Lanterns
John Johnson/HBO Max
Well, at this point, I have no idea what Lanterns is doing. But I mean that in a good way.
In any other series, it’s easy to see how last night’s episode 5 of Lanterns would have been a season finale. The conflict came to a head with Zoe fully revealed as the Manhunter, Antaan and Macon going to war, and the showdown between Hal and John coming to a head. John kills Zoe, beats the ring out of Hal and then turns it in to the Guardians. Storyline over.
Well, this timeline’s storyline, in any case.
All we really know about what comes next is the apparent death of Hal as seen in the premiere, a mystery that will need to be solved, whether that’s who killed him, or some explanation as to how that’s not really him. We also seem to now know how Guy Gardner has the ring in Superman, given that neither Hal nor John seems to have it then (though we know John will have it in Man of Tomorrow, next year’s Superman sequel). But where the last three episodes are taking us, including the finale which even critics haven’t seen, remains a complete unknown, and that’s kind of great.
Lanterns
John Johnson/HBO Max
What this episode also did, however, was burn up two fan theories that seemed like they might pan out. One was that William Macon would turn out to be Black Hand, a Green Lantern comic-book villain also named William. His actor, Garrett Dillahunt, all but implied that his character would turn out to be someone recognizable. Well, with Macon’s heart ripped out of his body, that appears to have been not true.
The alien who ripped that heart out, Antaan, was also believed to be a version of Atrocitus, a very big and brutal Green Lantern villain that had essentially the exact same backstory as Antaan. But Hal tornadoed Antaan away, who blew himself up in the sky. So, not Atrocitus then.
This is a comic book world, so nothing is impossible and death can be temporary. It could be the case that either of these characters could be resurrected somehow, as we know more seasons of Lanterns (are almost certainly) still to come. Though it was kind of amusing to watch two fan theories blow up, one of them literally, in episode 5 like this.
Lanterns has done something only a few comic book adaptations have done very well, create a compelling set of mysteries that few actually found the answers to, despite millions coming up with ideas (though Zoe was guessed as the Manhunter at least, mainly because there are only really four “town” characters in the series, so some people were bound to get it right). As for who killed Hal? I don’t think anyone knows where that’s going, nor what on earth happens in these final three episodes now.
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