Lanterns buries Hal Jordan and somehow makes it the best hour of the season

Spoilers for Lanterns Season 1, Episode 6. This recap follows the episode beat by beat.

9.7 out of 10. Let’s get into why.

The Pitch

John Stewart is pitching his new concept to the Midway City council — bunkers he calls “arks.” Yes, like Noah’s ark. His company is Stewart Brothers, founded with his brother Marcus. His reference point is what happened in Metropolis in Superman (2025) — an underground bunker that holds thousands of people. John’s thinking at that scale. Ten years removed from the ring, and he’s still building for the apocalypse. Just with blueprints instead of a lantern.

Family Fallout

John now refers to his mom — Bernadette Stewart — by her first name instead of “mom.” It’s obvious they had a falling out. Meanwhile, she talks to Hal. They’re sort of friends now; she started writing to him while he was locked up. And Hal has been in prison for 10 years. That’s the kind of detail this show drops like it’s nothing, and it reframes the entire relationship map before the cold open is even over.

Hal and John Talk — No Apology

Hal and John finally talk, and there’s no apology. Hal references Guy Gardner and Batman — a genuinely cool scene — and talks about Guy’s beacon. Then Hal says John was scared to take the ring, and John punches him in the face, breaking his nose. Then Hal begs John not to tell anyone that Hal is in Rushville. Weird. It’s clear: Hal and John did not make up. Whatever closure people were hoping for, this show is not interested in handing it to you clean.

Hal Is Dead

Sheriff Kerry Kane calls John. They meet. She tells him: Hal is dead.

John cries — one tear down his face, at least that’s how it played on screen. He seems to feel bad for Hal, which is strange given everything between them. That’s the whole trick of this episode. Every scene keeps asking you to reconcile how much these two men hurt each other with how much they clearly still mattered to each other.

Hal’s Amends Tour

Per what Kane tells John: Hal came back for Kane. He moved to Rushville and tried to make amends for what he did to the town — what he caused — knocking on doors. He really felt bad.

Kane, clearly upset about Hal, gives John the key to the house Hal was renting. She says to use the back door — because Jordan has a trap set at the front door. That’s why.

Hal brought Earl — his sentient, carnivorous plant — to his rental. Meanwhile John talks to his brother Marcus, and a meeting with Colonel Draycott is set. Small observation, but it landed: Earl is sad Hal is dead. A carnivorous plant grieving is somehow one of the more human moments in the episode.

The Morgue

Kane and John meet at a coffee shop, then head to the morgue to see Hal. The morgue tech, Bitsy, is ice cold to both of them — at least that’s how it felt watching. Hal really had no one. And one verified detail worth noting: John’s punch broke Hal’s nose, and Kerry says whoever broke it is probably Hal’s killer. That’s John, sitting right there, having to hear it.

They try to access Hal’s vault using a recording Hal sent to Kane — a sweet one where he calls her “Buttercup” — and it’s genuinely sad. He was excited for their relationship. Finally something. He was excited to not be “lonely” anymore.

John’s not a vegan anymore — he’s going to dinner at Kane’s. He mentions burying Hal, saying he deserves better than being burned and tossed in a can. This is sad. John does care, whatever he says out loud.

Guy Gardner, Corporatized

John summons Guy, and Guy doesn’t seem happy about it — he’s corporatized the Green Lanterns. His energy drink is literally called “Guy Gardner’s Electro Punch.” The tagline: “Power. Punch. Repeat.” I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t a Lantern with a beverage deal.

Billy Macon Gets Destroyed

Billy Macon shows up with his crew, and John kicks their ass. Then dinner with Kane and Noah — they’re having a nice time, and Noah seems like a good kid. Smart too — wants to be a Senator, then President. Still suspicious, though? I’m not fully letting go of that thread yet.

Then someone called Kane and told her about the incident. She’s pissed. John’s locked up — and it’s his brother Marcus who bails him out. Which could be an issue moving forward.

Funeral Plans and a Sinestro Bombshell

Guy shows up and talks to John. John called Guy because he’s holding a funeral to honor Hal — Guy doesn’t seem interested. Guy has a new ring; Hal’s ring was decommissioned. John tells Guy that everything he has is because John didn’t take it.

Then Guy drops the bombshell: someone broke out Sinestro. Guy says he’ll think about helping. That’s the sound of the season’s real threat finally showing up while everyone’s still busy grieving.

John’s Chaos

John has numerous issues going on at once: the meeting with Colonel Draycott, his mom calling — 35 messages from Bernadette — his dad John Sr. getting kicked out of his care home for brandishing a handgun, his brother Aaron refusing to help with their dad until John threatens to withhold money. Turns out John’s been bankrolling his brother’s album this whole time. But through all of it, John wants to focus on Jordan.

John meets with “Maggie,” who wants reparations for damage caused years ago — $314,536.27, down to the cent. She won’t tell Kane that John was with Hal, as long as she gets the money. She’s the same girl John gave the watch to in Episode 5 — the crying girl. Everything on this show connects back eventually, and it’s never in the way you expect.

The Funeral

Noah Macon dropped off a suit for Hal’s funeral to John. Guy attends, worried about “optics” — which is literally where the episode title comes from. Hal is laid out in his uniform, and his ring.

Then Carol Ferris arrives. She wants John to deliver the eulogy. But Hal wrote his own — “The Brightest Day.” Classic Hal. What starts funny becomes the most emotional part of the season:

“Maybe it was just easier to fly than it was to stay on the ground… I hope I mattered.”

John gets emotional delivering it. I did too, if I’m being honest.

The Ending

John is digging up Hal’s grave. He gets a call from Colonel Draycott — the colonel hangs up, and the big business opportunity is gone. Then the reveal: John took Hal’s ring, gave it enough charge, and brought back the Halogram — Hal’s younger consciousness. The Halogram sees its own dead body and says, “goddammit.”

Peak TV. A fantastic episode ending that sets up the rest of the season perfectly.

The Verdict

This episode had no business being this good. It’s a bottle episode about grief, corporate energy drinks, and a killer plant, and it still ends with a twist that reshapes the entire murder mystery this show opened on. 9.7 out of 10. Give me the rest of the season right now.