HBO’s Lanterns has a unique approach to narrative pacing because the next episode never picks up from where things were left in the last episode. We got a massive cliffhanger in the pilot episode about Hal’s apparent death, and then episode 2 ended with the big Manhunter reveal. However, episode 3 never circles back to any of the urgent stuff; instead, it focuses on John Stewart’s entire backstory.
The episode opens with John free-falling from the ceiling in 2016 as a voice echoes ‘jump’ in the background. He breaks his fall on a pair of mattresses scattered on the floor in what looks like an abandoned shopping mall. As John walks, he follows the directions placed there and reaches a door labeled ‘Manager.’
Just as he’s about to knock, a woman opens it and greets John. He tells her that he’s here for the interview, and the woman asks John to go inside the office and wait for her. However, it isn’t until the next day that the woman comes back and finds John sitting in the exact same position she left him.
She sounds surprised by John’s commitment to following orders and even seems impressed. She then asks John if he knows who she is, to which he replies that she’s one of the Guardians, the ruling body of the cosmos. He continues to demonstrate his knowledge of the topic by informing the woman that the Guardians are the creators of the Green Lanterns and that there were 12 of them, one of whom recently died.
John then proceeds to ask if the rings choose their wearers, and if so, why the Guardians need to interview candidates. The woman replies that it’s because one of the Guardians was killed but then waits for John to ask why he was chosen. However, John knows exactly why he was sitting in that interview, and it all happened when he was a baby.
The screen cuts to a flashback of a baby John in his crib, with his parents sleeping nearby. However, John’s mother is awoken by one of the kids, and she leaves the room. As she does, a green flash engulfs his sleeping father, and a voice asks him, “Are you afraid?” John’s father replies, 'Yes,' in a terrified voice, and the green light disappears as quickly as it came.
The next thing we see is Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern on the TV as the news anchor announces the heroic efforts of the superhero in saving the people. The anchor recites Hal’s statement about his remarkable feats, citing how being fearless makes him a great hero.
The word ‘fearless’ triggers John Stewart Sr., and he shoots the TV with his gun. Bernadette Stewart becomes furious over her husband’s obsessiveness with losing the Green Lantern position to Hal Jordan. He is convinced that if he had answered differently that night, he would have gotten the ring. However, his wife doesn’t believe him and threatens to leave if he doesn’t solve his issues.
Hal Jordan replaced John’s father as the Green Lantern
The Stewart household was in shambles after John’s encounter with the ring that night. Bernadette was convinced her husband had a nightmare, but she was forced to reconsider when a strange woman visited her one day. She was the same Guardian who took John’s interview in 2016.
The woman tells Bernadette that the Guardians would like to extend their sincerest regrets over the trauma caused by their communication via the ring. At first, John’s wife is reluctant to believe her, but when the Guardian shows Bernadette its true blue form, she finally believes that her husband was telling the truth.
The woman offers a huge diamond in exchange for the emotional turmoil the ring has caused John Sr. However, Bernadette is not sold on the apology and sort of accuses the Guardians of traumatizing her husband. The Guardian does admit that the ring’s selection process for humans is quite unusual since they never had a Green Lantern from Earth.
Surprisingly, Bernadette is headstrong in her approach to make the Guardians realize that they made a terrible mistake. She emphasizes how unfair it was to John to be asked such a question, especially considering his race. She feels they were discriminated against even in selection by a species foreign to Earth.
Hearing her troubles, the Guardian admits that whatever the ring saw in John Sr. would be because of his genetic makeup, which means there’s a strong chance Baby John would inherit the same qualities. She tells Bernadette that John might make an excellent candidate and gives her her word that when the time comes, John will get a fair chance at being the Green Lantern, only if he’s raised to be fearless.
John Stewart gets his interview with the Guardians
We are brought back to John’s interview with the Guardian after the flashback scene with his mother. Their fateful meeting that night was the reason why John knew that he’d one day become the perfect candidate for wearing the ring. As the conversation continues, the Guardian asks about John’s military career and learns that he has been dishonorably discharged.
