Lanterns Pilot review S1 E1

Based on its pilot episode, Lanterns seems to have the blueprint for a tantalizing complex, layered mystery. Beyond a few casual references to its superhero comic book origins, Lanterns genuinely plays out like the next season of True Detective.

From the immediately dynamic chemistry with the two leads, a captivating premise and non-linear story playing out over multiple decades, it’s got the formula for success down pat. This pilot episode was highly entertaining TV that should at the very least have skeptics returning next week to see if it wasn’t just a fluke.

The big question remains if Lanterns will satisfy comic book fans hoping for a Green Lantern series that will make Ryan Reynolds’ 2011 film a very distant memory. Comic book fans weren’t exactly thrilled with the initial teaser showing a decided lack of green in this show about the Green Lanterns let alone much of a costume. This first episode won’t exactly eliminate those fears.

Lanterns lands at a pivotal point for DC Studios, which endured a disappointing turnout for the second film under the new banner with Supergirl managing an underwhelming $126 million worldwide gross. All eyes turn to Lanterns as DC’s comic book movie rival, Marvel Studios, is enjoying massive success with its latest release, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which just crossed the $2 billion mark in its third weekend.

With the light shining brightly, Lanterns seems up to the challenge… at least for the first week. Writers Chris Mundy (True Detective), Tom King (Batman, Wonder Woman comic books) and Damon Lindelof (Lost) set the stage for an intriguing season.

The episode kicks off in 1996 with Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler, The Rip) making his first public interview on 60 Minutes after a decade serving as the sector’s Green Lantern. He explains it simply like he’s a space cop to make it easy for everyone to understand his role even if by 1996, police officers’ reputation was starting to take a credibility hit. Glued to the TV watching the interview is young John Stewart (Cairo Cash Lee), who’s fascinated with this first superhero interview.

Hal makes it a point to say that he’s just a regular person like the average viewer watching. This would have a deeper meaning as the episode plays out. It’s telling that Hal isn’t wearing a mask and has zero interest in protecting his identity, which would have been much easier to do in the 90s. Being up front with people to the point of being overly cocky and self-assured is clearly a tactic that’s worked just fine for Hal over the years.

John’s father, John Sr. (J. Alphonse Nicholson), arrives home still dressed in his military fatigues. John Sr. runs a tight ship, and his three sons scramble when he pulls in the driveway. John just manages to get the TV off, but it doesn’t matter. John Sr. knows exactly what his sons have been up to. He takes John to the back, has him place an apple on top of his head and asks, “are you afraid?” as he aims his gun.

It’s unclear what was wilder. The fact that John Sr. actually shot the apple or that John was perfectly fine with it and pleased that he indeed didn’t show any fear. Maybe he was just anticipating the burger his father suggested after target/fighting fear practice. This was a solid introduction to John’s early years and the bond he established with his father, which carries on at least through the next decade.

By 2016, John (Aaron Pierre) is riding around with Hal Jordan. His dreams have come true — sorta. Turns out Hal is too much of a free spirit, who celebrates striking intergalactic peace treaties by getting hammered and neglecting John’s training to be another Green Lantern.  They’re two months into the training, but Hal is going the extended play version of it not even getting to important lessons like flying.

Hal seems to be intentionally giving John a hard time trying to get a rise out of him like diving out of the car he’s driving so John can use the ring to save himself. A lot has happened over the last decade to the calm, serene hero who appeared on 60 Minutes. A frustrated John calls his father who offers plenty of sage advice including this very genuine nugget “They’re allowed to have tantrums son. We’re not.”

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En route to meeting up with Hal at the nearby taco stand, Hal’s digital backup from 2006 appears with a message. The backup seems like it’s going to be a useful storytelling device in Lanterns especially given the final scene of this episode. At the taco stand, Hal is basking in the autograph and selfie requests.

