‘Lanterns’ Review: Episode 7 Changes ‘The Jordan Boys’ Legacy — and Sets Up a Charged Finish

[Editor’s note: The following review contains spoilers for “Lanterns” Episode 7, “The Jordan Boys,” including the ending. Find last week’s review here or, for a spoiler-free analysis, read our full season review.]

Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) lived his life as one stubborn bastard. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted. Whether that meant provoking a battle between an alien race and a Manhunter’s private army at the expense of an entire town, or fighting off a Little League team who wanted him to leave the mound before the game was won (at the expense of his own unbruised eye — and ego), it didn’t matter. Hal did not relent, much to others’ chagrin.

But Hal didn’t relent in other, less knowable ways either. As a young boy (too young), Hal learned of “the Jordan boys’ legacy”: a form of depression his father, Martin (Jake B. Miller), believed to be hereditary. “My old man was convinced we’d be better off without him. He said he had that pain his whole life,” Hal’s Hal-o-gram said. “He couldn’t bear to let us see it. He couldn’t bear to let us see him.”

Hal also couldn’t bear to let anyone see the fear he was living with; the belief that he was “broken,” like his father and grandfather before him. That’s why the Hal-o-gram tells John (Aaron Pierre) about Hal’s tragic origin story rather than Hal himself. The real guy was too stubborn to let anyone in (except, perhaps, a “hot but possibly evil sheriff”).

But at the end of Episode 7, “The Jordan Boys,” Hal goes back to pick up his baseball because he’s more resolute than ever. He’s going to do things his way — not his coach’s way, not his father’s way, but his own way. Martin’s way out was crashing a plane. But Hal didn’t want a way out. He didn’t want to let go, and that logic extends to taking his own life. He didn’t take what’s been referred to as the easy way out. He’s too damn stubborn for that.

The Case

Episode 7 is light on appreciable progress in solving Hal’s murder, but it does advance a handful of theories. Here’s what we know: When John dug up Hal’s grave to get his ring, he was planning to summon bring out the Hal-o-gram so they could open the “fail safe” box Hal left behind. The massive container held only a handful of objects: In the backpack, there’s a canteen, poncho, two protein bars, and a gun. In the paper bag, there’s a dark matter manhole that leads to Antaan’s (Paul Ben-Victor) alien world. (I love the detail that Hal would store a portal to another planet in a grocery bag.)

Once there, John and the Hal-o-gram find an abandoned city floating upside-down in the sky and the bones of its inhabitants buried in the dirt underneath. Evidently, the Manhunter released gas that drove Antaan’s people insane, forcing many of them to jump to their deaths. Yikes. While crossing the lake, John suffers a similar delusion and nearly shoots himself in the head, prompted by visions of his father and his younger self. The Hal-o-gram saves him, and they reach the other side to find Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), who’s desperate to escape the “dead planet.”

The Suspects

Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre in ‘Lanterns‘Courtesy of John Johnson / HBO Max

So what do we know now that we didn’t know last week? As discussed, it’s a safe bet Hal didn’t kill himself. It’s also hard to imagine Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) as Hal’s killer. Sure, the Hal-o-gram accused her as soon as he saw her, but a) he also accused John, so he’s not exactly infallible, and b) I don’t think the “Lanterns” writers would namecheck the killer so bluntly. (It feels too blunt, and they tend to save bluntness for exposition.) Moreover, Kerry isn’t scared when she sees who she thinks is Hal, and wouldn’t the killer be a little worried if their victim was suddenly back, standing in front of them, talking to investigators?

With one episode left, I’m putting my money on Noah (Shea Pritchard). His “hat ceremony” couldn’t matter less amid everything else going on this week, but it does show off the young man’s leadership qualities (like his Manhunter grandma taught him?) and keeps his character in the conversation (so if he’s revealed as the killer, it doesn’t feel totally out of the blue).

“But what about the intergalactic convict who shows up in a black hood and holds a knife to Hal’s neck?” I don’t buy it. First off, Sinestro doesn’t appear to know Hal is dead. Secondly, he… what? Killed Hal and skipped off to another planet? Just like that? I guess he could’ve used the dark matter manhole, but he wouldn’t have had access to Hal’s fail safe box, so he’d need his own goopy black wormhole thing, and he doesn’t appear to have one, given that’s why he tried to hold Hal hostage to begin with.

So no, I don’t think Sinestro killed Hal. But he’s not without blame either.

Right before the Hal-o-gram inadvertently opens Hal’s fail safe box, he asks, “What if I wasn’t trying to keep people out? [What if] I was trying to keep something in?” The “something” turns out to be Sinestro (presumably), but whether he’s a prisoner or a prize is still very much like the alien city nearby: up in the air.

The last thing we heard about the disgraced former Green Lantern, who mentored Hal before killing a Guardian, was he’d escaped from space prison. We don’t know how or if anyone helped him get out, but it seems like Hal knew where Sinestro was, at least. Maybe he even put him there.

