This episode contains spoilers for Lanterns Episode Seven, “The Jordan Boys Legacy”Warning: This article contains discussion about suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
Only one episode remains in HBO’s Lanterns, and the penultimate episode did a fantastic job setting up what looks like an exciting finale. Instead of featuring a lot of action and setting up the finale to wrap up many storylines, “The Jordan Boys Legacy” is largely character-centric and delves into Hal Jordan’s backstory thanks to the arrival of a backup of Hal’s consciousness stored in his Lantern ring, known as the Halogram.
Even though episode seven is character-centric, it still raises larger questions. Not just about how the storyline will wrap up, but about the wider Green Lantern mythology and potentially the future of the DCU. Here are the answers to the biggest questions from ‘Lanterns‘ Episode Seven, “The Jordan Boys Legacy.”
How Martin Jordan’s Death Differs in the Comics
Since the Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn storyline, DC Comics has established that Hal Jordan’s father, Martin, died in a plane crash. This appeared to be the origin story that Lanterns was sticking to, as the series premiere establishes through a news broadcast that Hal watched his father, Martin Jordan, die in a plane crash in the mid 1970s. “The Jordan Boys Legacy” adds a new, tragic wrinkle to Martin Jordan’s death.
The Halogram ultimately reveals that Jordan’s father took his own life and used the plane he was piloting to do it, since everyone would think it was an accident. This change fundamentally alters Hal Jordan’s characterization and distinguishes him from fellow DC heroes like Bruce Wayne and The Flash, who had their parents die at the hands of another person, or even Superman, whose people died in planet-wide destruction. While the first episode began with Hal Jordan saying he has no fear because there is nothing scarier than a child losing their father, this episode adds new context to that when the Halogram says, “I’m not fearless because I’m brave. I’m fearless because I’m broken.”
What Was in Hal’s Father’s Safe?
At the beginning of the episode, Martin Jordan gives Hal, as a young boy, a key to unlock a box of his stuff after he died. Martin mentions his father died for him after Hal’s grandfather went off to fight in “the war.” It is a Jordan family legacy, but Hal isn’t allowed to see it until after his father dies, which he tragically assures Hal won’t be “for a long time.” The Halogram reveals that Martin Jordan’s safe had “cash and coin”, and also his suicide note. Hal explains that the note detailed the pain Hal’s father felt his whole life saying:
“My old man, he was convinced we’d be better off without him. Said he had that pain his whole life. Said it was getting worse. He couldn’t hide it. Couldn’t bear to let us see it. Couldn’t bear to let us see him.”
The Halogram also explains that Hal’s grandfather left a similar note in his safe, saying that “He had the same pain, passed down generation to generation, father to son. They called it the Jordan Boys Legacy.”
Who Is the Squirrel Lantern That Has Been Referenced Twice?
This is the second time that Lanterns has had Hal Jordan reference a Green Lantern who is a squirrel. This references Ch’p, created by writer Paul Kupperberg and artist Don Newton, who debuted in Green Lantern #148 in January 1982. Ch’p isn’t actually a squirrel, but a member of the H’lvenite species that happens to resemble Earth squirrels. Even though Ch’p hasn’t appeared on screen yet, hopefully, as Lanterns takes further steps into the DCU, this fan-favorite character makes his live-action debut.
What Is Mogo?
The Halogram is able to catch John Stewart in his lie about Jordan’s funeral by asking if “Mogo showed up”, to which John Stewart says yes only for the Halogram to reveal that Mogo is “a planet.” Mogo is indeed a sentient planet Green Lantern created by writer Alan Moore and writer Dave Gibbons. Mogo’s first appearance was in May 1985’s Green Lantern vol. 2 #188, which was titled “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize”, which itself was referenced in episode 2 “Trust Fall” as Hal Jordan’s password to get into his safe. It’s fitting that Mogo is referenced again, given the episode’s focus on Hal Jordan’s safe.
What Was in Hal’s Safe and Why?
After the Halogram uses his voice to unlock John Stewart’s safe, it reveals two bags. One is a backpack with snacks, water, a poncho, and a gun. The other is a paper grocery bag containing an Einstein-Rosen bridge, aka a portable wormhole, that has been seen in Lanterns used by aliens such as the Guardians of the Universe and the Manhunter.
The wormhole allows John Stewart to travel to another planet in a different section of the galaxy. Meanwhile, the backpack’s contents are meant to keep Jordan alive, especially the poncho, which he wears to protect himself from rain contaminated with a fear gas that creates deadly hallucinations.
What Planet Did John and the Halogram Go To?
“The Jordan Boys Legacy” shows Lanterns taking their first major step into the cosmic side of the DCU as John Stewart and the Hal Jordan projection leave Earth through the Einstein-Rosen bridge and land on another planet. While the episode doesn’t name the planet, it reveals it’s the one Antaan and his crew from the 2016 timeline were from. The Manhunter has long since wiped out the planet.
How Does John Stewart Know About this Alien Planet?
John Stewart says the planet is familiar to him, even though he has never left Earth. How is this possible? The episode reveals that when Antaan used a machine in episode two, “Trust Fall,” to force John Stewart to see the atrocities the Manhunters caused, it showed him this planet’s citizens dying.
Is the Fear Gas Another Batman Tease?
Lanterns reveals that the Manhunters created a type of fear gas that infected this alien planet’s inhabitants, causing them to hallucinate and ultimately wiping them out. Given the various Batman references in Lanterns, from Gotham City name-drops to the Green Lantern signal being a copy of the Bat-signal, it is natural to assume a fear gas would be connected to the villain Scarecrow.
While Dr. Jonathan Crane might derive his fear gas from Manhunter technology, this weapon in Lanterns doesn’t seem to be setting up the DCU’s Batman. Instead, it has ties to the wider Green Lantern mythology, laying the foundation for the fear-based weapons used by Green Lantern villain, Sinestro.
Why Is Sinestro Hiding on This Planet?
-
HBO -
DC Comics
-
Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro in ‘Lanterns.’ HBO
HBO
DC Comics
In the previous episode, “Bad Optics”, Guy Gardner mentions someone broke Sinestro out of Spazkaban, aka Space Azkaban. Even though “The Jordan Boys Legacy” doesn’t reveal who broke Sinestro out, it does show he is hiding on this dead planet overrun by fear. That, coupled with the season-finale tease, suggests Sinestro is on this planet looking to harness fear as a weapon.
In the comics, Sinestro famously wields a yellow power ring that taps into the energy of fear, and ultimately founds his own Lantern Corps known as the Sinestro Corps. Even though Lanterns has been a rather standalone mystery for the most part, it is possible the series will end with the setup of Sinestro beginning his own Corps, ultimately revealing that the show was called “Lanterns” not just because Hal Jordan and John Stewart, but because it was about more than the Green Lantern Corps.
- Release Date
-
August 16, 2026
- Network
-
HBO
- Showrunner
-
Chris Mundy
- Directors
-
Alik Sakharov, James Hawes, Stephen Williams, Geeta Patel
- Writers
-
Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, Tom King, Vanessa Baden Kelly, Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson