‘Lanterns’ Mid-Season Analysis and Review: Television At It’s Finest

“Are you afraid?”

‘Lanterns’ lays it all out on the table in its first five minutes; that seemingly simple question that determines whether or not someone is deemed worthy of a ring containing immeasurable power is one that defines the Green Lantern mythos, and it’s that question — and the various beliefs by a myriad of different characters regarding it and it’s validity — that Lindelolf, Mundy, and King are interested in dissecting and analyzing in however many ways possible.

‘Lanterns’ takes place across three decades, with a different plot line developing in each one; in the 1990s, we learn of John Stewart’s unique upbringing, discovering that he was conditioned since he was a baby to be the poster boy of what Guardians believe they want in an ideal Green Lantern candidate; in the ‘present’ (despite it being ten years ago) John and Hal bicker and butt heads as they investigate an unfolding mystery in a rural Nebraska town that threatens the stability of not just the world, but the cosmos; and all we know about the future (our present) is that Hal Jordan is dead, and somebody killed him.

The show treats not just its main detective plot line as a mystery, but every bit of information: its world, its characters. It presents all of it plainly first, and then forces the audience to participate in the show by digging for answers to the questions it raises in the details. We are not introduced into a world and mythos, we are thrown into it in the deep end, and expected to figure out how to swim. And that’s exactly what makes great television.

The choice to age up Hal Jordan and make him a veteran Lantern, with Stewart his trainee/backup/secret replacement, was one that worried many comic book purists beforehand — and admittedly gave away their hand regarding Hal’s fate (as far as we know) but it was one of the most creatively invigorating choices they could’ve made. Every ‘change’ or alteration to the ‘lore’ is one that aids in adding conflict and tension to our core relationship, and extends to practically every scene. In most interpretations and adaptations, Hal and John are able to work alongside each other — here, Hal is threatened by his increasing age and the not-so-subtle fear the Guardians hold of him; he’s someone who’s been Green Lantern for so long it’s an integral part of his identity — when asked in court who he is, he says “Green Lantern” not Hal Jordan. His expensive mansion is empty; the job is his life.

So what happens when the life is threatened?

Hal has lived his life believing he is without fear, and that’s exactly his weak point: there’s a fear creeping into him not that he’s old and unable to do the job anymore, but that everyone around him believes that and will work to take the ring from him. It’s why Sinestro rightfully asserts that John Stewart is Hal’s greatest threat, because he’s the manifestation of that fear in a concrete form.

But there’s an answer to this. And it comes from Hal’s greatest flaw, the one he needs to overcome — his inability to let people close. Hal is a cocky, arrogant asshole, and while part of that is a genuine confidence (I’d say overconfidence but the show puts Hal is constant situations he’s able to use his intellect and understanding of how people work to solve problems and get him and his trainee out of situations) another part is his safeguards against connection; the first time he let someone close, they exploded in an aircraft. He followed his father’s footsteps to “defeat that fear,” but then when he adopted another father figure, they went rogue and Hal was forced to bring them in. While we don’t see it for sure, one could guess that Hal might worry that he could follow in the same path — but then again, his to-the-point-of-naiveté confidence in himself might prevent him from thinking that.

It certainly doesn’t prevent the Guardians from fearing it, though.

While Hal needs to let people close and let himself form genuine bonds and relationships with those around him, and abandon the belief that having no emotional connection to others is better for himself and anyone working the job, his bosses need to do one better: they need to abandon the belief that emotion in general is a negative, and something that they don’t contain.

The Guardians are an extension of Hal and the themes he presents to the story (and that’s probably the reason why the latter doesn’t get along with the former); they have a massive ego problem. They believe they are without sin; that they are the infallible judges of the universe, of what is good and evil. The Guardians see themselves as objective because they do not feel emotion, but it’s here that they are seriously wrong — the Guardians feel fear. We see it in a moment of hesitation during John Stewart’s job interview; through their “objective logical thinking” the Guardians instill a deep fear in themselves of Hal Jordan. If Sinestro was able to do the unthinkable and betray the corps and kill one of the Guardians, and Hal was able to overpower Sinestro and take him in, then what is Hal capable of? It’s this thought process that puts the entire plot into motion; the Guardian’s are afraid of Hal Jordan and desperate to replace him, which leads to the entirety of John Stewart’s existence — he was never given a choice in the matter, due to his parents pushing their failures onto him, creating a destiny for him born from their resentment, and from the Guardian’s desire for control.

