“Was that a joke?” That’s a line that both Hal Jordan and I had at the same time, as episode four brought in some unexpected humour at the mid-season point of Lanterns. After a flashback-focused episode last week, this week’s episode brings things back to the 2016 timeline of events and gets Hal and John working together for the first time since the premiere. Does the show move the plot forward, and what’s with the jokes?
Lanterns’ fourth episode opens where I was hoping it would. The conversation between Hal and Sinestro that ended abruptly at the end of the second episode. We get to see more of that episode, with Sinestro validating Hal’s fears and suspicions that John isn’t the backup, but the replacement. Sinestro, of course, is perfectly content not only with providing some answers for Hal, but to also with toying with his former protoge a bit as well, egging him to simply kill John to prevent the inevitable. There’s definitely a bit of Silence of the Lambs, with the cop coming to a confined master criminal for answers; just in this case, it’s a former student/teacher relationship, rather than a first-time rendezvous. I do hope we get some more scenes with Sinestro that said; the more stoic Hal actually listening to his former teacher is a nice spin on the character, who spends most of the show cussing John out and being a genuine jerk.
When Hal returns to Earth, the two elect to go and investigate the Macon ranch, as they suspect the Manhunter is sequestered somewhere on the ranch’s weenie, meaning the architectural highlight of a space. John points out, correctly, that the term originated from Walt Disney and that the castles at the theme parks act as the building that draws the most attention. The blind spot in the middle of the ranch has a helicopter that arrives at the same time every day, leading them to suspect that there’s a weenie there. You can see where a lot of the humour this week is coming from then. Of course, the duo get caught after Hal triggers a trap, bringing them face to face with Macon himself and his, ahem, weenie, as he strips down and gets John to sketch him in the nude. Fearless indeed, but he lets slip that his boss, not per se a benefactor, has not only cured him, but has kept the town safe and healthy in exchange for safety, which explains the empty hospital. Thankfully for the duo, Sheriff Kane busts them out.
This eventually leads to them investigating a whole separate organization after a missile fires down on Zoe, seemingly killing her, after she and John shack up yet again at the motel. She drives away, and her vehicle gets blown to kingdom come. But did she? Hal is able to deduce it by the end of the episode, but it’s more or less confirmed now that Zoe is the Manhunter. Her character seemed the most obvious, so obvious in fact that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but she seemingly vanished before her vehicle blew up, and the agent who fired the missile from a satellite was a human decoy. John himself was starting to suspect Zoe as well, confirming to her that he didn’t trust her.
So while the big Manhunter reveal may feel a bit underwhelming, where the show did excel this week is the rapport between Hal and John. They haven’t had much time together since episode one, so it was good to see them back together again. We got a telling scene between John and the Guardian, who confirmed John has to take the ring from Hal to become the next Green Lantern; something that comes as a surprise to him. Hal learns of this plot, of course, confirming that trying to usurp the ring is something he would probably do himself if given the shot. Hal continuously dismisses John as a goodie-two-shoes, constantly calling him “Jr” and undermining him, but is slowly coming around to him in both his investigative skills and his personal well-being. That is, until Hal flings himself from the car yet again, causing John to crash into a power pole before the credits roll. This time, though, John is without the ring, and Hal has likely fled the scene, leaving John to clean up the mess that is Antaan’s squad, en route to terminate the Manhunter.
So the show was a bit predictable in its overall master plan, but solid banter and characterization made it a fun and engaging watch. It wasn’t as captivating as last week’s episode, and I wonder for next week if they’ll keep Hal and John separated yet again. Stay tuned!
