‘Lantern’ Ending, Explained: Who Killed Hal Jordan?

last time we went out lanternJohn Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Hal Jordan’s hologram (Kyle Chandler) visited the last alien world that was destroyed by Manhunter Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan). There, amid the ruins and the powerful remains of Manhunter’s tear gas, they discover Sinestro (Ulrich Thomson), last seen, in a high-security space prison.

While an exciting tease lantern‘This sequence, which has more cosmic potential, also left the audience with a lot of questions. How did Sinestro escape? What was he doing on the dead planet of Antan (Paul Ben-Victor), and how did a portal to Rushville close? as well as, lantern There was still no answer to the question that had haunted him from the beginning: Who killed Hal Jordan?

thankfully, lantern All of these questions are also answered in the Season 1 finale, which nicely synthesizes broader discussions of fear and family. If you’re afraid of spoilers, it’s time to turn back. Otherwise, let’s get into it.

How did Sinestro escape from prison, and what is he up to now?

Before we talk about Hal’s murder, let’s talk about the big, pink elephant in the room: Sinestro.

When John and Hal find him on the planet of Antan, he is working in some kind of furnace, where he has created a brand new lantern. Unlike the lantern we’ve seen Hal use to charge his rings, this lantern is yellow. The new color comes from fear left in the planet’s water and air. While Sinestro says this Lantern will function like any other, ironically, the presence of yellow is a red flag for any Green Lantern fan. In addition to being associated with fear, Yellow is also associated with the villain Sinestro Corps as well as the cosmic fear parasite Parallax. Just with a few streaks of yellow, lantern This may be setting up its future opponents.

But Sinestro isn’t making the Lantern for himself. He’s making it up to the guy who broke him out of jail: Noah Macon (Shea Pritchard), the son of Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly MacDonald). How the hell was a high school football star able to break Sinestro out of space prison? The answer is that he is no ordinary high school football star. Noah is also a Manhunter.

How is Noah Macon a Manhunter?

Noah is lantern‘Manhunter’s second secret is revealed, which comes as an extra shock since Zoe was supposed to be the last secret. Also, according to Antan’s conversation with William Macon (Garrett Dillahunt) in Episode 5, it seems that the Manhunters are not able to reproduce.

However, it appears that Zoe was able to use her Manhunter technology and a sample of Kerry’s body to create a new Manhunter. As Kerry later tells John in the finale, Zoe had to grow Kerry’s severed finger back to protect herself from Gotham goons. Instead, Kerry found herself pregnant, which was strange since she had not been intimate with anyone for several months. She gave birth to Manhunter Noah and tried her best to keep him from becoming a monster.

What is Noah’s plan?

Despite Kerry’s best efforts, Noah finds out who he really was. (Remember Zoe telling him, “Don’t forget what I told you”? She was Definitely Giving him Manhunter tips.) As he grows up, he finds himself caught in a classic battle of nature versus nurture: should he succumb to his power-hungry Manhunter ways? Or should he remain good and caring, like his mother taught him? His interest in politics and even the President in episode 7 shows that he leans towards the former. Yet his kindness to his teammates, including making his college football decision so more scouts could see him play, highlights how much good he still has.

Realizing he is in danger from the Guardians, Noah seeks the help of the only man who has ever killed a Guardian: Sinestro. They break him out of jail and put him to work making lanterns as a contingency plan for his safety. He learned about the planet of Antan and how to get there from Zoe, who visited there occasionally.

Hal learns of Noah’s Manhunter nature when Noah rescues him from his burning house. He agreed to keep Kerry in the dark about Noah’s knowledge, but he couldn’t do anything except peek around in Noah’s portal. John believes that Hal’s interference caused Noah to kill him, but the truth is far more devastating.

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Who killed Hal Jordan?