And “controlled” is the perfect way to describe John Stewart at this point in the series. Stewart believes that obeying authority is an admirable quality, and that is makes him someone dependable and respectable. He believes that, despite knowing his parents were crazy, his obedience to their authority and training is what got him this job in the first place, and believes that obedience is a pathway to good things. Part of it is that obedience provides control and discipline, something that’s been a constant in John’s life. It grounds him, and allows him the focus and function he needs to be the version of himself that can achieve what most can’t. It’s why when Hal mentions the death of his parents in the tunnel in Episode 4, his lantern construct falters for the briefest of seconds; it’s why despite his qualms about Jordan, and understanding of his overall command to replace him, he still respects the undeniable chain of command that requires him to answer to the man he’s taking over from before the higher-ups who gave him that order.

John is scared of what might happen if he’s put in unstable environments; it’s why the idea of his parents, or any person’s parents’ death, scares him. It’s why he finds comfort in commands or intimacy from those older than him; even if it goes directly against every other value and belief he holds. What John desperately needs to do is disobey authority for the good of himself and others; he needs to be put in a situation where following orders will cause harm to either a great amount of individuals are someone he cares about. My prediction is he’ll disobey the reason he was chosen as a Green Lantern in the first place — he’ll have the opportunity to usurp the ring from Hal Jordan, who will probably be battered and beaten, and instead chose to save Hal and sacrifice the duty he was raised to achieve.

It’ll be the culmination of everything the series has been working towards, at least in its main plot line. But there’s something deeper at play here, hidden in double meanings and layered subtext. The show’s core is this dynamic duo’s relationship, but it’s also that phrase: “are you afraid”, and I suspect that the latter half of the show, which is more than likely mainly set in the future (our present day) will pull on those threads and center them in the forefront, while answering questions created by the rules we know have changed by the time of ‘Superman’, especially in regards to the idea that “only one can wear the ring”. What viewers thought would be a convoluted timeline again works in the series favor for creating intrigue and suspense.

Lindelof and company have, thus far, created what remains as one of the best shows or films the superhero genre has had to offer, by deploying various filmmaking and storytelling techniques that allow them to both explore and critique deep-seated ideas and concepts in the Green Lantern lore by setting up a world but not guiding the viewer through it, but rather place them in the seat of voyeurs as they watch the characters navigate it, gaining new information along the way, with questions arising naturally, not forcing answers where it’s unneeded. It hinges everything on a simple thematic statement, and how deeply embedded it is in our main duos existence, shaping them through the same source in quite different ways.

Everything here is inspired, in some way or another, by a character’s blindspot or fear — in fact, the main mystery, the Manhunter, is a failed creation of the Guardians, a living embodiment of the arrogant ego. That ego, propelled by their belief that they think from pure logic and that that makes them superior, is leading them to fear one of their corps greatest assets, who in turn fears the idea that he might be replaced and thrust out of a position that has come to define his identity. His fear is made concrete by Stewart, a man that, paired with Hal, could propel both of them into greater versions of themselves, but they have to get out of each other’s way first and learn to work together. These fears, paired with all the character’s strengths, are the story’s engine, moving the story forward at every single beat. It knows exactly what it’s doing, and doesn’t care who disagrees. It’s focused, driven, and sublime at finding the best way to explore the story and themes it wants to tell, putting cohesiveness over accuracy and religious devotion to lore.

By focusing on its characters and not the seemingly essential settings that come with it, ‘Lanterns’ creates a definitive telling of the Green Lantern mythos, both in quality and in exploration. While the final four episodes are still yet to come, one can only imagine it’ll continue the show’s trend, if not surpass it.

‘Lanterns’ episode 5 is set to debut on Sunday, September 13, at 9:00 p.m. ET.