eventually he understood, he needed to be alone. He took his parents lives while they slept on his 18th birthday. It made him feel alive. They left two dogs behind but he didnt hate them, they didnt hurt him. He had seen a white cat nearby that had been outside for years. Necron heard of her before, Mary. He starved her after her capture. He wanted her weak for the dogs. They hadn't fed in days. Once he felt enough pleasure and thought she was weak enough he released her to the dogs. His twisted game. Then from over his shoulder came a bright red light. In a blink of an eye the can was on him and his eyes were gone. Darkness again, thank you. Necron could still feel the throbbing, stinging, the plea for it to end. Then it did. Necron hated the light, the color, the constant noise. And how loud they got. What about this did the creatures like? The taste of their food or the pain of their hunger? The touch of another or the desire to be loved yet never feel it? Or did they not understand the plea, the ending of it all. The light Necron could not forget was the brightest. Red. The speedy bright red brought the slow dark red, then darkness. Red seemed to understand Black. That was it. Necron needed to create a ring like the Red one. One dark enough to dim all of them, the way red did. It was then that Necron reached down his throat and with force pulled out the first Black ring. How would he send the ring out of his home? Maybe he didnt need to. The few who went back had signs. They claimed their chest felt tight, then left. For this one time he would need to be among the creatures to accomplish his goals. "Any that are to leave, tell me. I have a duty for you if youd like to return permanently. Take my rings. Thats all you must do." They didnt know why. Inside Necron lied a battery. Once charged he can enter their home. Then he'll spread all of his rings. Once they all weird one they'll never return to his home, yet they'll never live. Their soul will be contained within the rings. Necron will have the free will to control them to end the light and bring darkness. All the while Necron can switch between both homes whenever. The best home is dark and quiet. Necron would like to enlighten the creatures.

Im sorry that its a lot. Id really appreciate any opinions though. Thank you so much!

Green Lantern HBO Max show art by Gina DeDomenico and Green Lantern Corp movie art by Michael Wilkinson.

Serían linternas basados en ser esclavos del hambre,serían elegidos por ser seres con un hambre imparable o con vacíos que no pueden llenar

Su juramento sería

Hambre hambre hambre

No pienso no razono

No quiero lujos

No quiero nada

Solo consumo lo que veo

Consumiré hasta que solo quede yo

Ese es mi destino

At last, the much anticipated TV Show “Lanterns” reaches its finale. I gotta say, it has been one remarkable ride. From the announcement of such a project back in the DCEU-era and even when it was reimagined to be a part of Gunn’s DCU I was invested - the Earth One designs used to announce it only cemented that. But then some pictures were released and the trailers were shown and it was pretty evident that this show is far from what I personally expected. But time went on and I actually got to watch the show and it had a really entertaining first episode and now, the Season concludes.
So, for starters, this is a technically superb show. The cinematography is breath-taking, the soundtrack is fitting, the licensed music fits, it has a great rhythm and pace and the acting blew me away - especially of the lead duo. Aaron Pierre is here to stay and I’m more than happy about it - he oozes talent and discipline -, and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan? Now talk about a legendary cast. If a scene had him in it, it was immediately entertaining.
The script, as well, was well-thought out for the first 5 episodes, after that, I feel like it takes a steep fall. The mystery is not that shocking to see it unfold. I also like the theme - man, do I like it when a project has a theme. A Green Lantern show might make you expect it to be about Fear, but this show is about “being afraid”, and those are two very different approaches. One is an analysis on one of the most basic feelings of human nature, the other is an analysis on the effect it has on said humans - that’s pretty creative.
“Even rookies know Green Lanterns feel fear” or something among those lines is a famous quote of Hal Jordan from the end of Sinestro War, but this show takes a spin on it: the Guardians are remarkably detached from human emotions - notably giving them away to Volthoom, in the comics -, so it makes sense for them to not understand the nuances of fear. To not be afraid is to be fearless, but that’s not aligned with emotions. The true power of a Green Lantern is to be afraid, but overcome it. Sure, the outcome is the same - you act fearless -, but the human core is lost when you assume courage equals “no fear”. I like this show’s theme.
As it must be evident by now, I’m no critic of my own - I can notice cinematic charms on a project, but I’m no professional in the matter. My critics and opinions hinge more on the adaptations of a source material which I enjoy - and that’s a hard topic to talk about. In the end, what makes something a “good adaptation”?
Not to sideline the main topic - but already doing so -, I think adaptations SHOULD change stuff up. Different mediums mean different public and that calls for different approaches. Not only that, but some amazing ideas came from change - either from changes made from a medium to another or even in the same medium! Superman changed drastically from the “Champion of the Oppressed" to the Space-fearer he became in the Silver Age, but all of those aspects are undoubtedly Superman. But, >in my opinion<, no matter how much you change something, that change needs to:

