Lanterns Recap: Episode 8 - Dirt and Stars

Ash Walker • 06 Oct 2026 Features

“Don’t be afraid to be afraid.”

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SPOILERS AHEAD!

The season finale is here, and we finally get our answers courtesy of Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). Let’s lay it all out!

We already know that Hal (Kyle Chandler) struck up a relationship with Sheriff Kane (Kelly Macdonald) while in prison, and that he returned to Rushville when he was released to be with her. We also know that the rest of the town weren’t too happy about that - to the extent of setting fire to his house.

Hal (and Earl) are done for, but pulled from the fire and healed, just as John (Aaron Pierre) was, by a Manhunter. Yes, it turns out that there’s been another one in Rushville this whole time - Noah (Shea Pritchard).

Through some hand-wavy sci-fi shenanigans, Kane would up pregnant after being healed by Zoe’s magic healing machine, and gave birth to a baby Manhunter. Maybe this is how they usually reproduce? Whatever the reason, Noah is fully aware of what he is, and now so is Hal.

Unfortunately for Hal, he goes to Sheriff Kane with this information, and she completely freaks out at the idea of their lives as they know them being over. She grabs her gun and, before she realises what she’s doing, shoots Hal in the head.

So we finally have our answer. Sheriff Kane killed Hal in a fit of panic, and now she’s pretty torn up about it.

To further complicate matters, Noah is at war with his own programming - something John has a lot of experience with - and asks John to kill him before he has a chance to destabilise and destroy the world. John, trusting the kid’s essentially good nature, lets him live.

And that’s basically it, our mystery is solved and it’s all resolved in a much more understated, almost melancholy way than we all might have expected. We got our big, bombastic action-packed climax in Episode 5, and now we get a more sombre, thoughtful finale.

But it’s not all wrap-up - there are a few things here and there that are setting up the future status quo of these characters. Sinestro is trapped on a dead planet, its water and atmosphere laced with fear - the perfect place to build a yellow lantern, perhaps?

Speaking of Sinestro, Noah is the one who broke him out of prison, and tasked him with building a lantern capable of killing a Guardian. A lantern which John now has possession of. John tells Guy (Nathan Fillion) that he can keep Sector 2814, but John will now be Earth’s Green Lantern - an independent contractor, as he terms it, completely divorced from the Guardians and the Corps.

And poor old Hal is actually dead, and his Halogram has been removed from the ring’s memory. Sure seems like he’s properly gone, although it would be a shame if this was the last we’ve seen of Kyle Chandler’s excellent take on the character. Sinestro did say he had a way to bring him back from the dead…

All in all, this was a pretty solid reinvention of the Green Lantern characters. The grounded, grown-up, Earth-based take was a great introduction, but I do wish it had done more than skirt around the edges of the more out-there cosmic sci-fi craziness inherent in the character. Hopefully we get more of that in future seasons!

Random Thoughts:

• How exactly did Noah get to Oa to release Sinestro? Despite his magic healing machine and portal to another planet, he’s basically just a regular kid from rural Nebraska. He probably doesn’t have a spaceship sitting around somewhere.
• John’s slightly tweaked oath was pretty cool, and a great climactic moment for the character.
• I can’t wait to see how the dynamic between John and Guy develops from here.
• The final goodbye between John and Hal was surprisingly moving - especially when Hal tricks his protege into saying ‘I love you’. How sweet. It’s a real shame that we probably won’t see these two on screen together again.

Verdict: A surprisingly understated, moving finale that gives us answers and sets up an interesting new status quo. Bring on Season 2!

Lanterns is available to stream every Monday from 2am on HBO MAX, available now as part of Sky Ultimate TV.