Are you kidding? Of course there’s going to be people out there who don’t appreciate what Lanterns is trying to achieve, for a whole clutch of reasons. Be it the de-comic book-ification of the show that seemingly relies on cop-show grit over cosmic wonder; or the fact that some people simply won’t get on board with James Gunn’s new DCU; some just aren’t prepared to give this grounded, daring take on Green Lantern a try that’s pissed folks off even further by ending it’s pilot on a shock twist that saw Hal Jordan’s dead body discovered in 2026. But if you take a step back, it soon becomes obvious that this seems to be the entire point of the show: to get you off balance and keep you guessing each and every episode – which, to be fair, is a smart tactic for a cop show to take, even if it is one that deals in magic rings and shape-shifting aliens.
Well, the newest episode bounces back to 2016 and leaves Hal’s death tantalisingly off the table for now as there’s a mystery to be solved, and while Jordan strides through the town of Rushville looking for more bizarre clues, John Stewart has a few taxing encounters that makes his mentor’s lacklustre teachings seem relatively relaxing in comparison.
After scratching the surface of an alien plot, Hal finds that continuing on with his investigation will prove to be difficult if he doesn’t use his lantern to charge up his depleted ring. However, the Lantern is still back in Coast City, so after a quick, half-assed, flying lesson that goes nowhere, Jordan tasks Stewart to hop on a plane and fetch it for him. As insulting as that is, Stewart complies and after taking a look around Hal’s home and feeding his flesh eating plant, Earl, he not only grabs the Lantern, but picks up one of Jordan’s discarded Green Lantern suits, just to be sure. However, on his way back to the airport, he’s jumped by more of the shape-shifting aliens who were shot down in Rushville and while their captive, John is told the reason they have come to earth.
It seems that somewhere in Rushville is something called a Manhunter, an artificial being created by the Guardians long before they came up with the Lanterns, and the aliens want payback after this being caused the genocide of their entire race. With only 48 hours to smoke this entity out before Rushville is destroyed, Stewart is freed to return to Hal only to find that his mentor has been having his own troubles. After discovering that the town has sophisticated, alien-detecting equipment monitoring the place, Jordan approaches William Macon in an attempt to get answers some ling overdue answers. Despite Sheriff Kerry warning him otherwise, Hal gets shot for his troubles and later wakes in the hospital, but after Stewart returns and fills him in about the business with the Manhunter, Jordan realises that he needs to get some more information – from his imprisoned former mentor and rogue Lantern, Sinestro.
Part of the reason the first episode of Lanterns was so gripping is that it’s DC flavoured, cop shop stylings came as such a refreshing surprise – especially once you remember that the whole show is supposed to be a fresh introduction to the Lanterns mythos in the wake of the legendarily bad movie back from 2011. While only giving us tantalising glimpses into the life of a Lantern, the pilot mostly stuck with introducing the odd-couple of Hal Jordan and John Stewart and building the beginnings of the mystery they were here to solve. Well, “Trust Fall” continues in that vein, but it seems that with every new episode, the show will introduce a little more sci-fi lore from the comic. The charging Lantern, more constructs from the power ring, Manhunters, the Green Lantern costume, Sinestro – anyone grumbling that Lanterns isn’t anywhere close to being green enough may soon have to change their tune.
While the surprise value of what Lanterns actually is has dissipated slightly now that we know what to expect, the second episode doubles down on both its mismatched double act and threading in that all important comic lore – but what it really does best is show the true potential of Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, as both he and Jordan go off on their own separate missions. Pissed that he’s playing courier to a complaining white-dude, Stewart finds that the alien invaders they’re searching for have found him and it leads to a truly blistering fight/chase that starts inside the kidnapper’s van and ends on the middle of the highway while car whizz past going in the opposite direction. It would be an impressive setpiece if it took place in a movie, but the fact that it takes place during the second episode of a TV show is incredibly impressive. From here, Stewart is told a sizable piece of the puzzle that takes in the possible threat of a Manhunter, but what makes Stewart’s storyline so interesting is the thread of a green bird construct he created during an aborted flying lesson. Keeping the construct in one piece by will alone when you’re not even wearing a power ring any more is impressive enough, but the fact that he holds it together during fights, beatings, interrogations and other such hero stuff reveals that Stewart has insane levels of potential.
Meanwhile, in the Jordan section of the show, his investigation mostly confirms things we already suspect (Macon has alien locating tech and he’s nowhere near as friendly if you aren’t summoned) as he continues to revel in pissing off everyone within a ten mile radius. Watching him steal alien bodies from the morgue in order to test his theories and getting on Sheriff Kerry’s last nerve is proving to be quite fun and endearingly weird (there’s more than a hint of Men In Black about it), but it’s not quite enough to disguise the fact that the show has pulled quite a notorious ploy from the comic book adaptation bag of tricks in order to draw things out – depowering the main hero. Thankfully, the episode is good enough so that the trick isn’t anywhere near as annoying has it has been when it’s been utilised in other shows, and the sight of Hal in his full suit and the brief introduction of Ulrich Thomsen’s Sinestro means that the Lantern flag is still kept flying.
Of course, a taste of that bigger universe is all we get, but then considering that we’re only at episode 2, I’m glad that the drip feeding of superhero stuff is being held back as it’ll eventually feel fully earned. The central mystery is still intriguing now that a ticking clock element has been added; the cosmic stuff is slowly spreading; and the character aspects are being handled incredibly well as we continue to learn more and more about our dual Lanterns as we go. You mean to say you didn’t want to know that Jordan has a flesh-eating, alien Little Shop Of Horrors plant as a pet?
Now that the initial surprise has worn off, Lanterns has to now survive on its gumption alone. However, the strength of two Green Lanterns seem to be more than adequate to keep the show forging on at an impressively high level. It’s amazing what a bit of willpower can do, isn’t it?
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Where to watch Lanterns – Season 1, Episode 2: Trust Fall: