In Review: Lanterns (S1 – EP1) Pilot

Synopsis: In the pilot episode of Lanterns, a fatal shooting draws the attention of veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his trainee, John Stewart, who travel to Nebraska to investigate what they suspect could be an extraterrestrial incident.

The Story

This opening episode moves us through various points in time, but most of the action is set in 2016, where Hal Jordan, now a veteran Green Lantern, is training John Stewart, who will eventually replace him. The relationship between the two men is a little tetchy, mostly due to Hal’s unorthodox way of doing things, which slightly irks his trainee, who is much more by the book.

This is where much of the humour comes from, as we see Hal persistently trying to provoke a reaction from John. Much of this gets put on hold when the pair are drawn to Rushville, Nebraska, where a terrible shooting has taken place at a football game. Hal uses his ring to fly there, leaving John to make his own way via more terrestrial means. Yet another example of Hal’s ongoing mission to rub his trainee the wrong way.

As they arrive, Hal suspects an extraterrestrial connection to the shooting. Added to this, Hal has seemingly been keeping an eye on Rushville for some time, giving him an additional reason to take the incident seriously.

Once in Rushville, they clash with local Sheriff Kerry Kane, who isn’t too thrilled about two Green Lanterns marching into her investigation and announcing that aliens might be involved.

Their investigation reveals that the victims of the shooting might not have been what they initially appeared to be. The story increasingly points towards an alien impostor living among the local population, turning what initially resembles a mass shooting into part of a much bigger mystery.

At the same time, we’re learning that there is something troubling about Hal himself. He’s older, cynical and much more abrasive than the heroic Green Lantern that John remembers from childhood. The story introduces the “Halogram”, a stored version of Hal’s consciousness. Crucially, it hasn’t been updated in years, raising questions about exactly what happened to Hal during the intervening period.

The investigation also brings Hal and John into contact with some of Rushville’s more colourful residents, including influential local figure William “Billy” Macon, while the mystery surrounding the shooting continues to simmer.

It’s roughly at this point that the rug gets pulled out from under the viewers when we jump forward to 2026. John returns to Rushville, where another investigation awaits him. He and Sheriff Kane make a horrifying discovery at the high-school football bleachers:

Hal Jordan is dead.

He appears to have been shot, but even more alarmingly, his Green Lantern ring has been taken. It’s a shocking discovery that leaves John with a whole new mystery to solve while raising the biggest question of all: who killed Hal Jordan, and why did they take his ring?

Acting

Kyle Chandler is solid as Hal Jordan. I loved the more cynical take that he brings to the character, even though it is only for the purposes of this particular storyline. Chandler really seems to enjoy playing up Hal’s more abrasive and childish qualities, particularly when he’s deliberately trying to get a rise out of John.

Aaron Pierre is great as the more by-the-book John Stewart, who is trying his utmost not to be drawn in by Hal’s childish antics. Pierre plays John as the straighter of the two characters, which works really well against Chandler’s more unpredictable and provocative take on Hal.

Garret Dillahunt puts in a good performance as Will Macon, who remains very mysterious about his sources and is obviously playing games with the Lanterns. There is clearly more to Macon than he’s willing to reveal, which makes him an intriguing part of the wider mystery.

Kelly Macdonald provides a strong performance as the overworked town Sheriff, who has absolutely no time for the Lanterns intruding on her jurisdiction. Her frustration with the pair provides a few fun moments, particularly as she finds herself having to deal with both Hal’s attitude and John’s somewhat more diplomatic approach.

Overall

This opening episode of Lanterns does a solid job of setting out its stall in terms of the mystery and the players involved. I loved the way in which Hal was persistently trying to wind up John, as it added a fair bit of humour to what would otherwise have been quite a dark storyline.

The visual effects are used conservatively throughout the episode, mostly whenever Hal makes use of his ring. Thus far, we’ve seen it used as a cigarette lighter and as a means by which Hal manifests a banknote of unknown denomination, which he uses to keep the same song playing on repeat on the bar’s jukebox. It’s a fun way of showing how casually Hal uses the ring after so many years of being a Green Lantern.

The biggest use of the ring comes towards the end of the episode, when Hal uses it to create a shield to protect the town. It’s an effective sequence that gives us a taste of the ring’s more spectacular capabilities without the episode becoming overly reliant on visual effects.

Overall, this is a solid start to the series. The central mystery is intriguing, the dynamic between Hal and John is entertaining, and there are already plenty of questions that I want answers to. I look forward to seeing how things develop over the next few weeks.