In a heartbreaking turn of events, it was Kerry, not her son, who killed Hal. When he confronts her about Noah being the Manhunter she shoots him down, insisting that he get away from Noah before enacting his plan.

after lantern While the first half of the finale focused on Hal and Kerry’s sweet relationship, the final killer reveal is an absolute gut punch, made even better by Macdonald’s wonderfully layered performance. As Kerry tells John, she informed him of Hal’s death because she felt he deserved to know, and because she wanted him to see Noah herself. She wanted to know if she was raising a demon.

John doesn’t see it that way. As Noah tells him of his desire to pursue his Manhunter “programming”, John recognizes much of himself in him. He thinks back to his traumatic childhood, which was a very regimented time in his life when his parents decided every step of his path. As he grew up, he found himself wondering what he really was, and what his “repetition and training” was all about. Noah is going through a similar crisis: how much of that is Noah, and how much of that is Manhunter instinct?

John believes that the fact that Noah is struggling with this is proof that Noah is on the right path. So, when Noah asked John to kill him out of mercy, John decided not to do so. Yes, that means there’s still a Manhunter running around on Earth. But he’s a Manhunter who’s trying to be something other than what people expect him to be, and that’s something John can understand all too well.

Seeing himself in Noah, and his somewhat horrified mother, Bernadette (Jasmine Cephas Jones), in Kerry, John does not seek retribution against anyone, believing that Hal would want the same.

How does John Stewart become Green Lantern?

After leaving Kerry and Noah to celebrate his big football win and commitment to Nebraska, John still has some unfinished business to settle. He calls Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) to Rushville and tells him that there is going to be a change in Green Lantern management on Earth. From now on, Earth will be John’s domain, while Guy will still get to monitor the rest of Sector 2814. Naturally, Guy is upset, especially since John verbally disowns him and his gold tooth. He says the Guardians won’t stand for it, but John knows otherwise.

Once Guy flies away, John is left alone with his ring, lantern, and hologram. Both Hal and John know that once John charges his power ring with the new Lantern, the Halogram will cease to exist. So begins the tear-jerking goodbye, which ends with Hal telling John, “I love you too, Junior.” He’s come so far as throwing himself out of cars to teach John a lesson!

Besides the heartfelt parting words, the biggest lesson from Hal and John’s goodbye is Hal reminding John: “Don’t be afraid to be afraid.”

This advice is a perfect culmination of John’s journey, from being terrifyingly trained not to feel fear to later accepting it and finding his way back. His new Lantern, surrounded by yellow terrors, becomes the physical embodiment of that arc.

There’s only one thing left for Jon to do: read the oath of the Green Lantern Corps and take on the role he’s trained so much of his life for. But like Jon’s decision to take over Green Lantern duties on Earth, he’s going to take up the oath on his own terms. His own oath is as follows:

In the brightest day, in the darkest night,

I will embrace my fears. I will do what is right.

I choose this ring. I choose this fight.

In the service of the light of this lantern.

It’s a powerful conclusion to John’s complicated relationship with fear and his parents, made even sweeter by his first flight. A scene between that and John reuniting with his family and embracing Bernadette, lantern Closes the door on his painful journey to becoming Earth’s Green Lantern, and opens the door to a whole new chapter in Jon’s life.

Will there be anyone? lantern season 2?

HBO has not announced yet lantern Season 2. However, even if the show doesn’t continue, it’s definitely not the last we see of Jon Stewart. Aaron Pierre is confirmed to reprise the role superman sequel man of tomorrowOn July 9, 2027. Maybe we’ll finally get to see his suit!

If lantern Continuing, there are several plot threads it could work on. For one, Sinestro is still there. Yes, he’s in chains on a desolate alien planet, but he’s also escaped from an inescapable alien prison. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him. Also, the yellow fear is emphasized in John’s New Lantern, lantern Might start introducing the Sinestro Corps, or even Parallax. There is, and should be, a lot of lantern lore out there to explore. lantern Light up our TV screens again.

lantern Now streaming on HBO Max.

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