Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another another review/reaction of this week’s episode of Lanterns, “The Jordan Boys Legacy.” If you want to see our thoughts on last week’s episode, “Bad Optics,” here’s a link to that review. “The Jordan Boys Legacy” had some great callbacks. That’s good, sometimes even great. And this week’s episode did some things to progress Lanterns season one’s plot, but I’m afraid it may not have done enough. The season finale has a ton of work. As the episode’s title implies, “The Jordan Boys Legacy” dives into Hal Jordan’s backstory. That may not sound like it’s a bad thing, but remember, Hal’s gone. Any longform story with Hal is backtracking when the finale is next week. And this episode builds up the idea of Hal unaliving himself. Can I use the S-word here? You know what, I will. This episode suggests Hal may have committed suicide, but I think this is a red herring.
Before we get any further, spoiler warnings are in effect. You’ve been warned. If Hal committed suicide, it’ll be because he was under the influence of the fear toxins John Stewart encountered in this week’s episode, and that fear toxin originates from Parallax and/or the Sinestro Corps. Lanterns hasn’t done enough to build up these threats. We’ve physically seen Sinestro himself in a couple of episodes, but he’s been imprisoned. I should take a moment and acknowledge that this week’s episode of Lanterns did answer one of the questions I had from last week. Hal Jordan must’ve “freed” Sinestro. More precisely, Hal relocated Sinestro from one prison to another. This answer leads to more questions:
How did Hal know which planet to imprison Sinestro? Antaan implanted John Stewart with the memories of his people, not Hal.
Was Hal involved with Antaan’s people getting massacred or did he clean up the mess? Maybe.
Was Sinestro somehow involved? Probably.
When did Hal imprison Sinestro? I’m guessing during 2016 because his ring must’ve been decommissioned after the events at Rushville, but Lanterns made it sound as if Hal “freed” Sinestro in the past few years. Someone with the ability to fly through the cosmos “freed” Sinestro. Hal couldn’t do that without a power ring. Could he?
Was Hal possessed by Parallax? Ah! That may be what Lanterns is building toward. I mentioned Parallax last week. It’s the embodiment of fear in the DC Comics Universe, and Parallax has a history in the comics of poisoning Hal Jordan. Heck, Parallax was first introduced in DC Comics with the being possessing Hal Jordan. Okay. Technically, Green Lantern writers wanted Hal to fall from grace; fan outcry led to the writers inventing Parallax (it wasn’t Hal; it was Parallax). The story was still a compelling one even if it got retconned. While a Parallax possession would explain Hal’s demeanor during Rushville, why he would mess with Sinestro, and even why he would commit suicide, I would’ve liked Lanterns to mention Parallax as a concept or by name before the season finale.
Sure, Lanterns season one has played around with the concept of fear. Fear was why John’s father wasn’t chosen as Earth’s Green Lantern. John must prove he has no fear. Antaan’s people massacred each other out of fear. During “The Jordan Boys Legacy” episode, John asks old Hal (the construct from the ring) to ask him if he’s afraid, and John has a fearful moment in the middle of the poisoned lake–more on that wonderful scene later–but Lanterns revealing Parallax as the big bad could backfire.
It’s a risky move. One that would be difficult to pull off without the twist sounding like a gotcha moment. One that only comic book readers would know. If Parallax is the big bad, it could read a lot like the CW’s Flash season two. Zoom was the big bad. Several characters were presented as compelling candidates for Zoom. Flash chose to stick to a comic book accurate Hunter Zolomon, who barely appeared in the season prior to his name drop. Geekly covered that series as it aired nine years ago. Has it really been nine years? Yikes! I face palmed when I heard the Hunter Zolomon name drop and pleaded for Zolomon not to be Zoom. He was the least interesting option as Zoom. I’m not quite there with Lanterns and Parallax, but it’s close. Like I said, it’s risky.
Hal as Parallax only adds more questions that need to be answered, and Lanterns has one hour to answer the above questions, the four or five remaining questions from last week, and these new questions. The Lanterns season finale has a mountain of work. If Hal is Parallax or possessed by Parallax, here are some additional questions:
Was Parallax in control of Hal the entire time or did it influence Hal? My guess is influencing Hal because I don’t think Hal could fall in love with Sheriff Kerry if Parallax took full control of him, and we return to the timing of Sinestro leaving space prison. Does Parallax float in and out of Hal’s consciousness? How does it work? Or is someone or something else behind Sinestro’s relocation?
If Hal (possessed by Parallax) broke Sinestro out of space prison in the last couple of years, did Parallax grant Hal the ability to fly to space prison? Maybe. But that would sound convenient.
Why would Parallax want Sinestro imprisoned on this other planet? Sinestro serves Parallax’s ends. Why keep him imprisoned?
Antaan wanted The Manhunter dead in 2016. Was The Manhunter in cahoots with Parallax? If so, how did that work?
Parallax can work as Lanterns season one’s big bad villain. It also functions a lot like The King in Yellow, who influenced the first season of True Detective. Lanterns‘ showrunners cite the first season of True Detective as an influence. I don’t mind this comparison. R. W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow is one of the most influential weird fiction creations. I highly recommend reading this collection of short stories.
While many creators focus on the first several stories in this collection (the play that bears The King in Yellow’s name drives people insane when they read the second act), fewer creators explore the second half of The King in Yellow. The characters presented in these stories (the romances) avoid the King in Yellow’s influence. In large part, they overcome the King in Yellow because they overcome their fears. That sounds a lot like Parallax. This is why I still have hope for Lanterns season one finale.
Lanterns has kept its focus on its core characters. I appreciate that. The scene with John Stewart facing his past on the poisoned lake works because we know his past. Old Hal helps John through this moment and after doing so, shares his past (his father committing suicide) with John. If Parallax took control of (or influenced) Hal, it makes sense if it did so through Hal’s fear of becoming his father. Even though “The Jordan Boys Legacy” didn’t progress the story as much as it could in preparation of Lanterns season finale, I’m still withholding final judgement until the finale.
I prefer if the show resolves most–if not all–of the questions it poses. This week’s episode left a lot of questions unanswered, presented new questions with the one it did, and the potential big bad may present even more questions. Parallax is a compelling villain if done well. Lanterns “The Jordan Boys Legacy” left a lot of work for the season’s final episode. Seriously, I double checked to see if there was a planned ninth episode. If the show sticks the landing (a tall order for sure), you know I’ll be rewatching this series more than once. Those are my thoughts on Lanterns “The Jordan Boys Legacy.” Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
