Aaron Pierre Shines As 'Lanterns' Gets A Thrilling Start 

[Warning: This recap contains full spoilers for the series premiere of Lanterns]

Before we get into it, I should establish that I am a massive Green Lantern fan. As a young filmmaker, the concept of a superhero whose superpower is their imagination immediately spoke to me. It also didn’t hurt that I came of age during Geoff Johns’s seminal run with the character in the comic books. I remember seeing the 2011 Green Lantern movie at midnight and the sheer disappointment I felt when I saw one of my favorite heroes get done so dirty. Having already experienced a poor adaptation, I went into Lanterns fairly guarded and ready to be disappointed. 

So with all that context out of the way, I’m pleased to announce that Lanterns knocks it out of the park in its series premiere. 

In the first 10 minutes alone, it’s immediately clear that they absolutely nailed it in the casting department. Kyle Chandler is fantastic as an older, world-weary Hal Jordan, and Aaron Pierre is John Stewart. Like, he really feels like the version from the 2000s Justice League cartoon come to life. 

The show does a solid job of establishing both characters’ origins, opening in 1996 with a young John Stewart watching a 60 Minutes interview in which Hal Jordan introduces himself as Earth’s Green Lantern. We then jump forward 20 years and see an adult John training under Hal. The core crux of their relationship is that John has been chosen by the Guardians (the big, blue bosses of the Green Lantern Corps) to succeed Hal as Earth’s Green Lantern. It’s clear off rip that Hal isn’t thrilled at the prospect of giving up his ring to John. 

In the first training exercise we see, Hal puts his ring on the dashboard of a moving car and jumps out as it barrels off a cliff, leaving John to save himself. John does (there wouldn’t be much of a show if he didn’t), but on his way back to find Hal, a backup of Hal’s consciousness emerges from the ring and tells John that there’s “hail in Rushville, Nebraska.” 

This takes us to Rushville, where a mass shooting occurred during a high school football game. Hal is convinced that the people who were killed were aliens, while the cops and John aren’t sold. John and Hal notice a man who’s trying really hard to blend in with the crowd. Hal wants to play it cool, while John wants to tell Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly MacDonald). Kane tells John she’s already clocked him, and John realizes he made a mistake as the man takes off running. 

A chase ensues, the police catch the guy, and Hal and John head to a local bar for a drink. 

The narrative efficiency in the bar scene is honestly something to marvel at. We get the story of how Hal got the ring, insight into how Hal and John move differently, and a sly setup for a potential complication: John having sex with a mysterious woman from the bar. 

Hal intentionally wanted to start a fight at the bar so he could go to jail and interrogate the man they chased. Hal does get arrested, but when John goes to bail him out the next morning, Sheriff Kane reveals that she kept him locked in the broom closet. Kane refuses to let John take Hal until he’s arraigned. 

During the arraignment hearing, Hal gets unexpected representation from Billy Macon (Jason Ritter), Sheriff Kane’s husband and the son of William Macon (Garett Dillahunt). Billy bails Hal out on the condition that he meets his father for dinner. William is charismatic, but is giving big intergalactic MAGA vibes. William goes on a speech that is essentially the great replacement theory, but instead of immigrants, it’s aliens. William uses his questionable sway to get Sheriff Kane to allow Hal to interrogate the man from earlier. 

During their time at the Macon ranch, John realizes that the woman he slept with is William’s wife. I feel like this is gonna be a thread with unforeseen consequences going forward. 

The big climax comes during the interrogation, which is both tense yet quite funny. Hal manages to get the man to admit he’s an alien, and he implies there is a much larger threat hiding within Rushville. The man then triggers an explosive device embedded in his skeleton, which still manages to blow out the windows throughout the town’s main street despite Hal using his ring to contain the blast. 

The episode flash-forwards to the present day with John heading back to Rushville. He meets up with Sheriff Kane once more, and then we get a jaw-dropping reveal: Hal Jordan, dead on the bleachers from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. 

So now we have both a mystery in the past and one in the present. I’m here for it. 

This was a hell of a way to kick off the series, and I’m truly excited to see where the show ultimately goes. While I was hoping we’d see more Hal Jordan post-Lanterns, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards. I’m incredibly curious who killed him and what role John Stewart will play in the DCU once the show ends. 

Closing Notes:

• As a comics reader, I love that we’re getting a show that resembles a six-issue miniseries/DC Black Label comic. 
• The needle drops are immaculate from start to finish. 
• I love how well the show is blending the sci-fi nature of the ring with the small-town vibes of Rushville. I really appreciated the inventive uses of the ring throughout the episode
• The show is a lot funnier than I thought it would be. While it wears its True Detective influences on its sleeve, Hal and John’s chemistry gives big Lethal Weapon/Men in Black energy. 
• “As a rural Nebraskan, that’s the breadth of your opinion on Barack Hussein Obama?” Bruh, this bit during the interrogation took me out. 
• When we flash forward to Hal’s death, we see that neither he nor John is currently wearing the ring. Did someone take it? Or are we maybe, possibly getting some Kyle Rayner action in the DCU?

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