Ah yes, the comedown episode. Now, I don’t know the official name for it – or even if it has one – but in these times of sizably-budgeted superhero shows, they’ve become a fairly common occurrence. Simply put, they’re the episode that comes directly after an installment that pushes the boat out when it comes to scale and action – Daredevil, Superman, or Luke Cage gets into an almighty (and expensive) battle somewhere in the middle of the season, you best believe the writers are going to pull everything back to handle the emotional and physical aftermath in the quietest and lowest key possible. It’s usually good for drama (post-setpiece clarity) and it certainly saves on the budget after a previous sixty minutes of stunts and explosions.
Well, there was plenty of those in last week’s Lanterns, not to mention some hefty twists to go with it – but a common issue with the comedown episode is that they’re sometimes in danger of damaging the momentum of the season. So can “Bad Optics” make some good choices, even with a ten year time jump to hurdle?
The year is now 2026. John Stewart has now abandoned all thoughts of the Green Lantern Corps and has become an architect in business with his brother Marcus. Obviously this has caused a rift between him and his mother and father, the latter of which is now living in an assisted living home, but in the wake of the recent troubles in Metropolis (see 2025’s Superman for details, connected universe fans), John is now on the verge of scoring a huge deal with the military to make emergency bunkers for public safety. Meanwhile, in the wake of the decades old Rushville disaster, a new Lantern has been chosen in the form of bowl-cutted super-douche, Guy Gardener – who has a brand new ring that has been forged by the Guardians – while original Lantern Hal Jordan has actually done time in prison for his part in Rushville’s destruction.
However, when Stewart gets a message from his mother claiming that Jordan is now living in Rushville and wants to offer his former protege an apology, John can’t help himself from traveling back to Nebraska to get some long overdue closure. However, after discovering that Jordan is actually living in Rushville now and has been trying to make amends to a town populace that despises him, Stewart isn’t above breaking Jordan’s nose after they have yet another falling out. However, after arriving home, John has to come back to Rushville when Sheriff Kelly informs him that Hal’s been murdered thanks to a bullet hole in his brain.
Realising that his sniper skills and a broken nose places him fairly high on the suspect list, Stewart stays to both look into the death, settle Jordan’s affairs and help arrange a meager funeral for the fallen hero. But the longer he stays in the hostile town, the more obsessed with the past he becomes, and after persuading Gardener to supply Jordan’s uniform and decommissioned power ring for the burial, Stewart has a plan to reactivate the ring and continue his investigation.
As I stated before, comedown episodes constantly live in danger of screwing up the momentum of a season if the people involved struggle to find a balance between the shift of large scale action to an aftermath set on a much smaller scale. But while this is a delicate transition to pull off in normal circumstances, Lanterns also has a ten-year time jump to contend with that basically has the show virtually restarting from scratch six episodes in and two from the end. However thanks to an installment that almost plays like a “where are they now” episode, the central mystery doesn’t so much grow, but changes shape into something else that continues to redefine what a superhero show can actually be. We’ve seen the training, and we’ve seen a Green Lantern cut loose. But with this episode, we get to the broken down aftermath of what it means to be a fallen hero.
Taking the lead is Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart who seemingly has exorcised his green coloured demons and moved on with a life that’s swapped constructs and supersuits for construction and turtlenecks as a talented architect. But despite the fact he’s on the cusp of a huge contract that could save lives, he finds that he can’t stop himself running back to Jordan when he hears that he has an apology coming. Of course, what with this being Hal Hordan, there’s actually no sorry forthcoming at all and yet more bad blood bubbles to the surface – but while the damage caused to Rushville by the feuding Lanterns is still visible a decade later, it mirrors the damage both characters carry inside. Jordan is now a wreck of a man, so eager to make up for his mistakes, he’s moved himself (and his carnivorous plant, Earl) to a town that completely despises him.
Even more tragic is the fact he knocks on doors, offering to do odd jobs in order to try to make amends and the only person who seems truly upset that he’s been killed is Sheriff Kerry, who has been in a relationship with him since he was released from jail. It’s a sad and tragic end to an intergalactic hero that carries the same weight as dramatic tales like The Wrestler when it comes to witnessing a proud man long since knocked from his pedestal. However, in an interesting counterpoint, we find that for all of his insistence that he’s done with the Lanterns, Stewart just can’t stop the gravitational pull of Jordan yank him back into the shit. His relationship with his family is scattered at best due to his decision to turn doen the mantle, but he finds he just can’t let this go, even going as far as to arrange Jordan’s funeral.
However, even throughout an episode that’s confidently low key, the show continues to add intriguing Lantern lore even as one of the core members is being put in a hole in the ground. Showing up to the funeral with an awful eulogy written by Jordan himself is none other than former flame/foe Carol Ferris (here played by Amie MacKenzie), and even more fascinating is the appearance of Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardener, a former athletic director (read: gym teacher) turned Lantern that’s showed up a few times before in the DCU. After seeing the mess Jordan and Stewart made of things, it’s now no wonder that the latest Green Lantern is something of a prickly, corporate sell-out who does what he’s told and goes out of his way to cautiously avoid “bad optics” simply because it makes him the safe choice. It actually impressive how much detail and texture this episode brings to all three Lanterns as it moves all their plots along and deepens their characters in meaningful ways. Watch Stewart dutifully read possibly the worst eulogy ever written, or continue to feed Jordan’s plant, Earl, and even consoles it when he lets slip his owner is dead. And you only have to see the genuine sadness etched on the face of Kelly Macdonald’s Kerry to see that Jordan had many layers beneath that cocksure attitude.
With only two episodes to go, Lanterns takes a risky side trip that actually manages to enrich the lore, rather than defuse the momentum. But with news that Sinestro has escaped, I’m sure that cosmic business will pick up once more, however, it’ll mean all the more after both an awkward funeral and Stewart rapidly exhuming Hal’s body later that night to nab that power ring. The action may have waned, but that plot continues to thicken.
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