Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Lanterns Season 1, Episode 4!
Lanterns sure left us hanging these past couple of weeks, ending Episode 2 with the debut of Ulrich Thomsen’s Sinestro and then pivoting away to tell a flashback storyline in Episode 3 (a great flashback storyline, but a flashback all the same). Only now in Episode 4 do we see the full reunion between Sinestro and his former protege. It’s a definite high point of the episode, albeit an all too brief one.
It’s slightly ironic that a show about Manhunters is taking some inspiration from 1986’s Manhunter (and its literary inspiration, Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon). Sinestro is clearly being cast as the Hannibal Lecter figure in this particular investigation, providing his former protege with some much-needed advice and also taking the opportunity to screw with him psychologically. Thomsen really shines in this opening scene. He conveys a clear menace, but you also get a real sense of the history and camaraderie between Sinestro and Kyle Chandler’s Hal. As readers of Geoff Johns’ seminal Green Lantern run will know well, Sinestro ultimately sees himself as nothing more or less than Hal’s friend. He may have ulterior motives in this show, but he seems to be genuinely trying to help Hal out of a dangerous predicament.
My main complaint here, again, is that the Hal/Sinestro reunion is over too soon. Sinestro is too key a character to the Green Lantern mythos to be treated as such a small supporting player. I would have loved more of this sci-fi-flavored spin on the classic Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter dynamic, whether that consists of flashbacks to their pre-uprising relationship or simply more scenes of the two conversing in the prison. Later on, Hal recounts what Sinestro told him about Manhunters struggling to replicate human hearts. Why couldn’t we have seen that portion of their conversation? We can only hope the series finds room to bring Thomsen back in a more substantive role in the back half of Season 1, but right now, it seems just as likely this is all we’re going to see of the character.
I feel similarly about the other key GL villain introduced in Episode 4, Jason Manuel Olazábal’s Hector Hammond. We basically get one good, solid sequence out of Hector and that’s it. The standoff between Hector and Hal/John (Aaron Pierre) is tense and stressful in the best way, but it’s also over very quickly. At that point, we learn that Hector is really just Hector Gutiérrez, another fakeout used by the Manhunter to throw our heroes off their scent. And unlike Sinestro, there’s not even any prior history between Hal and Hector in this universe. This is a major DC villain who’s being effectively wasted as a one-off misdirection.
So there’s definitely a newfound element of frustration to Lanterns in Episode 4. Up till now, I haven’t minded the series’ decision to downplay some of the franchise’s more fantastical trappings. It’s necessary from a practical TV-making perspective, and it suits the story being told. But seeing such major GL characters being introduced and then whisked off the board so unceremoniously is harder to stomach.
Fortunately, Lanterns still has its biggest selling point to fall back upon – the eternal friction between cantankerous veteran Hal Jordan and ambitious rookie John Stewart. That strength remains fully on display in Episode 4, which manages to deftly balance the inherent comedy of this pairing and the simmering tensions within Rushville. In the case of the former, we get a lot of fun banter between the two characters, and even some good jokes regarding John’s dour, stoic demeanor. Plus, there’s the heightened nature of their latest, very awkward meeting with a proudly naked Will Macon (Garret Dillahunt). Investigating Macon’s Weenie indeed.
Episode 4 is at its best when it highlights the growing friction between Hal and John. Both men are increasingly at odds with one another. Each is hiding things from the other. Moreover, each has been given clear advice to betray the other and elevate their own station. The question of whether John will backstab Hal and claim the ring hangs over every scene that follows his conversation with the Guardian Lianna (Laura Linney). We’ve seen that years of abusive parentage and single-minded training have molded John into a man who follows orders without question. Is that blind obedience what the Guardians crave, more than fearlessness? What happens when John is inevitably forced to choose between his desire for the ring and his loyalty to Hal? Does that loyalty even still exist following this episode’s dramatic final scene? A lot to ponder heading into Episode 5.
Also of note is that we seem to have our answer regarding the mystery of the undercover Manhunter. Despite the giant red herring that was Zoe’s “death” scene, she’s been revealed as Macon’s mysterious benefactor. As far as twists go, this one is pretty obvious, so it’s just as well the writers didn’t drag things out any longer. Predictable or not, it’s a reveal that works, and I’m excited to see where things go now that the Lanterns (and Antaan’s crew) know who their quarry is. We may be only halfway through the season, but the 2016 conflict sure is heating up.
One final sidebar – I didn’t really hone in on this before, but it’s certainly interesting that Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) is a former Gotham City native whose last name is Kane. Is she somehow related to Kate Kane (and by extension, Bruce Wayne himself)? I can’t imagine the Kane/Gotham connection is mere coincidence. Presumably, we’ll get more on Kerry’s backstory before Season 1 is finished.