But why? Is Sinestro the key to solving Hal’s murder? Or something bigger? Back in 1975, when Martin described the purpose of the fail safe box, he said what’s inside was something only his son could carry. Martin meant the family “legacy,” but Hal — who used the bird keychain to ensure his former partner found his way inside the box — could believe only John will know what to do with Sinestro. Maybe the pink baddie knows something. Or maybe the gun Hal provided is meant to finish off Sinestro for good.

The Co(r)ps

Kyle Chandler in ‘Lanterns’Courtesy of John Johnson / HBO Max

“Whatever I am, I’m not him.”

In reviving the Hal/John dynamic, Episode 7 also makes sure to distinguish Hal and the Hal-o-gram. For one, there’s a lot of talk about what the backup consciousness even is: He’s just a backdated version of Hal? Not quite. Is he human? Not exactly. (They don’t even know if he can breathe.) So it’s some sort of genie-like helper? No way. (The Hal-o-gram even manifests on its own sometimes, rather than be prompted by John.) But does it have emotions? Absolutely, and they matter.

When the Hal-o-gram first hears what Hal’s been up to since the last time he was released, his first response is, “I was in jail?” And then, “I was in love?” Chandler’s earnest, patient reaction goes a long way to humanizing the Hal-o-gram, but it’s just as important that his responses aren’t cold and calculating; they’re sentimental. He’s ashamed to learn he went to prison, and he’s hopeful to discover he was in love.

“Lanterns” then pushes the Hal-o-gram even deeper into emotional territory when he insists on meeting Sheriff Kerry. Their scene together is tender and moving. Her tearful reaction isn’t mirrored by Hal. He’s not pretending to be anything other than what he is, and he’s not disguising what he wants: “I’m not him. I’m not your Hal. I mean, I would’ve been, but I’m, I guess, what he used to be,” the Hal-o-gram says. “I just wanted to meet you, that’s all.” (How sweet!)

“Lanterns” doesn’t relent once our stoic heroes’ vulnerability springs forth. John gets his own tear-jerking moment to end the scene — when the sheriff says Hal used to talk about John “like a football team who was always giving you hope and then letting you down. He’s the TV you yell at every Sunday, but you never miss a game because, you know, big fan.” The Hal-o-gram again invokes his father’s death while crossing the lake, and his openness is rewarded when John calls him Hal for the first time. Sub in “dad” for “Hal” right there, and their father/son bond becomes all too obvious.

In addition to Hal writing a new legacy for his family, the other implication from “Lanterns” emotional penultimate episode is that there’s a new Jordan boy in town. John may have grown up hating Hal, and Hal may have treated John like dirt during their brief time together. (“You taught me two things: ‘jack’ and ‘shit,'” is a good line in an episode filled with gems.) But in echoing his father’s words on that fateful day at the airfield (“Great arm, kid”), the Hal-o-gram cements his place as John’s de facto father figure.

The Hal-o-gram may not be Hal. But he may be better. And a better Hal is what John needs — and deserves.

Grade: A-

“Lanterns” releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

“Good Luck or Oh Fuck” (Points of Clarity)

• OK, I just gotta say it: From a baseball perspective, Hal should’ve given up that ball long before his coach asked for it. Boys in Little League shouldn’t be throwing nine innings. That’s a surefire way to get hurt, and if Hal was really as good as he thought, then he should be protecting his future. Moreover, I don’t know what a “near no-hitter” is, but it’s not something anyone tracks. A one-hitter? Sure, great, cool. A two-hitter? Still impressive, but if he gave up two hits and a couple of walks, then the coach should’ve yanked him a few innings earlier, and Hal should’ve been glad to sit down. I get that’s not the point of the scene, but hoo boy, the flimsy set up is annoying.

• Not annoying: this week’s dialogue. Quite the opposite, really. After a week without Hal and John tossing barbs at one another, Episode 7 provided plenty of A+ banter, including:

• “Listen, you ignorant copy of an ignorant asshole.”
• “That hot but possibly evil Sheriff is going to be back after brunch.”
• “You got a fucked-up brain, man.”
  “Well, there’s a bullet in it.”

• Curious to see how John’s bribery plot pays off. Obviously, he needs to keep the diner waiter from letting the cops know he saw Hal the night he died, but that hardly seems like a huge priority given everything else going on, nor does it seem worth $315,000. (In 10 years as an architect, how much money did John make?) Maybe he really does see it as “reparations” to a child who lost her father because of a catastrophe he feels (partially) responsible for. But I think the watch is enough.

• Massive respect to Aaron Pierre for making John a terrible singer. Really! Too many characters on TV, when asked to grab a mike for karaoke or belt out a tune in the shower, unleash inexplicable vocal skills, as if they’re living a secret life on Broadway when they’re not a doctor or a lawyer or a space cop. Not everyone can carry a tune, and there’s no reason to think John would be able to, so I appreciate Pierre’s commitment to the character’s tone-deaf melodies.

• Hal’s “jam” is “Shake Your Booty” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Of course it is. Go on now, Hal. Shake, shake, shake!