It’s safe to declare that Lanterns episode 5 is by far the most impressive entry in the entire series. Packed with action and twists from start to finish, Lanterns delivers a hard blow with character deaths and betrayals that no one saw coming.
The episode begins with a flashback to 2007, when Sheriff Kerry Kane first arrives in Rushville. Her car breaks down, and she seeks refuge in a nearby café. Upon arrival, she’s cornered by two men who seem to know her from Gotham. By the looks of it, the men have been tasked with killing Kerry as they did her father.
However, before they can make a move, a familiar face shows up and apprehends one of the men. Surprisingly, it’s Zoe, and it's obvious at this point that she’s the Manhunter. She asks the man about the task, and he replies that his boss wants Kerry’s pinky as proof of her death. Zoe looks at Kerry eagerly, and it immediately registers what she has to do in order to survive.
Kerry cuts off her finger, and Zoe sends away the man, threatening to kill him and his entire family if they ever come after Kerry. When the dust settles, Kerry inquires why Zoe helped her, and she replies that she wants to give Kerry a second chance like she was given by someone else. However, if Kerry wants a safe, secure life in Rushville, she will have to promise to protect Zoe when the time comes. In other words, Zoe basically bought Kerry’s undying fidelity by doing her the favor of a lifetime.
Hal Jordan serves a brutal one to John Stewart
In episode 4, we saw Hal crashing John’s rental with him inside as a way to get him off the board before handling the Manhunter situation. Episode 5 opens with John gaining consciousness after his car crashed into a pole. He finds himself unable to get out and lashes out at Hal for almost killing him.
However, it’s clear that Hal is unconsciously following Sinestro’s advice and leaving John out to dry while he takes credit for bringing in the Manhunter. He even says out loud that he made John call Antaan so that Macon’s militia and the aliens can cancel each other out, and in the meantime, he’ll take Zoe in and hand her over to the Guardians.
Of course, Hal isn’t doing this out of duty; instead, he feels the sting of being replaced, and putting John out of the game is his way of getting back at him. The two exchange hurtful words before Hal abandons John to his fate. The next thing we hear and see is the Rushville residents getting ready for the onslaught that’s about to hit town.
Sirens blare across town as people grab firearms to prepare for the arrival of the aliens and the Green Lantern. At the Macon ranch, Zoe and Kerry prepare for retaliation while Billy argues that he wants to be in the line of fire with them. Zoe dismisses him, saying he needs to be with Noah, and later bids her grandson goodbye.
Zoe tells Noah that a lot of people are going to die, including the ones he loves. When asked about herself, Zoe simply says, "We'll see," and tells Noah to promise her not to forget everything she has told him. Just as they finish talking, Zoe receives a phone call informing her that Jordan is MIA and John Stewart has been located.
At the site of the accident, John is still trying to cut himself loose, but before he can do anything, the car catches fire. As the fire spreads, he sees a car stop and shouts for help. Zoe steps out, but there’s no urgency in her actions, and within a few minutes, the entire car is engulfed in flames.
The Manhunter reveals itself
As planned, Hal tries to get a jump-start on Zoe and uses the sentry protocol from his ring to scout the area for her. He then flies off and lands right in front of Kane’s car, confronting her for lying to him and knowing everything since the beginning.
However, Kane isn’t in the mood to put up with Hal’s tantrums, and she unloads the entire gun straight at Hal, who uses his ring to conjure a shield. He calls her out, but she insists that if she doesn’t go against him, she’ll be killed by Zoe. Frustrated, Kane gives Hal one final chance to leave so peace can return to town, but he refuses.
Kane is at her limit when she tries to talk sense into Hal, telling him how she has always tried to protect the town and nothing more. Zoe will start killing people if it means drawing Hal out to deal with him; she’ll be brutal if given the chance. Unfortunately for Kane, she fails to convince Hal, and the only thing she can say is that he should prepare for the consequences of his actions.
At the hospital, a severely burned John regains consciousness to find Zoe by his side. She explains that much of his body has been burned, but John immediately calls her out for letting it happen. Despite claiming to care for him, Zoe, aka Manhunter, lacks the emotional instincts that come naturally to humans. Her concern for John may be genuine, but it isn't enough to make her as vigilant or protective of him as a human would be.
Zoe asks John why he didn’t give her up to the Guardians, to which he says that he doesn’t trust them because they also dumped the responsibility of taking the ring on him. He elaborates that Antaan didn’t want to tell Hal because the alien thought that the Manhunter was under the protection of the Guardians, but it’s obvious that she’s not.
