Lanterns: Everything The Finale Has to Do to Land the Plane and Light Up the DCU

Lanterns is a major success, one that has brought the DC Universe to mainstream audiences, who have fully embraced the fantastical lore of DC’s Green Lanterns as presented in HBO’s True Detective. However, the real test of any mystery-based cop show is how it resolves the case and where it leaves the flawed detectives once the job is done. Lanterns is facing that same obligation, as there is quite a lot the show has left to reveal, explain, and resolve in just one more episode.

So far, Lanterns has met its narrative obligations and managed to mostly do so in unexpected ways, and there’s little reason to doubt that the finale will follow suit. At the same time, it’s not unreasonable to consider the list of things the show needs to hit to give us a satisfying ending.

8. Resolve Hal & John’s Relationship

The heart of Lanterns has always been the relationship between aging Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his young replacement, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). With each episode, Lanterns has peeled back layers of each character to better inform us why they are so contentious when they’re together. It’s been a fascinating character study, especially since we’ve known since Episode 1 that one character is dead.

Episode 7 made some deep, painful reveals about both John and Hal, including some early implication that Hal’s death may not have been the “murder” we assumed it was. We also got the weird catharsis of Hal’s “Halogram” backup giving John more fatherly attention than the real Hal ever did. However, it’s hard not to see that Halogram’s limited time in existence (before the ring charge gives out) will be a major metaphor for the end of his and John’s arc. Either John will have to let go (of the ball), or just maybe his “chosen one” abilities will let him keep Halogram alive as a construct? Either way, the emotional implications are exciting.

7. Resolve John’s Identity

Hal Jordan certainly stole the spotlight for much of Lanterns‘ run, but it’s been clear since Episode 5 that this series is really focused on John Stewart’s origin story as Green Lantern. As showrunners Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, and Tom King have demonstrated, the comic book mythos about rings powered by will and focus can be expanded into a powerful metaphor examining the emotional health and stability of the men behind those wills.

John Stewart has gotten one of the most thorough and complete build-ups in superhero media, but we do need to see the payoff: John becoming the Green Lantern that so many DC fans know and love. After Episode 7 revealed that John never wanted his “destiny” as a Lantern, we can’t help but feel that his final transformation will be tied to both resolving his own personal issues and his relationship with Hal. How that all gets settled in just one episode is the question.

6. Have John Suit Up & Fly

We want to be very clear here: It will not be enough just to have John Stewart embrace the ring and speak the oath. Not after eight episodes, so many theories, and a flood of online discourse. We need to see the man suit up, and fly.

The flying part is actually a loose thread from early episodes that Lanterns is obligated to tie off. The suit part? Well, this series has cleverly side-stepped a lot of the traditional superhero staples about costumes. But Hal suited up for one sequence (his reunion with Sinestro), so we need to see John do the same. Need to know what we’ll be getting when he pops up in Man of Tomorrow.

5. Reveal Who Killed Hal

To be honest, Lanterns has made us believe that this particular answer (“who?”) won’t be nearly as important as the “why?” And even then, those who have paid attention to the show know that the reveal probably won’t be some big mind-blowing twist; more likely it will be another great dramatic showcase from Lanterns.

Theories like Sheriff Kerry (Kelly McDonald), or her son Noah being the killer, seem on point, as it would echo many of the season’s themes of generational trauma to have Noah revealed as a human-Manhunter hybrid of his grandmother Zoe’s design. It would also explain Hal choosing to meet his end without much of a fight, trusting in John (the next generation of Lantern) to handle the legacy better.

But who knows? Maybe we find out Sinestro, Darkseid, or Brainiac flew down to take out Hal Jordan to invade Earth. It’s the DCU; anything could happen (theoretically…).

4. Reveal What Sinestro’s Role Means In All This

Thaal Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) is one of the most pivotal figures in Green Lantern lore, and one of the most formidable villains out there. DC fans were thrilled to see him included in Lanterns, as well as his comic book backstory as Hal Jordan’s friend and mentor who fell from grace and betrayed the Green Lantern Corps. However, casual viewers have no idea who Sinestro is or why he’s an important character at all, and Lanterns hasn’t given them much reason to change that view.

One of Episode 8’s biggest challenges and obligations is making viewers understand Sinestro and why he was a crucial character to include in the show. Lanterns could arguably squeak by without fully developing Sinestro if he is positioned as a big bad for Season 2. Otherwise, we’re really hoping that wasting this character is not one of the radical changes to lore Lanterns is making.

3. Reveal Any Other Threat Or Villain That’s Been Hiding In Plain Sight

There are many lingering theories that Zoe Macon/The Manhunter wasn’t the only extraterrestrial antagonist hiding out on Earth. Some theories say Noah Macon is a Manhunter; others say that the supposed Guardian who recruited John, Lianna (Laura Linney), isn’t who she’s been claiming to be. Other theories think that Lanterns has been circling certain other DC villain origins, like the Sinestro Corps, or the prophecy of Blackest Night.

Trailers for the Lanterns Finale have made it clear that the threat is real. But who or what it is not only needs to be revealed, but defeated (or at least resolved), by the end of the finale. No pressure.

2. Reveal The Guardians & The Green Lantern Corps

Lanterns has taken a slow-roll approach to introducing all the fantastical sci-fi lore related to the hero, and that seems to have worked to the show’s benefit. Newcomers have had an easy and familiar way to get into the series, while longtime fans have found the changes to traditional comic book lore to be a novel way for the character and lore to feel new again.

However, the show has barely shown us any of the Green Lantern Corps, even though characters like Ch’p (the squirrel) and Mogo (the planet) have been directly referenced. We haven’t even seen the full vision of what a Guardian looks like in the show.

It may just be a final teaser scene, but Lanterns does need to give us at least one visual that depicts what the full Green Lantern Corps and its Guardians look like, and their homeworld of Oa.

1. Establish Green Lantern’s New Status Quo Before Man of Tomorrow

Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) appeared in Superman (2025) and is also set to return for the sequel film, Man of Tomorrow. However, Lanterns star Aaron Pierre is also confirmed to be in Man of Tomorrow, which instantly raises a lot of questions about where Lanterns will leave things.

Right now, the DCU is looking strong with the way it’s implementing crossover connections and using projects to seed other projects, successfully across both TV and movies. But if Man of Tomorrow pulls an Avengers: Age of Ultron and reintroduces major characters with unexplained new status quos, it will be a loss for the franchise. Lanterns needs to establish a new status quo that carries over directly to Man of Tomorrow and proves that the DCU is holding together, tight at the seams.

Lanterns Season Finale Trailer Has Every DC Fan Expecting One Major Thing