With 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, Lanterns is a critical hit. There's no denying that the series is very good, bolstered by stellar performances from its leads and some mostly strong messaging. Even when the show's approach to racial issues veers between heavy-handed finger-wagging (who would have guessed that even the Manhunter's appearance boils down to racism) and "pick me" Emmy-seeking energy, this is still a much better-written DCU project than, say, Peacemaker Season 2 or Supergirl.
Aaron Pierre is exceptional as John Stewart, while Kyle Chandler has successfully proved any doubters wrong with a standout take on Hal Jordan that makes us wish we lived in a world where he'd been cast as the hero a decade ago.
However, Lanterns has done Hal dirty and, five episodes in, it feels like DC Studios' character assassination is almost complete.
With three episodes remaining, a lot can change, and this opinion piece could quickly become irrelevant. Right now, it feels as though Lanterns is tearing Hal down to build John up. The worse Hal looks, the more virtuous John Stewart appears, which is why he rejected the ring that Hal was so desperate to hold onto. Several of the writers working on Lanterns have admitted they have no familiarity with Hal, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. It almost feels as if James Gunn's response to 2011's terrible Green Lantern movie was to put the final nail in Hal Jordan's coffin with this series, all so John can shine that little bit brighter.
Perhaps the remaining three episodes will reveal that Hal's fear of losing his ring corrupted him. That fear and the destruction of Rushville may mirror the comics, where Coast City being decimated broke the hero and eventually led to Hal becoming the villainous Parallax. A Season 2 pitting John against a Hal who has gone off the deep end sounds incredible, especially if Sinestro is pulling the strings.
It's a nice thought, but what about Lanterns has suggested we'll get anything like that? You can count the number of Green Lantern constructs on one hand—even in this week's action-packed episode, we only got shields—and the show's aliens all appear human. This is a grounded story. It's far more likely that Hal became disillusioned after Sinestro snapped and lost faith in the Guardians of the Universe, thereby becoming no longer worthy of the ring and showing John that being Green Lantern isn't all it's made out to be. That's a solid story, but one that makes a full-blown "Emerald Twilight" adaptation (that ends with Hal being renewed) feel like silly fan-fiction at this stage.
With it looking increasingly likely that Hal is dead in 2026 (Zoe's grandson/Kerry's son being a Manhunter created by the former is an obvious twist), it seems the DCU's take on this character will be defined by what a colossal failure he eventually became. It mirrors the comics to some extent and sets the stage for John to become one of the franchise's main players, and perhaps that's enough.
With Lanterns, DC Studios set out to make prestige television for HBO, and it's been rewarded with rave reviews and strong ratings. Mission accomplished. It's just a shame that, in that process, Hal has seemingly been thrown to the wolves and, for the second time in 15 years, he's come out the other side in as bad a spot as characters like Madame Web, Aquaman, and The Flash.