Everyone has lied and worked for their interests, including Zoe, who now offers John her protection and healing technology in exchange for allowing Hal Jordan to die. She makes it clear that the only way this ends is for John to claim the ring for himself. She only wants John to tell the Guardians that Hal died a hero protecting the town from rogue aliens, and that’s the price of her help.
With John’s approval, Zoe prepares him for the tissue healing process, and as she does, they talk about why the Manhunter chose Zoe in particular, despite knowing the racial limitations of their choice. However, Zoe has a completely different perspective on starting with a disadvantage. She believes that in order to gain a vantage point in society, one must start from a place of discomfort.
Before putting John in the machine, Zoe adds a drop of her blood into his eye, and something takes over him. Everything John experienced in life comes rushing back as the machine heals his body completely. When John wakes up, he asks Zoe about the night she arrived on Earth. She admits that she killed Abin Sur despite the Lantern bringing the Manhunter to Earth to spare its life.
John exposes Zoe, saying she’s helpless against her nature because the Manhunter knew only Abin Sur knew one still existed, and it couldn’t risk that knowledge getting out. So the Manhunter killed its own savior to survive, and that’s what it’ll keep doing.
John proves why he’s better than Hal as a Lantern
On the other side of town, Hal meets up with Antaan and lies that William Macon is the Manhunter. The alien doesn’t seem to trust Hal’s intel and inquires whether John and William had ‘coitus’ or intercourse because that’s the Manhunter’s MO. It targets the society’s strongest and slowly bends them to its will.
Hal feels a tad bit jealous over this information but goes on to convince Antaan that William is the target. Back at the hospital, Zoe gets a call from Macon that the enemy is approaching, and she confirms whether William is ready for what’s about to unfold.
At the William Ranch, the aliens approach and blow their way to Macon. He sits ready in his seat to confront Antaan. The alien speaks to Macon in their native language, asking questions that will confirm its identity. Antaan asks about the first and the last thing the Manhunter said to him, and William answers correctly.
We also learn that the Manhunter took the form of someone close to Antaan, and they were in a relationship but couldn’t conceive. At the moment, it seems as if Antaan believes it, but he suddenly pounces on William, claiming the Manhunter wouldn’t have offered itself up so easily. He carves out William’s beating heart to prove he was human after all.
In town, Zoe has launched a full-scale attack, forcing Hal to use his depleting ring to help the citizens. When he’s informed of Zoe’s arrival, he flies off to take her in, but she blows up the water tank, which was actually filled with black smoke. Hal is ambushed, but he uses the night vision goggles to fight back.
Unfortunately, Hal loses the power in the ring after he stops Antaan from blowing up everyone. With no power to fly off, Hal takes the chopper back to the motel to charge the ring. However, before he could say the oath, John smashes in and stops Hal after he breaks free from the hospital.
The two have a heated fight, and as John’s about to overpower Hal, a red light erupts outside and blows the entire place apart. Hal is buried under rubble, and John runs away with the ring and the lantern. Shortly after, Zoe arrives to finish off Hal, but he argues that if John were committed to ending him, he would have done it himself.
Zoe is confused as to why John left Hal alive, and only one answer becomes obvious — bait. Zoe turns around, and we see John aiming at her head, and he takes a perfect shot. Zoe drops dead instantly, leaving John in anguish over her death. However, as proof, John carves out Zoe’s heart, and it instantly crystallizes, proving she was the real Manhunter.
As the town’s destruction unfolds before him, John takes the ring and the lantern with him, walking across town to meet up with Lianna, one of the Guardians. She’s waiting for him at the bar and looks quite pleased with John because of the ring.
However, John hands her the bag with the heart, and she instantly feels guilty and admits that even the Guardians can make mistakes. Then she inquires about Hal and seems surprised when John mentions that he’s still alive. It’s an awkward moment, and Lianna tries to turn it into a celebration, but John ultimately puts his foot down.
He explains how he always imagined this moment all his life, the moment he would wear the ring and all those feelings of pride and heroism would fill his heart. However, when the time actually came, he felt nothing but a huge void wearing the ring, and that made him question everything he ever thought he wanted out of becoming a Green Lantern.
He explains how Hal lost his oath, honor, and eventually himself because he wanted to wear and keep the ring. If that’s what the ring will do to its wearer, then he doesn’t want it. In a shocking turn of events, John leaves the very ring he worked his whole life for on a bar table, walking away from one of the most powerful beings in the universe to ensure his humanity isn’t consumed by it.
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