Lanterns Episode 6: Why I Don't Think the Hal Jordan Who Dies Is Really Hal Jordan

Hal Jordan knew he was going to die that night. It's all part of his master plan, and I don't think the guy sitting across from John Stewart in that diner is even the real Hal Jordan. There are several moments in this conversation between Hal and John Stewart that made it click for me, and I want to walk through all of them, along with everything else episode 6 gave us.

We open in 2026, after the events of Superman, with John now running his own architectural company. I've said before that I know it's low hanging fruit, but I've always loved that John Stewart is this amazing artist and master builder, and I love how that connects to him being a phenomenal choice for a construct ring user. In the meeting we hear mention of the Metropolis incident. At first I thought that was the third act battle from Superman where reality was ripping open, but I'm not really sure what an underground bunker would have done about that, so maybe it's referring to the kaiju incident in Superman, the hammer of Ravager fight, or some other occurrence in Metropolis.

We also hear John mention a giant starfish, a reference to Suicide Squad, the James Gunn film that originally took place in the DCEU but has been retconned into the new DCU. John also talks about how they don't have a Superman in this city, and I just love hearing Superman and even Batman get mentions in this show, especially since we still don't know who the DCU Batman is even though we know he's out there.

John Stewart Returns to His Hometown, and I'm Still Not Clear What Hal Actually Took the Fall For

John Stewart gets a call from his mother saying Hal wants to apologize, so he agrees to go back to meet him, the first time they've seen each other in a decade since the incident there. We learn Hal took the fall for everything that happened there. I'm still unclear on what exactly he took the fall for in terms of what landed him in prison. I get why the town would hate Hal if they blame him for the death of their savior, and for sticking around when they wanted him to leave and poking the bear that led to all that destruction.

But I still don't really know what he was convicted of in a court of law that got him a ten year sentence. I've heard some say he might be getting blamed for the many deaths that happened that day in Rushville, for being reckless. But if he's being held responsible for all those deaths, I'd think that would come with a much longer sentence. Then again, I'm not a law expert, and this is the DCU, where casualties from superhero and supervillain fights are kind of a normal thing, so maybe it's handled differently.

We could be looking at a scenario where Hal helped cover up what really happened in Rushville with the Manhunter, maybe crafting a story that there was an alien invasion, leaving the Manhunter stuff out of it, with Hal going there, trying to help, causing a lot of destruction defeating the invaders, and now being held liable for it. I don't know for sure, but I think we'll find out in the next episode when we in all likelihood flash back to what happened between 2016 and 2026, seeing Hal go to prison, spend time there, and live in Rushville afterward while being hated by the community.

The Diner Conversation Has Several Moments That Make Me Think This Isn't the Real Hal Jordan

The bulk of what I have to say pertains to that opening conversation between Hal and John at the diner, because that's where all the juicy stuff is. There are several moments here that set up major plot points for the rest of the season and perhaps for the overall DCU. The first thing I noticed is that John Stewart drops a lot of curse words in this exchange, and Hal responds by asking, "When did you start cursing so much?" John Stewart has always cursed like this, so why would Hal ask that question when he knows John curses a lot? I don't think that guy sitting at the table is Hal Jordan.

That wasn't the moment that made it click for me originally, but going back and watching it again, that line added to my theory that this isn't Hal. Then there's the bit where he provokes John into punching him and then tells him not to tell anyone he was there. I think the real Hal is overseeing some kind of plan to get John to come to Rushville and have this interaction with his clone.

A Subtitle Credit and the Mid-Season Trailer Point to a Hal Jordan Clone

In the mid-season trailer, we see Hal in what appears to be Hector Hammond's high-tech slaughterhouse from a few episodes back. He's in scrubs with a Manhunter technology mark on his arm, the same kind of mark we saw on John after his burns were cured by Zoe using Manhunter tech. I'm not sure what Hal is being cured of there, or if that mark is simply from being cloned. Back in episode 5, the subtitles in a different language credited Hal as "clone de Hal," clone of Hal. I'm not saying that Hal in that moment was actually a clone. I think it was likely a mistake, but only because later in the series we'll apparently see Hal talking to a clone of himself, and the subtitles will need that distinction between Hal and the clone of Hal.

Maybe when they were outsourcing the subtitling, something got lost in translation and they accidentally applied the clone credit to the wrong Hal in episode 5, or maybe the two were swapped. I don't know for certain, but I am certain that the Hal in the diner is clone Hal. I don't know what he's planning or why he needed John to come all the way to Rushville that night to punch him in the nose before getting shot. It could be because he wants John involved in investigating his murder as part of some larger plan, but I genuinely don't know what that plan is. He does tell John not to tell anyone he was there, so it's not like he was trying to frame John as a murder suspect. I think this show has done a good job of not being one where the logic falls apart if you think about it too long, so I expect a reason that makes sense will come. Maybe Hal knew John Stewart would use this opportunity to get Hal's ring back from Oa.

Could Hal Jordan Become a Yellow Lantern Like Parallax in the Comics

Someone busted Sinestro out of custody, and the prime suspect would have been Jordan, except he had a pretty good alibi being locked up in jail. That makes me think real Hal is somewhere else, and I think he's the one who probably broke Sinestro out, while clone Hal is the one who ends up dead on the bleachers. That raises the question of whether this show is going the route of a parallax Hal like in the comics, with Hal breaking bad and joining Sinestro and Hammond to use the power of fear to forge fear-based yellow rings, in line with Sinestro and the color yellow representing fear and the parallax entity. I think it's possible that by the end of this season we could see Hal Jordan as a yellow lantern.

I want to be clear that I don't think they're going to make Hal Jordan a big villain of the DCU, at least not for any long period of time. I could see them making it look like he's joining forces with Sinestro to take on the Guardians, and then having Hal ultimately betray Sinestro the same way Sinestro betrayed him. When he does, I could imagine Sinestro asking him why he's doing this, and Hal repeating the line he already told him earlier in the season: because I'm not evil.

A Grieving Love Interest, a Harry Potter Joke, and the General's Line About John Stewart Being Unworthy

Away from the clone theory, I loved seeing the depth of grief from the woman who loved Hal in this episode, even without us seeing their relationship play out yet. We've only heard mention of their time together, but we can already see in her tears and grief over Hal's death that she loved him deeply. These two fell in love between the events of 2016 and 2026, and it was just a brilliant performance. The way this show uses nonlinear storytelling to tell these events is really great.

Another thing I liked was Guy Gardner making a Harry Potter reference, asking where Harry Potter went to school, only for it to come out that as different as these two lanterns are, and as much as they don't like each other, they actually have something in common in their love for Harry Potter. Maybe in the DCU, J.K. Rowling has a different reputation.

I also liked the line at the end of the episode from the general, saying that John is unworthy of his time. That hits hard because John turned down his opportunity to get the Green Lantern ring, a thing the Guardians deemed him worthy of. He gave that up to pursue something else, and now he's being told he isn't worthy of that something else either, right as he's back in the trenches with the ring and Hal Jordan.

Two Episodes Left, Reports of a Season 2 Writers Room, and Talk of a Movie

This is episode 6, so we've got two episodes left, and I'm really excited to see how they tie all of this up. There have been reports that the season 2 writers room has already begun. We know John Stewart's Green Lantern is going to appear in Superman: Man of Tomorrow. I'm curious whether this story gets a very conclusive ending or leaves the door wide open for more Green Lantern stories to come. I've also heard rumors, or reports, of them potentially continuing the story in a movie format, though I'm not sure about that.

What do you think is coming next?