Upon that revelation, the fans are given another flashback to the mission that led to John’s discharge from the army. He was called in for his impeccable record as a sniper to assassinate a man code-named Gray Wolf. John dismisses the man's details and asks his superior to fill him in on the details that would help him take down his target.
He is informed that the only opening for killing Gray Wolf would be at his retreat in the Kamchatka Peninsula. Since it’s not possible to know when he’d be there, they would like John to wait there until he gets an opportunity. Three candidates have failed the mission before him, and to ensure John’s safety, he would be given a panic button, but he straight out refuses, saying he ‘doesn’t do panic.’
The scene cuts to the past, when Bernadette tells John Sr. about the Guardian’s visit and how they apologized for not picking him, blaming it on an imperfect system. However, John’s wife emphasizes that they have been given another chance in the form of Baby John. It has to be him because he’s still a baby who doesn’t know fear.
The two discuss how the world has been unfair to them, but John becoming the Green Lantern would be their salvation, and they will do everything to get him ready for the role. John Sr. confesses that their actions would bring John Jr. to hate them, but Bernadette is ready to bear the consequences.
We come back to John’s mission as he jumps off a plane in the middle of a storm and ends up in the water with a broken chute. He sustains injuries during his landing, but it doesn’t stop him from securing his position near the retreat.
The scene cuts to John and the Guardian discussing his dishonorable discharge, but he refuses to reveal the classified details, just as he reassured her that the contents of their conversation will also remain a secret. However, the Guardian is interested in what John thinks of Hal Jordan, especially after he replaced his father.
John insists that he harbors no ill will towards Hal, especially since his father raised him to respect people who protect others and their country. Then the woman asks John about Sinestro and goes on to explain how his being Hal’s mentor and father figure makes it a troubling prospect for them. But John explains that all these feelings are human, and humans are bound to love the people who raise them despite their shortcomings.
Just as he says this, he remembers his fifth birthday and how on that fateful day his parents revealed to him his destiny to become the Green Lantern. They gift him a rifle and tell him that he’s treated differently because he has to become fearless in order to be selected.
As years go by, John learns to shoot, but his mother is unable to contact the Guardians and takes it upon herself to set up a system to tell them about John’s progress. As his parents are discussing the matter, John innocently asks his father to shoot an apple off his head.
This explains the opening scene in Lanterns when John Sr. shoots an apple off his son’s head, not as a form of abuse or punishment but as part of his training. His mother encourages the exercise because that only adds to his fearlessness. Although she herself feels fear, she is forced to be cold for John’s sake, who doesn’t even flinch when the gun goes off. It makes John Sr. happy to see his son’s progress, and he offers him a cheeseburger whenever he successfully completes an exercise.
John recalls these key memories from his upbringing while talking to the Guardian about his family and the makings of who he is today. He toggles back and forth between his mission and childhood to best explain his psyche. He affirms that he’ll pass the interview because that’s how he was trained.
The Guardians reveal their true plan for John
We continue to get glimpses of John’s childhood as he answers the Guardians’ questions in the background. They talk about isolation and feeling lonely, and John confesses that he grew up lonely, and that’s because of how his parents raised him.
For instance, one day, when the family is driving home at night in a shady neighborhood, John is asked to step out of the car so he can walk back home. That was another way of making him fearless, and John passes with flying colors. However, when he returns home, he collapses on the bed crying.
The next thing he remembers is finding his mother desperately contacting the Guardians but hearing nothing back from them, who said that ‘birds’ would be watching over John. When he asks why they weren’t responding, his mother replies that they might think they aren’t seeing results.
John insists that he’s afraid of nothing and does the apple-shooting exercise again, but this time, his mother demands that he shoot one off of his father’s head. John agrees, but he is unfortunately unable to do so. That night, his mother finds him drawing and claims he’s gifted.
However, she also confesses that she lied that the Guardians are in contact with them. They haven’t responded to them since that night, but that doesn’t make the whole thing any less important. She explains that the Guardians know who John is and they’re watching and that the only reason Hal has the ring is that he’s privileged enough to not know fear in his life. They are trying to give him the same privilege, and once he proves it, there’s no stopping him.
