Lanterns Episode 7 Recap: "The Jordan Boys Legacy" Makes A Major Change To Hal Jordan's Origin - Spoilers

Lanterns Episode 7 Recap: "The Jordan Boys Legacy" Makes A Major Change To Hal Jordan's Origin - Spoilers

The latest episode of Lanterns makes a startling change to Hal Jordan's past, and brings back a familiar face from the past ahead of a finale that's left with a lot of questions to answer.

By JoshWilding - Sep 28, 2026 04:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Lanterns

Lanterns' penultimate episode, "The Jordan Boys Legacy," opens in 1975, where we meet a young, very stubborn Hal Jordan. After getting into trouble at school, he and his dad talk about the "Jordan boys legacy," and Martin gives his son a key to a safe in the event anything happens to him (just as his father did years earlier). 

Hal, who has refused to let go of the ball from his baseball game at school, is urged by Martin to throw it away because it's "f***ing exhausting" to "hold onto it forever." This metaphor will matter later.

Back in 2026, John brings the Halogram up to speed about what happened, and both Ch'p and Mogo receive a mention. Eventually, the Halogram demands to see Sheriff Kerry, and a touching reunion follows, despite the 2006 version of Hal obviously having no memory of her. 

John gets his hands on the $315,000 he needs to keep Maggie off his back, and after the Halogram posits that Kerry could be the killer, they head back to the storage locker and find only a backpack with a canteen, poncho, protein bars, and a gun. There's also one of those black portals that transports John and the Halogram to Antaan's decimated planet. 

We learn that te Manhunter released a gas that made everyone terrified, leading them to jump from the city above to the ground below. There are bodies everywhere, but John and the Halogram find a boat that they use to head toward a mysterious light in the distance.

On the way, the gas—which is still in the atmosphere—affects John, who sees his father and younger self, and the apples that were shot off his head as a child. Before he can shoot himself, the Halogram intervenes and reveals how his dad really died. In a major departure from the comics, it's revealed that Martin killed himself (on the page, he was a test pilot who died in an accident while Hal watched on).

Martin's father also took his own life, and Martin left Hal a letter saying that "the same pain" was the "Jordan boys legacy," passed down from one son to the next. Hal isn't fearless because he's brave, it's because he's broken. 

John wonders whether Hal might have also killed himself, but before they can discuss the theory that Kerry found him and removed the gun any further, a hooded figure grabs the Halogram and threatens to kill him unless they give him their boat. The Halogram vanishes, and John punches the mysterious figure to the ground: it's Sinestro. 

In another flashback to 1975, we see the young Hal walk out to the field where he threw that baseball and pick it up, suggesting, like his dad, he can't throw away his baggage either. 

And that's it. The penultimate episode has left the Lanterns finale with a lot of heavy lifting to do, including explaining how and why Sinestro is on that planet, whether the fear gas has any ties to the fear-based Sinestro Corps, who killed Hal, and how John becomes a Green Lantern by the time Man of Tomorrow begins. 

Very little happened in this seventh chapter, and for those keeping count, there isn't a single Green Lantern construct. It's also unclear how Lanterns connects to Checkmate and Salvation, two elements from Peacemaker that James Gunn suggested would be key in this series. 

Seven episodes of Lanterns are now streaming on HBO Max.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
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JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 9/28/2026, 4:26 AM
James Gunn understands these characters even less than Zack Snyder did.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 9/28/2026, 4:35 AM
Snyder wanted to make everything The Dark Knight Returns. Gunn wants to create a world based on obscure runs he read 30 years ago or the odd trade paperback he's picked up here and there. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies had little in common with the comics, but got away with it because the characters were obscure and the movies were great; Lanterns and the wider DCU prove that his understanding of DC is surface level at best.
Gambito
Gambito - 9/28/2026, 4:35 AM
@JoshWilding - interesting statement considering James Gunn didn’t write this
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 9/28/2026, 4:37 AM
@Gambito - He's the guy in charge and, according to him, is the who who chooses what gets the green light. Like how he greenlit a Supergirl script where the writer fundamentally misunderstood the comic's ending. Ultimately, the buck stops with him.
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 9/28/2026, 5:17 AM
@JoshWilding - so basically he didn’t pick stuff you like so booooo it’s bad lmao

Grow up
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 9/28/2026, 5:24 AM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - To recap, Creature Commandos only appealed to a niche audience, Peacemaker Season 2 also only appealed to a niche audience (and had a finale that sacrificed story for Gunn to rock out to his favourite band as an extra), Supergirl bombed, Lanterns appears to hate the comics it's based on, and Superman was a modest hit at best, albeit still a very good movie. But sure, I'm the problem. 😂
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 9/28/2026, 5:30 AM
@JoshWilding - a cartoon and season 2 of an hbo show had a niche audience color me shocked

