Lanterns Episode 4 Ending Explained: Zoey Is Revealed As The Manhunter

Lanterns episode 4 has finally revealed our Manhunter. I want to recap what happened, give you my thoughts on the episode, and then explain that ending and what is next for Hal and John as they embark on their separate pursuits of Zoey.

The episode opens with Hal visiting Sinestro in prison. That scene got a glimpse at the end of episode 2, but with this show telling the story out of order, that cliffhanger is only now being followed up on. I really love how we are getting to see this reflection of Hal and Sinestro through Hal and John despite us not having actually seen the conflict between Sinestro and Hal play out. If you are a comic fan, you know the story, but this show did a great job laying the groundwork and providing the necessary information so that we did not need a flashback episode showing young Hal learning under Sinestro and getting betrayed. Granted, that would have been pretty cool, but they have handled exposition well in this series.

Lanterns Frames John Stewart As A Hybrid Between A Green Lantern And A Manhunter

There are several points throughout this episode that lend credence to what I have been saying, which is that they portray John as this sterile, order following robot, much like an android. And what is a Manhunter? An android. I think they are intentionally meaning to show us that John is this hybrid between a Manhunter and a Green Lantern that the Guardians have been wanting.

In case you do not know, Manhunters were created by the Guardians before their pivot to space cops with the Green Lanterns. As the episode mentions, Manhunters are not aliens. They are something else, artificial androids created by the Guardians, kind of like Eternals. They were designed to be enforcers for the Guardians to keep peace, but that backfired. Due to typical AI going rogue story beats, they determined that free will and even biological life was a problem for keeping the peace, a little bit like Ultron. As one line in the episode puts it, "I think you're confusing peace with quiet."

So the Guardians realized they needed something living to be their space cops instead of artificial beings. They created the Lantern Corps, and all Manhunters were to be decommissioned, exterminated. That is why this one, who we now know is Zoey, is hiding here on Earth.

Back to John: he is human, a living biological being, but he has been raised and essentially programmed like a machine. That is why the Guardians like him so much, because their original idea was to have enforcers that would follow orders regardless of how they felt about it, because they did not have feelings about it. That backfired because Manhunters ended up having their own opinion on how things should be, though you could argue they were programmed to think that way. I think the reason the Guardians really like John Stewart and want him to be Green Lantern is because he is biological life that will not go rogue like an AI whose programming went haywire, but they have also run into rogue lanterns like Sinestro and how they cannot control Hal Jordan. In John Stewart, the Guardians see their dream of a person they can point and shoot like a weapon who will not break rank, this perfect mix between a lantern and a Manhunter. That is why the woman overseeing John's Guardian upbringing liked the idea of having baby John Stewart programmed from essentially birth to become a Green Lantern. I loved when Hal says, "Did you just make a joke?" showing us that Hal also thinks John acts like a robot.

Abin Sur's Ship Had A Manhunter Aboard, And I Do Not Know Why Yet

It is also in this episode that we hear more about Abin Sur, the lantern who crashed on Earth and gave Hal Jordan the ring, making him Green Lantern. We learn that on board his ship was this Manhunter. I do not know if the Manhunter was a hidden stowaway that Abin Sur did not know about who maybe caused the crash, or if Abin Sur was trying to save this Manhunter from other Guardians and brought her there to hide on Earth. I am hoping we will find out soon, and maybe we will even see a scene of Abin Sur crashing on Earth and Hal getting the ring, with Zoey or the Manhunter watching from a distance in her Manhunter form. That could be really cool.

The Guardians' Liaison Tries To Turn John Against Hal As The Two Investigate The Crime Boss's Operation Together

The woman overseeing John's Guardian upbringing visits John and tries to turn him against Hal because the Guardians really do not want Hal having the ring. John shares his honest feelings about Hal but stops short of actually betraying him later in the episode. We then see John and Hal go to the crime boss's place together using a tunneling device that John made, with John quipping, "Yeah, I'm creative."

I loved getting to hear Hal talk about his dad, including that line about him being fearless, or at least that is what he wanted people to think. That brings back the idea of being truly without fear like John Stewart versus being brave enough to squash that fear like Hal Jordan. Which of those makes for a better Green Lantern? I think Hal's humanness and susceptibility to fear is a weakness for him, but he is brave enough to bury it. John, having been raised the way he was, is less likely to feel something like fear, but you have to wonder if that takes away from his humanity, which is the thing that made Green Lanterns a better option than the Manhunters in the first place.

The Lab Scene And A Weapon That Disables The Ring

We get a fun beat in the lab with Hal and John stepping on a pressure plate, including the bit about 185ish. I loved this camaraderie between the two characters, of course before it falls apart by the end of the episode. We get a really cool scene where the crime boss's men shoot darkness at the lanterns, disabling the ring. I must admit this made me think a bit of the fart cloud version of Parallax from the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern movie, but it was really cool that they have weapons for any and all threats.

Zoey Is Revealed As The Manhunter, And Hector Hammond Faked Her Death

It became pretty clear early in the episode that Zoey is the Manhunter, especially in the scene in the crime boss's office talking about her being his nurse. It became even more clear when Zoey and John are back at the motel, and John clearly figures out that Zoey is the Manhunter. We see Zoey leave, and her truck is blown up so that she is believed dead. As we soon learn, that did not fool John. John not appearing distraught over Zoey's death was not because he is made of stone, it was because he knew she was not dead.

The guy operating the satellite that blew up the truck is Hector Hammond, a name that will sound familiar if you are a fan. He is pretending to be the Manhunter because, just like the whole town, he is loyal to Zoey because of the miracles she has given them all, no sickness, prosperity. Zoey has blessed all of their lives, and in exchange they help keep her hidden. That is the big reveal of the episode: we know who our Manhunter is, and we know she is alive.

Hal And John Are Now On The Outs, And The Episode Ends By Mirroring Episode 1

Hal and John are now on the outs with each other, not because Hal is upset about something John had said earlier, but because Hal is upset that John hid his hunch that the Manhunter was Zoey. The episode ends mirroring what we saw happen in the first episode, with Hal jumping out of a moving car again, this time running into a telephone pole. I am guessing Hal does not trust John at this point, and now that the car has crashed, Hal might be planning to take off back to confront Zoey.

I am digging this show, and I think every episode has been better than the last, similar to how the last DC HBO show, Penguin, got better with each episode. Lanterns is kind of proving to do the same thing.

What do you think happens next between Hal and John now that the truth about Zoey is out?