> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thenaijanerds.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lanterns Season 1 Review: DC's latest entry started off well but lost its way - URL: https://www.thenaijanerds.com/lanterns-season-1-review/ - Published: 2026-10-07T18:56:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-07T18:56:34.000Z - Description: A lacklustre finale let the whole season down - Author: Isa Muhammad - Tags: TV Reviews, Lanterns *Spoilers ahead for the whole season, including the finale.* Lanterns is an HBO drama based on DC's Green Lantern comics. It follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and veteran Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops who investigate a murder in the American heartland and uncover a darker mystery. Produced with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, it is a live-action take on the franchise. Emmy nominee Chris Mundy is the showrunner and executive producer. Lanterns has two things going for it: Chandler and one quiet scene. Chandler carries the series as Hal Jordan for the most part, and the moment John Stewart reads his letter aloud is one of the best scenes of the season. Almost everything else let me down. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/58/c1583162-4fd3-4b9d-b1a7-e63fea63b59f/content/images/2026/10/kyle-chandler-.jpg) [](https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/lanterns%5Fepisode%5F2%5Fexplained%5Fthe%5Fmanhunter%5Fthreat%5Fjohn%5Fstewarts%5Fpowers%5Fhal%5Fjordans%5Fsecret/s1%5F17197%5F44211509?ref=thenaijanerds.com) The show wrote Hal as an unlikeable man, and by the end everyone in Rushville hates him. Even so, I never turned on the character. And in an odd and uncommon way, Chandler stole most of the scenes he was in, even with how poorly Hal was written. It would've been nice to see Hal put on the suit a few more times though. The letter scene works because the show didn't ruin it with jokes. It let John read the letter out loud and let the moment play out. Also, there were almost no good action scenes in this show. The one exception is episode 5\. John wasn't very likeable, at least in the first few episodes, but I came to admire the character towards the end and wanted him to take back the ring he turned down. However, the Stewart family drama didn't help either. Some scenes show him getting along with his parents, and in the next they're at odds again. I understand the timeline, since some events happen ten years ago and others in 2026, but the family dynamic still felt odd. His siblings couldn't stay mad at him for more than five minutes, and by the end they hugged it out and everything was fine. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/58/c1583162-4fd3-4b9d-b1a7-e63fea63b59f/content/images/2026/10/Aaron-Pierre.jpg) Where's the depth? Where's the resentment from his brothers over how their parents raised John as the 'Chosen' one? He got the most attention and the most potential, and the parents didn't hide that from his two brothers. We do see that John isn't on great terms with them as adults, but the story rushed past it and never really dug into his personal life. One moment his brothers hate him, and the next they're holding hands and singing kumbaya. Give me a break. The series built up Sinestro for a while and then didn't use him in the end. It also needed to tell us more about the Guardians for viewers who don't know them from the animation or comics. The Manhunter storyline wasn't well developed either. It felt like the show used the same idea twice because it had nowhere else to go, and mainly wanted to set up another villain for a possible new season. After Zoe was shot in the head, you'd expect the story to turn to John and Hal, and to whether John takes the ring. Instead we're back to square one, looking for a Manhunter once again. The Manhunters also looked almost human the whole time. We never saw their true form or got to see/witness what makes them so dangerous. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/58/c1583162-4fd3-4b9d-b1a7-e63fea63b59f/content/images/2026/10/lanters.jpg) I never read the Green Lantern comics growing up, but I watched a number of the older animated series, including 1999 Green Lantern DCAU. I knew the franchise involved a lot of space travel, and we didn't really see much of it here outside that one time Hal flew into space to visit Sinestro. As for the ending, it felt rushed. We waited the whole season to see John use the ring and put on the suit, and he didn't, at least not with the suit on. The show also let Guy Gardner down. After John walked away in 2016, the ring found its way to Guy, so John hadn't worn it or used it for nearly as long as Guy had. In the final moment with John, the writers made Guy look like a scared errand boy for the Guardians, and somehow he bends to John almost every time they meet. By the way this is the same Guy Gardner who stood face to face with Superman Hal Jordan deserved a better send-off as well. Having Kerry (Kelly Macdonald), the local sheriff, suddenly shoot and kill him was absurd, and it's a terrible way to end the story of a character this big and central to the franchise. That's just bad writing. The show does leave a few crumbs for a return, since Sinestro claims he could bring Hal back. We'll see how that plays out if Lanterns gets a second season.