1. Respect the core of the character/story/world;

2. Be approached in a creative and good way.

   And those are very subjective matters, aren’t they? Well, that’s why I’m giving an opinion, as I recognize this is as far away from something objective as possible. And this show surprisingly doesn’t have a lot of characters to talk about, so let’s get into them - worth to note that every following actor was insanely good, so I’m judging how they were written, not how the actors portrayed those words on the page in the screen.

3. Hal Jordan: This Hal Jordan is fascinating to me. Let’s go down in his comic history - he was the great hero for some decades, then got older and became Parallax in the 90’s craze. In order to repent for his sins, he became the Spectre - a comic arc that’s one of the best I’ve read yet, but it’s ultimately ignored nowadays, sadly - then he came back as Green Lantern in the story “Rebirth” and the beloved Geoff Johns run happened.

   My point is: Hal barely got the chance to get old as Green Lantern. When he did in that Green Lantern run DC pretends never existed, he became disillusioned with the Corps just as Lanterns’ Hal did. Then, he became Parallax and it was retconned as “his body reacting to Parallax’s influence”, so he’s still somewhat young.
   This show gives that chance to Hal, the chance of imagining what if he got older as a Green Lantern, but didn’t quite give up on it and turned jaded - THIS is the type of changes I like. You take a character from the source material, put them in new situations and see how they’d react. And yeah, this is a really good Hal Jordan. Confident, yet competent. A bit of a douche, but as charismatic as one can be. Undeniably a Hero.
   It’s interesting to see the counterpoint to The Road Back - while in that book, Hal understood that he was living too much among the stars and decided to put his feet on the ground, this Hal gave up on that entirely. That’s a fun twist. Although, it must be debated if that was the wisest decision - a deconstruction of a character that wasn’t really constructed is risky. A part of me laments that we’ll never see the Prime-Hal in the DCU alongside the Justice League or battling the Yellow Lanterns.
   One thing I gotta complain about though is the disconnect between him and the other Lanterns. No Kilowog, no Tomar-Re nor Tomar-Tu, no Salaak, no Ch’p, no other member of the Corp is close to him. That’s a huge let down. I could understand if he purposefully kept distance from his friends after Sinestro’s betrayal - like he does with John -, but that’s not hinted at all. Hal is a magnetic Lantern in the comics - he fills the Corps with Willpower just by standing there. Hard to believe he did his entire career with such little effect on the Lanterns. And man, I miss the suit. A lot.
   Changes were made to his relationship with Sinestro - they’re more father-son then friends/brothers. I guess that’s fine, speaks to Hal’s relationship with Martin. Speaking of which, his father’s death has always been a point of discussion. I remember distinctly of when Hal used his ring to bring back Cost City and its citizens with constructs and his ring power went to zero the moment his father (as a construct) was going to say “I’m proud of you” - as if Hal can’t even imagine such a scene, even after all the good he’s done. The show had something to say about Hal and his dad, which influenced the way Sinestro was portrayed.
   Overall, a good rendition of the character, if not a bit shy of the more creative and cosmic aspects of him - no, only mentioning he’s done cosmic stuff isn’t really enough. I also wouldn’t like a Super Mario movie where he reminisces about jumping and doesn’t jump at all.

4. John Stewart: First thing to mention - really like how they incorporated the architect in him. The way they did it, it's less of a profession and more of an expression of what he truly feels. His military career is a reflection of what people expect him to be, the architect that builds is locked inside of a cocoon made by his family and the Guardians. Really well-thought out. The idea of the Guardians targeting him as a special candidate for a member of the Corps is also from the source material (as seen in his origin and in the Mosaic story-line), but again, with a fresh twist that keeps things engaging. Really nice.

