SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the Season 1 premiere of “Lanterns,” now streaming on HBO Max. What kind of superhero show has the guts to kill off its lead character in the first episode? Of course, just because Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is found dead in the bleachers by John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and town sheriff Kerry (Kelly MacDonald) in the middle of a brutal 2026 winter doesn’t mean audiences won’t get to see Green Lantern in action in future episodes — the show sets up a non-linear structure that jumps among different storylines from the very opening scene, which begins in 1996 and sets up a young John’s connection to taking the Green Lantern mantle.
But clueing audiences in on the fact that the show’s protagonist’s days are numbered is bold for the comic book genre. And it makes for one hell of a cliffhanger for the series premiere. As the Green Lantern, Hal has the power to create material items through his ring, and acts as an intergalactic space officer protecting humanity from extraterrestrial threats.
Things take a dark turn, however, after a series of unexplainable deaths draw Hal and John to a small town in Nebraska. When Chandler first read the ending of the episode, he “cheered” at Hal’s demise. MacDonald, who says Frances McDormand’s Oscar-winning performance in “Fargo” informed the way she played the sheriff just trying to keep her small town from falling apart, dreaded filming the scene when she discovers Hal’s dead body.
It was quite emotional, seeing him like that,” she says. Lindelof, who created HBO’s Emmy-winning “Watchmen” TV series that released in 2019 — bringing a grounded approach to it — recognizes the opportunity to subvert audience expectations from what they’ve come to expect in the genre. But most importantly, this is a story about a guy who doesn’t want to give up the ring — and a guy who wants the ring.
And it was important for us to message to the audience that we weren’t gonna try to have our cake and eat it too.” The episode sets up Hal and John’s budding mentor-mentee dynamic in a 2016 timeline, with Hal being a reluctant teacher. The tension between them comes to a head after the two arrive in Nebraska and begin investigating a school shooting that Hal believes is a front for aliens. And it was a moment very early in their dynamic.
Everything in John wants to just rumble in that moment, but he can’t and Hal knows he can’t,” Pierre says. Seeing Chandler sit up on a pair of bleachers overlooking a football field may give viewers who were introduced to the Emmy-winning actor with “Friday Night Lights” a feeling of déjà vu. Chandler felt those memories for the series that turns 20 this fall.
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