Also nothing about lanterns suggests it hates the comics it’s literally just set on earth with all the fanatical elements still in tact and you all keep having panic attacks cause it’s a neon light show every 5 mins .
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 5:30 AM
@JoshWilding - James Gunn doesn't understand these characters at all
hova26
hova26 - 9/28/2026, 5:31 AM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - Top tier comment.
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 5:31 AM
@Gambito - Gunn approves of everything. Stop with this cope. He's the head of DC. Snyder didn't write Man of Steel or BVS and I'm sure you bitched about those movies.
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 5:33 AM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - Copium.

"a cartoon and season 2 of an hbo show had a niche audience color me shocked"

Bluey, a Cartoon is 100390210x times more watched than Lanterns. So are many animes and adult cartoons. House of the Dragon and many Season 2's of HBO shows are far less niche and more watched than this garbage.

Stop defending slop.
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 9/28/2026, 5:37 AM
@FireGunn - bluey is cartoon made for toddlers and is mostly used by families to have background noise for a child to be distracted

Yes I think that will get more play time than an adult cartoon on HBO / HBO Max because I know you’re next argument was gonna jump to the 30+ years the simpsons being on public broadcast network tv
seakhan
seakhan - 9/28/2026, 6:15 AM
@JoshWilding - If Tom King had written this as a comic series, and then the TV or film adaptation did *not* include Martin's suicide, Josh the Wildman would crap on it then eat that crap. You simply don't know good storytelling when you see it, man. Whether or not something is big hit, modest hit, or no hit, that does not matter. Good story doesn't just rehash old stories, it expands the lore & has something more to say than just "let's turn the drawings into live action". Josh Wild Thing & his ilk seem to just want a million ring constructs in every episode, as if that will somehow do the trick that a solid detective story can't. First off (and it sucks to even have to point out the blatantly obvious), this is a TV budget, so the creative team here smartly decided to save all that for the big screen when they can do it right. And so jerkies like Josh Van Wilder wouldn't criticize every last pixel of those TV budget constructs. People want filmmakers to respectfully take a story into directions it hasn't gone before. It's why the first 2 original Superman movies worked. It's why Tim Burton's first Batman worked. It's why the "I am Iron Man" line was such a breath of fresh air, why the Avengers assembling in a team-up movie changed Hollywood, and why that obscure comic Guardians of the Galaxy was such an out of left field success. Don't give the people what they want, give them what they don't know they want until they get it. The gorillas just want endless ring constructs. Those with a brain see that the ring & the ones wielding it can do all that, they just don't need to every 5 seconds. Again, if you could do better than Gunn & King & freakin' Damon Lindelof & Chris Mundy & Ana Nogueira, you would be. But you're not, webmaster. Try learning from the people actually making things that you can merely keyboard-punch. How's that song go? "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage."
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 9/28/2026, 6:24 AM
@seakhan - Stopped reading after "Josh the Wildman." You lost me there and completely undermined whatever your argument was. Hope it didn't take too long to type out!
CarpesDiems
CarpesDiems - 9/28/2026, 6:37 AM
@seakhan - its freaking hbo lol.... imagine if house of dragons didnt show any dragons because of tv budget? same thing applies here..it's a freaking show about space cops with a ring that can create whatever your mind wants...and we never got a proper construct always using the excuse of ohhh ring needs recharge...its like making a star wars jedi show were we never see a lightsaber or use of the force..
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 6:57 AM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - Cope a Mania

Shill
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 6:58 AM
@seakhan - The shilling in this comment is off the charts!
whatthetruck
whatthetruck - 9/28/2026, 6:59 AM
@FireGunn
@JoshWilding
User Comment Image
Something fishy with you 2.
ElBlancoChoco
ElBlancoChoco - 9/28/2026, 7:38 AM
@JoshWilding - I can't believe I'm agreeing with Josh but this is 100% spot on.
seakhan
seakhan - 9/28/2026, 7:40 AM
@JoshWilding - Haha okay simpleton.
seakhan
seakhan - 9/28/2026, 7:52 AM
@CarpesDiems - And because House of the Dragon has dragons, you think the other HBO shows can all have the same budget? Come & live in the real world, yo, it's nicer here. Lanterns was conceived from the jump as a small town detective show, not a Ryan Reynolds 2011 theatrical feature. If this show was called "The Green Lantern Corps" and set on multiple planets, your point would be valid. But it isn't, so you're not. These filmmakers have managed to show that the ring's constructs reflect the personality of the one who wields it. A focus on character, not just some VFX extravaganza for man-boys who think generative AI slop looks just as cool even though it's empty garbage.
seakhan
seakhan - 9/28/2026, 7:55 AM
@FireGunn - Oh boy oh boy, you again? How's that ridic crusade of yours going? Not so good, huh? https://www.comicbasics.com/james-gunn-has-reportedly-extended-his-dc-studios-contract-amid-job-security-speculation/
0bstreperous
0bstreperous - 9/28/2026, 4:27 AM
It is strange in the comics his father crashed a failing plane away from civilians heroically