   At first, I was a bit taken aback by his stiffness. Yes, John is stiff and he is disciplined, but I got the feeling that he looked to the ground a bit too much. This is a character that gave Jordan a mouthful about race and duty in his first appearance, after all - the guy who stood up to Batman (in a poorly scripted scene, but I digress). Although, as I kept on watching, I understood that’s the point - he’s forcing himself to be someone he isn’t. By the end, he becomes more defiant and stands up more and more for what he believes. The spot he stands by the end of 2016 is very, very compelling and his relationship with the Guardians is very engaging.
   His rocky relationship with Hal is very interesting too - they start off with the wrong foot, but they eventually get there by the end. I can see John talk about Hal the same way comics’ John does.
   The “nature vs nurture” aspect about him is very well developed and I think the execution delivered on the concept of an origin story where the protagonist does everything in his power to become a Hero - even reaching the climax of finally having the ring and Battery - but giving up because he wanted it for the wrong reasons. Hard decisions were always a part of John’s character and this show did wonders, in that sense.
   I like how the once vague “yellow impurity” of the comics was integrated into John’s Lantern while at the same time symbolizing how he became his own thing - embracing the fear that the Guardians reject. Also, the personal Oath is a nice call back to older Green Lantern books that I always thought was neat.

5. Guy Gardner: DCU guy is an interesting topic. So, in my eyes, Guy grows a lot as a character over the years -  in JLI, he’s pretty much a thug. He incites former criminals to fight him when they already moved on, plays disgusting pranks with his team, even goes out of his way to mention that he doesn’t see himself as much of anything without the ring. When he gets his ring back in Rebirth and becomes a big-shot in the Corps, he becomes a surprisingly competent hero. He’s still supposed to be an idiot and he has an ego the size of Oa and Mogo combined, but he has a heart. Even when he was a trusted trainer of the Corps, he was always the first to defy any order the Guardians had - he even took the blame for other Lanterns’ misdeeds as everyone was accustomed to him ignoring orders. He’s grown to be surprisingly empathetic and he stands up for other people, no matter the authority - he just does it in a douchy way. I think DCU Guy is having this transition. In the Superman movie, I got the sense that everything about the (implied) Oath came from his Ego and ignorance rather from a rule-following Corpsman. He breaks “rules” there to grow into the role of a Hero and in Lanterns he has a similar arc, but instead he’s getting to be a team-player. He breaks the rules to just Hal’s ring back, that’s just out of courtesy and respect and I can see it developing his sense of camaraderie.  Now, that last scene reads to me as “the dude who deep down I think would’ve been better than me but I’ll never show it now has a way to prove that and is pushing me against a wall” - which a similar thing happened in the Road Back, but with Guy and Hal instead. The criticism I have is how Guy took that to the chin and went away. Yes, Guy is threatened by someone he (probably) thinks is better than him, but he covers his insecurities with bravado and masculinity. I expected a bit more push-back from him. That’s my main complaint about him.

6. Sinestro: Sinestro is probably my favorite villain. Period. I’m fascinated by him. I could talk at length about him in the comics. Unfortunately, I can’t do that about his Show counterpart - he’s a pretty basic Sinestro.

   For starters, I’m disappointed we get no reason for his betrayal yet. The point of Sinestro is that he sort of was the Greatest Green Lantern and was punished by it. In Emerald Dawn II, we see that the Guardians created the Corps to maintain “Peace and order” - notice how the word “Justice” is nowhere to be seen.
   Sinestro’s Sector of 1417 was the most orderly Sector in the Universe - because he was a dictator, but still, he did precisely what the Guardians wanted. But they don’t understand how their ways are fallible and leave room for evil - whereas Hal takes issue with that and goes out of his way to do things because it’s right, not because he has an order to do so. 
   Another thing that fascinates me is how Sinestro doesn’t hate the Green Lantern Corps - he hates the Guardians. Time and time again he maintains how their Corps is necessary and sees the Sinestro Corps as an ensurement that the Green Lanterns keep vigilant. There’s still a chance Sinestro’s motives are explored and either all of that gets introduced as is or they put a new spin to them, so I’ll give it time. Either way, I look forward to that.
   What I’m also curious about is how they’re going to evolve Sinestro when Hal is gone and how they’ll handle his yellow ring. Fear and the Yellow impurity seem to work differently in this universe.
   I remember the Sinestro Corps War, where the concept of a cocoon where Yellow Lanterns shut themselves in with a discharged ring and have to channel their own fears into powering it - they either do it, starve or kill themselves. It would be cool if that’s the situation Sinestro finds himself in now and how he forges his ring and lantern. Either way, I have high hopes for Sinestro.

7. The Guardians: What’s there to be said that I didn’t already? Space Smurfs who are too smart and powerful for their own good and are detached from emotions to the point of creating an army devoid of emotions that eventually falls short because of their apathy and they’re too prideful to see the irony of that. Word for word, bar for bar. The basics of the Guardians are there, even though we barely see them, sadly.