He explains to the clerk that he only wears the suit for special occasions. That feels very Lanterns‘ writer-coded for “we don’t want to do too much superhero action, so this is an excuse to keep them in street clothes.”

John relays the backup’s message to Hal, who immediately flies off to Rushville, Nebraska while John takes the long way by actually taking a plane and a rental car to meet up with Hal. He’s watching the scene at the football field’s bleachers and already being an irritant to the sheriff, Kerry Macon (Kelly Macdonald). Hal is trying to respect Kerry’s jurisdiction but insists the four bodies on the field are the result of aliens not a mass shooting.

John and Hal note an eyewitness who looks way out of place. Hal doesn’t want to do anything, but John wants to work with Kerry and goes to alert her. She’s more intuitive than they gave her credit for and his actions tipped off her suspect. At least John catches the guy for Kery and her deputies.

That doesn’t help Hal’s investigation at all, so he picks a fight at the local bar in hopes of getting tossed in prison with the suspect. John, meanwhile, picks up and hooks up with an inviting stranger (Poorna Jagannathan) at the bar. This Hal and John scene was fantastic as Chandler and Pierre totally capture the partner dynamic and play off each other wonderfully. Chandler as the starting quarterback keeping a tight grip on his role while Pierre is the steady backup knowing his time will come.

Hal’s plan didn’t work as Kerry kept him away from the suspect. On the positive front, Hal’s bail is covered via defense attorney, Billy Macon (Jason Ritter) — Kerry’s husband, who posted the bail on behalf of his father, William (Garrett Dillahunt, Fear The Walking Dead). Maybe it’s nothing, but that’s the second set of sons in this episode of Lanterns named after their fathers. Hal can’t relate of course, since his father crashed in a test flight accident when he was still a child. This is why he’s so fearless.

Kerry and Billy introduce Hal and John to their son, Noah (Cary Christopher, Weapons). William insists he’s not some militia nutjob and legitimately believes aliens are in Rushville. He wants Hal’s help to ferret them out. John is shocked to learn that Noah’s grandmother, Zoe, is the same woman he hooked up with at the bar last night. And it definitely seems like William is aware of that little fact too.

Thanks to William’s influence, Hal gets some time with the suspect, Waylon Sanders (Chris Coy). While Hal keeps asking questions to trip Waylon up, Kerry surmises that Hal isn’t fearless so much as he’s lonely. Maybe both things can be true?  John isn’t so quick to blow off Hal’s intuition as there are 14 species that can mimic the human anatomy and not be detected.

This leads to Lanterns’ best exchange as Hal asks Waylon about Barak Obama. This trips up Waylon, who only knows a cliff notes version of President Obama’s importance and certainly not the “typical” reaction of a Nebraska resident when mentioning Obama without referencing the obvious.

So yeah, Hal’s instincts were right as Waylon owns up to being an alien and threatens to detonate an implant that could wipe out the city. Hal enclosing him in a bubble preventing Waylon from harming anyone else. For lantern construct count, that’s a bottle opener, a dollar bill for the jukebox and a dome. The use of a lighter doesn’t count. Hardly blowing the Lanterns’ budget on ring constructs.

Fast forward to 2026, sometime after Superman debuted. John is driving back to Nebraska and reunites with Kerry. Noah is now the all-state QB for the team. Guess that half second lesson John taught him really made an impact? Kerry takes John to the bleachers where a bloody and frozen Hal Jordan’s body is sitting. John’s next gesture — checking to see if the ring was there — suggests that maybe this passing the torch didn’t go any smoother over the next decade.

So, there’s Lanterns‘ big mystery. How did Hal Jordan get killed? It feels like the 2016 period will be the most crucial in assembling the clues while the 1996 and 2026 sequences provide key character beats for John. It’s still naturally very early to measure Lanterns’ effectiveness, but this opening act certainly was inspired enough to keep viewers on the hook.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. 

After checking out Lanterns, check out Green Lantern: Back in Action on trade paperback at Amazon.

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