At least in Green Lantern Rebirth
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 9/28/2026, 4:57 AM
Didn't like the reveal with Hal's Dad, but I am liking the Halogram concept so we at least get a more heroic Hal who's willing to open up more.
hova26
hova26 - 9/28/2026, 5:32 AM
No one is forcing you to watch the show you know lol.
CarpesDiems
CarpesDiems - 9/28/2026, 6:02 AM
show keeps spitting on hal jordan character... showrunners really hate this character , forcing us this prick version of john steward down out throats....snyder made some shit choices but at least he gave us some epic visuals...I pray the day somebody who loves and understand this characters will produce a comic accurate show, not a [frick]ed up version to make a political statement or push a hidden agenda.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 9/28/2026, 6:53 AM
Boohoo, nothing in this show is like slop from Marvel so it is bad. 😭
Forthas
Forthas - 9/28/2026, 6:54 AM
This is another excellent show in a series that is the best DC production since Penguin. It is another example of the grounded, character-driven television and films that DC has excelled at over the past 13 years. It continues the winning streak of these kinds of shows. They are 8 wins and 0 losses. For the people wetting their diapers because they did not get enough green laser beams, fist constructs, colors, and explosions, they should have shown up for the 2011 Green Lantern film. Warner Brothers gave people that type of film, as James Gunn continues to do today, and they do what they typically do: FAIL!

FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 6:59 AM
@Forthas - This is one of the worst show's I've ever watched
Forthas
Forthas - 9/28/2026, 6:59 AM
@FireGunn - Yet you keep watching it!
CarpesDiems
CarpesDiems - 9/28/2026, 7:01 AM
@Forthas - i was there first day in 2011 for green lantern, my favourite superhero of all times and i hate what they did it on this show so its not a win for me. although i did like penguin, colin farrel smashed it.
Forthas
Forthas - 9/28/2026, 7:24 AM
@CarpesDiems - Unfortunately, there were not enough of you to support a cinematic universe. So you can't fault a studio if they look at examples of what people respond to and put their resources behind what sells. In fact, had they actively done that as I begged them to do, they would be a true rival to Marvel and would not be the target of other studios to be purchased, but would be purchasing other studios. For the record, Zack Snyder is the other side of the same coin as James Gunn. But instead of ultra-fantastic slapstick comedy, Zack Snyder gave us ultra-fantastic somber tragedies.
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 7:56 AM
@Forthas - Because if I didn't, people would say i'm "bitching" about something I didn't watch
FireGunn
FireGunn - 9/28/2026, 7:57 AM
@Forthas - Your issue is that you think grounded automatically equals good. We agree on The Penguin, because groundedness inherently fits his character. It does not fit Green Lantern. The problem with the 2011 movie wasn't because it wasn't grounded. It was just awful
JayBarrick
JayBarrick - 9/28/2026, 7:01 AM
What's with the latests adaptation of parental figures in DC?

The Batman and Joker had the Waynes go from tragic benefactors of Gotham to parters with the mafia bosses.
Superman (2025) had the Els go from benevolent scientists to darwinian conquerers.
Lanterns now has had Martin Jordan go from brave test pilot diying in an accident to depressed suicidal.

Why? Does every decision making executive at DC now have parental issues?
CarpesDiems
CarpesDiems - 9/28/2026, 7:04 AM
@JayBarrick - execs must have daddy or mommy issues maybe their parents didnt bought them the poney or sport car when they were 18?
OldManHal
OldManHal - 9/28/2026, 7:35 AM
@JayBarrick - They’re adding creative layers for more emotional payoff. Nobody is as black and white as every DC parent was made out to be. It’s also a defocus on the heroes moral compass being entirely responsible on their universally good and infallible parents.
OldManHal
OldManHal - 9/28/2026, 7:29 AM
Deep episode. This is what peak DC material looks like

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