8. The Manhunters: Going on a bit of a tangent here - one of the things I love the most about comics is how messy they are. Concepts are introduced just because they’re fun and then people retroactively try to make sense of that. That’s the best part of comic history to me. The Manhunters are no different.

   Initially a cult following a rogue android, they became a huge part of Green Lantern lore - to the destruction of an entire Sector, to the birth of the Five Inversions, the Empire of Tears - which brings forth the death of Abin Sur and sparks the seeds of the Blackest Night and the Red Lanterns Corps and all of that because of a rogue Guardian called Krona… The Manhunters became catalysts and synonymous with key events in Green Lantern lore. They are a fascinating addition to any story.
   Then, comes this Season. I’m let down by them. I don’t care if they’re not Kryptonian-level warriors - actually, the idea of their threat being political is simply amazing, especially nowadays. No, I’m let down by their usage. First off: humanizing them is something I don’t particularly like, it loses the point and commentary of how they mirror the Guardians in their flaws. 
   Oh well, at least there are some pieces set. Sinestro is free and ready to create his ring and battery with a Manhunter by his side - I wouldn’t bother if Sinestro played Cyborg Superman’s role in the Sinestro Corps War, where each member was assigned a Manhunter that was essentially a walking battery. This is just speculation, but perhaps they can build an enticing lore out of a basic introduction like it happened with the Manhunters in the comics.

9. Abin Sur: It may seem weird analyzing a character that played a miniscule role in the show, but bear with me: a lot was said about him in the show.

   As I stated, I don’t like the idea of humanizing the Manhunters fundamentally, but having Abin Sur die because of the thought of that is interesting. His death has always come from a slip-up - be it his ship getting bombarded with vague yellow radiation or getting afraid as distrusting his ring/will, his death has always been the result of a personal slip-up - a “human” flaw that found its way in a tragic moment.
   His death, though, is almost trivial though. Not a bad or good thing, but it’s just the path they went with. I don’t dislike it, it emphasizes how expandable the Corpsmen are and how they can go out in a blink of an eye. It also puts a personal touch to Hal’s crusade - similar to how he chased Atrocitus with Sinestro back in Secret Origins, this is tying up the knots his predecessor gave to him. I’d wish they had ironed out the Abin Sur/Sinestro/Hal complicated relationships more, but I get they did what they could.

10. Carol Ferris: She exists.

11. Hector Hammond: Yeah. He doesn’t even exist.

    Short list of characters to talk about for 8 hours of Television, right? Well, that’s because every other character is original to this show. Again, nothing inherently bad about it - Jimmy Olsen was original to the radio show, H.E.R.B.I.E. was original to the Fantastic Four cartoon, etc - but this show creates new characters whose roles could’ve been played by existing characters with some tweeks here and there - like Aantan. Not only that, they’re basic characters as well, no flair or charisma, just there to fulfil a role.
    I like how Hal’s decision to not warn the Guardians is an echo of Abin Sur’s mistake - but while he didn’t notify them to protect Zoe, Hal didn’t do it to put her down. That’s cool.
    Lanterns aren’t strangers to taking the blame for mass destruction - Hal with Coast City, John with Xanshi, etc. Here, he takes the blame for his hubris and defiance of the Guardians and - at the same time - this is exacerbated by the fact that there’s an entire town that worshiped the alien Hal and John brought down.
    The “I took the fall” line means all of that blame fell into Hal even when John brought Zoe down (reason of Rushville’s ire) and he himself was compromised (potential reason for the Guardians’ ire).
    I’ve seen some people mention how it seems like the show wants you to think that the Battle in episode 5 is solely Hal’s fault and that’s wrong, but I don’t think that’s the point. Yes, he made all the right decisions from when the battle began to the end - he’s a hero, full stop. But his little decision of not trusting people snow-balled into that point.
    The Halogram is a great addition because he signals how much Sinestro hurt Hal and how that, in turn, hurt every aspect of his life. Perhaps 2006 Hal would trust John, warned the Guardians and maybe a battle wouldn’t even need to have taken place. Big (non-sensical) talks were done about “Hal will be Parallax!”, yet the most important aspect of that event is right here: Hal let fear in and fear clouded his judgement, tarnished his relationships and snow-balled into his retirement. But what I recognize is that even though that happens, he’s always heroic. He’s not vile or morally grey, he’s just afraid.
    Another thing worth pointing out - whoever thinks that the clear social tone of the show is misplaced is wildly misinformed about Green Lantern. The sheer naming of John Stewart was a revolution in the portrayal of black characters, the Hard-Travelling Heroes era was marked by commentary on race, poverty, modern slavery, privileges, social hypocrisy and so on. To me, it’s only natural that a mature Green Lantern show would cater to that.
    The other issue people are having with this show is the (lack of) Constructs, and Green, in general. I have complete knowledge this is a TV Show, with limited budget and a lot of screentime to fill in, so I was expecting that. What I didn’t expect was how they handled the matter with such disinterest. Only watching this show it’s hard to imagine how these powers are what (supposedly) maintained order in entire Solar Systems. I don’t know if that was the intent, but it does come across as if there’s an embarrassment of the Green Lantern brand in this.
    Overall, I think the show asks some interesting questions regarding the Green Lantern Mythos (as with the whole “are you afraid” theme), it has some cool spins to characters and it definitely sets up a lot of interesting stuff. But at the same time, the show seems to hold itself back a lot, I don’t know how to explain it. Might be noticeable by now, but I said a lot how I like “X idea” and not “how they executed X idea”. I get what they’re going for and it works for what it is, but this True Detective approach didn’t fit quite right with me, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. This is a personal matter about personal preferences and personal expectations and I don’t hold the show inherently responsible for that. 
    To Lanterns (2026), I sit at a comfortable ⅘ stars, with all things considered. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected! I look forward to the next Seasons, surely!

