LANTERNS Episode 6, “Bad Optics,” Pushes the Mystery Into Some Wild New Territory
Lanterns has officially planted itself in 2026, and “Bad Optics” is another great episode that keeps the mystery moving while throwing several fun new questions into the mix.
We finally get an explanation for the two Green Lantern rings, a major DCU character makes a surprise debut, and the mystery surrounding Hal Jordan's death gets considerably stranger.
The episode opens with Aaron Pierre's John Stewart in Midway City, where he's repaired his relationship with his brother Marcus and returned to his architectural roots. John is now designing safe rooms to protect people from superhero-related disasters, referencing what happened in Metropolis and even mentioning a “giant starfish.”
That's a fun Starro reference and another connection to The Suicide Squad, which has become part of the larger DCU continuity.
John's attempt at a normal life doesn't last long after his mother tells him that Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan has been released from prison and returned to Rushville. She also reveals that she became friendly with Hal while he was incarcerated and encourages John to hear him out.
John reluctantly meets Hal at a cafe expecting some kind of apology. Hal has other ideas as he reminds John that they're both killers, then pushes him by accusing him of being afraid. John responds by breaking Hal's nose and walking out.
Hal does make one unusual request before they separate. He doesn't want John telling anyone he's back in Rushville.
We then catch up with the events surrounding Hal's body from the premiere of the series, only now we're seeing everything with considerably more context. Sheriff Kerry calls John back to Nebraska after Hal is found dead, and we now know his broken nose came from John rather than whoever killed him.
Hal and Kerry had also become romantically involved after he returned to town. Hal spent his final days trying to make things right with Rushville by helping people and doing jobs around town, despite the locals still despising him.
The Medical Examiner determines Hal was shot and killed at close range, leaving John with yet another mystery to unravel.
John eventually activates Guy Gardner's Green Lantern signal, which Hal had installed as part of his attempts to make amends with Rushville. Things quickly go sideways when Billy and his friends confront John, resulting in a fight and John landing in jail.
That's when Nathan Fillion finally arrives as Guy Gardner. It was great seeing Fillion enter Lanterns after his appearance in Superman, especially because the character still feels like the same wonderfully obnoxious Guy despite the show's much more grounded tone.
John knows exactly how to get under his skin, too. He reminds Guy that he only has the Green Lantern position because John walked away from it. Guy eventually agrees to retrieve Hal's uniform and ring from Oa so his former fellow Lantern can be buried properly.
His arrival also clears up one of the season's lingering questions. Why are there two Green Lantern rings? After Hal's ring was decommissioned by the Guardians of the Universe, Guy received a new ring.
Guy also casually drops a much bigger piece of information when he reveals that Sinestro has escaped from prison. Someone broke him out.
Hal would have been an obvious suspect considering their history, except he was incarcerated when the breakout happened. That gives the final episodes another major thread to deal with, and Sinestro being loose feels like something that could have consequences well beyond this season.
Then Lanterns delivers its biggest surprise of the episode. At Hal's funeral, John and Kerry are joined by Carol Ferris, making her official DCU debut.
Carol is one of the most important characters in Hal Jordan's comic book history, serving as his longtime on-and-off romantic partner and eventually becoming Star Sapphire. Her role here is brief, but simply establishing that Carol exists in this universe opens another door for the Green Lantern mythology.
John reads the eulogy Hal wrote for himself, and Pierre does some great work here. Whatever anger existed between these two men, John is clearly devastated by Hal's death.
There are plenty of other strange details keeping the mystery alive. John and Kerry discover Hal's pocket dimension, but they can't access it without Hal.
The girl John apologized to previously has also grown up and now wants hundreds of thousands of dollars in reparations to remain silent about seeing John punch Hal on the night he died.
Then we get the episode's killer ending. John digs up Hal's grave and removes the Green Lantern ring from his finger. There's still a 5% charge remaining, which is enough to activate the Halogram.
The 2006 version of Hal appears alongside John as they look down at Hal's corpse: “Goddammit.” Roll credits.
I’m loving how Lanterns continues to peel back this mystery. “Bad Optics” answers some important questions without draining the story of its intrigue. Instead, every answer seems to expose another weird piece of the puzzle.
So who actually killed Hal Jordan? Noah remains suspicious, particularly with his desire to someday become President and the possibility that Manhunter programming is involved. The woman from the cafe also can't be completely dismissed.
Then there's an even crazier possibility: What if the body John just dug up isn't really Hal? Could the man who returned to Rushville, helped the townspeople and became involved with Kerry have been a Manhunter imposter? If that's the case, where is the real Hal Jordan?
Between Sinestro's prison break, Carol Ferris entering the DCU, Guy Gardner's arrival, the remaining charge in Hal's ring and the growing questions about who exactly is lying in that grave, Lanterns has given itself plenty to resolve.
This was another great episode that moved the story forward in some fun and unexpected ways. I've been loving this series, and with all these new threads now in play, it's going to be very interesting to see how Lanterns brings everything together in its final two episodes.