After their talk, John says he’s ready to shoot off that apple, but he’ll do it on her. Though reluctant, his mother stands in front of the garage door with an apple on her head. She seems afraid, but she’s also confident in her son’s abilities, and she’s right. After John’s success, she offers to buy him a cheeseburger, but he says that he hates them.
Back at the interview, the Guardian insists that John reveal the details of his mission if he wants the job. So, we are taken back to the night when Gray Wolf finally arrived at his house. Unfortunately, John is unable to get a clear shot that night and waits till the next morning for an opening.
Lanterns episode 3 ending reveals how John and Hal met
The next day, the man comes out of the house, and just as he’s about to take the shot, he hears a loud boom. John looks up and sees Hal Jordan in the sky; however, he notices that Hal covers his target in a protective bubble before blowing up the place. The shock wave throws John back, but he gets up the next moment. He witnesses that the Green Lantern flew away with his target.
It turned out that John had been on the mission for nine months, but it wasn’t the government who sent Hal Jordan after Gray Wolf. His superior informs John that Hal Jordan had been drinking at a club with the Deputy to the Defense Secretary, who let it slip that they had located Gray Wolf at the retreat. The next thing anyone knows, Hal Jordan flies away, blasts the compound, and drops the target at Guantanamo.
The government wanted the terrorist dead and not in custody because of foreign complications, but now they have to answer the Russians about blowing 300 acres of their sovereign land. It’s a messed-up situation, and now the higher-ups are looking for a scapegoat.
Since they can’t persecute Hal Jordan, they’d have to dump the blame on someone else. Shockingly, John accepts the blame without blinking, sacrificing his dream and position for the sake of his country. John is commended for his patriotism, but he was dishonorably discharged.
He returns to his parents’ house, defeated, but his mother refuses to give up. Despite losing everything he worked for because of Hal Jordan, Bernadette encourages him to move on. She applies to an art school for him and tells John that giving up is another form of fear. He needs to do something else to prove he isn’t afraid of anything.
John agrees and starts at an art school where his talents are greatly appreciated. One day, he’s called to audition for a special project and is tasked with drawing the building he's currently in as accurately as possible from memory.
He draws a beautifully detailed drawing that impresses the recruiter. Next, he’s asked to manifest one of his parents’ watches from memory, using the Green Lantern’s ring. John is surprised when the recruiter presents him with the ring. He takes it and projects his father’s watch with impeccable detail.
The man is impressed and announces that they have been following his progress and that he’s now ready for the interview. He drops black goo on the floor that turns into a portal of sorts, and asks John to jump. He steps into it without hesitation and lands on the mattresses in the abandoned shopping mall.
We return to the final part of the interview, in which the Guardian seeks confirmation from John that it was, in fact, because of Hal Jordan that he lost his military career and a chance at a normal family. John affirms that it was because of Hal, but denies harboring any resentment or ill will towards him, believing he was following orders.
Surprisingly, the Guardians inform John that Hal was acting of his own volition and that they had repeatedly warned him against involving himself in terrestrial disputes. She further adds that John would need to replace Hal Jordan with the latter under the impression that he’s only his backup.
The Guardian asks John if he’s comfortable with these circumstances, and he replies that if these are his orders, then he is. The alien then confirms that if he gets the job, then these would be his exact orders. Again, John agrees without a second thought, and he ends up getting the ‘job.’
John rushes back home to inform his parents but is surprised to see Hal Jordan sitting at his table with his mom and dad. Hal insists that he just had to come meet his protégé, and he is impressed that his parents raised such a man. He asks John to take a walk with him to discuss important matters, but it is evident that he is agitated with the news of a backup.
As soon as they’re out, Hal cuts to the chase, implying that he doesn’t need a backup and knows that John is only here for the ring. He further adds that the only way he’s ever going to get the ring would be over his dead body. He finishes by saying they’ll start training Monday morning, then flies away. As he blasts across the sky, a bird lands on John’s mailbox, and he comments to it that he thinks Hal likes him.
You can catch up on all three episodes of Lanterns on HBO Max.
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