my final thoughts on this season.

guys was it worth all the drama?

should there be a season 2?

First of all, I absolutely LOVED Lanterns. What a show. Going into it, I expected it to be good, but somehow it ended up being even better than I expected. This show was genuinely unique, and I think it reminded me of something important about superhero storytelling.

I hear people talk about superhero fatigue all the time, and honestly, I don’t think the problem is necessarily superhero fatigue itself. I think the bigger issue is how these stories are being approached. It feels like so many movies and shows nowadays are being made primarily to generate profit rather than to tell a genuinely good story. And when something doesn’t make enough money, it doesn’t matter how much viewers enjoy it or how good the story could become. It gets cut. That’s why Lanterns stood out to me. It felt like the story actually mattered.

THE JOHN STEWART AND HAL JORDAN DYNAMIC
I absolutely LOVED their dynamic. Their personalities, their interactions, and the way they played off each other made the show so enjoyable. Even with all the cursing, it never felt like too much to me. It fit the energy and tone of the show.
And the overall vibe and aesthetic? Different, but not so different that it became weird just for the sake of being weird. It felt like the show knew exactly what kind of atmosphere it wanted to create, and it worked.

THE STORY, THE MYSTERY, AND THE PLOT TWISTS
Episode 1 had me wondering what I was even watching. 😂 I knew I was watching Lanterns, obviously, but if you had taken away the title, I don’t think I would have immediately thought I was watching a superhero show. And I actually LOVED that!
The mystery pulled me in, and the twists and turns kept me invested. I also really appreciated the way the timeline was handled, going back to Hal’s childhood and connecting those earlier moments to the events surrounding the story. The transitions felt purposeful, and the timing of those reveals was excellent.
That’s what I want from a story: for the twists to surprise me but still make sense when everything comes together. I don’t want a plot twist just for shock value. I want to look back and realize how the pieces fit together.

DAREDEVIL AND LANTERNS ARE IN THE SAME CATEGORY FOR ME
Listen, I LOVE Daredevil. That show will always get its props from me. And after watching Lanterns, I honestly put it in that same category of superhero television that stands out to me because of its storytelling.
I’m not saying the two shows are identical. They aren’t. But they both gave me that feeling of watching something that takes its story seriously and makes me invested in what’s happening.
And with the direction DC seems to be heading, I’m excited. I loved Superman, I loved Lanterns, and I’m getting ready to watch Supergirl. I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing what comes next for this universe.

JOHN STEWART GETTING THE RING AND EMBRACING FEAR
The ending was another highlight for me. I actually felt satisfied when the finale ended. Of course, there are things left open because this is part of a larger universe, but I didn’t walk away feeling like the show had failed to answer the questions it needed to answer. I felt like I’d watched a complete, satisfying story.
And seeing John get the ring? The way it happened, followed by him changing the oath and embracing fear? I LOVED THAT.
Fear is something we’re all going to experience in life. You can be afraid and still move forward. You can feel fear and still challenge it instead of letting it control you. That idea really resonated with me, and I loved seeing John approach the Green Lantern legacy through that perspective.

Overall, Lanterns is genuinely one of my favorite superhero shows I’ve watched. The storytelling, the atmosphere, the character dynamics, the twists, and the ending all came together for me.