Lanterns Episode 4 Recap

After giving John Stewart a proper origin story for the first time in franchise history in Episode 3, Lanterns Episode 4 picks up where the story left off in Episode 2. Set entirely in 2016, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) continue their investigation into a missing manhunter, with the threat of an entire town being destroyed still looming overhead. Before all of that, Lanterns Episode 4 opens in an off-world prison, deep in the cavern of a frozen planet. Hal stands face to face with his former mentor, Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). After asking him about manhunters, Sinestro tells him that if one existed, it would be only the second biggest threat he's facing, and then proceeds to ask about John Stewart. Get BWT in your inbox! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage. Click Here Get BWT in your inbox! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage. Click Here Hal tells him that he's training John as his backup, but Sinestro calls him out. He tells Hal that he's not his backup and that Hal knows better. Hal rightly discerns that John is his replacement. Sinestro gives Hal sage advice that makes him pause. Sinestro believes the only way Hal will be safe from his replacement is to ingratiate himself with John by making him believe that he's actually interested in John being his backup. Hal immediately wonders if that's how Sinestro fooled him, but in a moment of self-aware villainy, Sinestro says that he never pretended to be someone he wasn't; just that Hal was blind to it. Lanterns Episode 4 captures perfect tension between Hal and John. Back on Earth, John gets a call from his father who wants to talk on a payphone. Preoccupied with his investigation, he avoids the conversation but instead makes his way to a local gun store to ask for a scope. The guys at the store don't bother hiding that they're not friends of the Lanterns by telling him that he can only buy the scope if he buys the whole gun. John buys the gun, takes out the scope, and leaves the rest on the counter as he leaves, seemingly unbothered by the lack of hospitality. On the water tower, John watches as a helicopter lands on the compound occupied by the Macons. Hal lands on the water tower right in front of him, and John briefs him on the situation. The helicopter lands there every day at the same time, at 9:17. Lanterns Episode 4 may have a continuity error, as John makes it sound as if he's been watching them for several days, but in reality, he immediately reminds Hal that they only have 36 of 48 hours left to find the manhunter so it's unclear how he's picked up on this daily landing pattern. Hal asks him what he makes of it, and John explains that there's a spot where the helicopter has been landing each day that isn't visible except by a few high towers. These towers — named The Weenie when Walt Disney was first building his theme parks are an architectural design choice for limited visibility and maximum surveillance. Hal and John agree that they need to see what's happening on that compound. Kyle Chandler isn't your dad's Hal Jordan, and it works. Having promised to keep her in the loop, Hal and John visit Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald). Hal and John believe that the manhunter is the benefactor paying for William Macon (Garret Dillahunt) to live like a king. Despite being related to the Macon family through her marriage to Billy Macon (Jason Ritter), the sheriff insists she doesn't know who the benefactor is who owns the compound. Hal and John inform her of the true intent of their investigation and the devastating consequences Rushville will face if they don't find the manhunter. Armed with this information, Sheriff Kane gives them her blessing to break into the compound to look for the manhunter but gives them a stern warning. They'll only get one shot at this, so they'd better not miss. Before they make their way to the Macons' compound, John is visited by the Guardian who first hired him, Lianna (Laura Linney). Lianna tells John about Hal's visit to see Sinestro. Lianna appears surprised that John isn't more aware of what Hal is up to, but tells him that the next time he gets the ring, he needs to take over as the Green Lantern by reciting the oath. 'The Weenie' raises the stakes. As Lanterns Episode 4 continues, John expresses his hesitance, but Lianna accuses him of not being as ready as she was led to believe. She pushes all the right buttons to test John's mettle, and eventually John tells her in no uncertain terms that he's ready and will be a better Lantern than Hal ever was. He also says the ring has always been his, and Hal is old and just keeping it warm. Lianna reaffirms her order to assume control of the ring at his next opportunity. That opportunity comes in the very next scene in Lanterns Episode 4. John brings Hal a sketch of a device they could use to burrow into the compound underground. Hal gives John the ring and tells him to conjure the device and operate it. For a moment, it seems John might recite the oath right then and there, but instead he eventually creates the device and burrows into the compound. Once inside, Hal and John don't find a manhunter; instead, they find a cache of highly advanced weaponry. When Hal triggers an alarm, the two are shot by security with darkness guns and wake up inside the house. William sits at his desk and asks John if it's true that he is an artist. When John confirms it, Lanterns Episode 4 takes the first of several wild turns when William orders John to 'draw me.' It's at this point that William removes his kimono robe and stands before Hal and John fully nude. John Stewart's love of family rings through Lanterns Episode 4. As John begins drawing William, Hal confronts William about what's happening at the compound, noting that guns that shoot darkness are tailor-made for neutralizing Lanterns. When he calls the benefactor his 'boss,' Hal presses him further until William reveals that he sees the benefactor as a savior of sorts, having saved him from cancer. A moment later, Sheriff Kane barges in and tells her father-in-law to get dressed. She's taking Hal and John in. After leaving the compound, Sheriff Kane warns them that William isn't going to let this go easily. She drops them off at the hotel and gives John a rifle because she can't afford to put them in protective custody. She also emphasizes how important it was that William's wife, Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan), called her before something bad happened. Inside his hotel room, John can be heard talking to his mother on the phone, who encourages him to finish the job and become the Green Lantern. After hanging up the phone, there's a knock at the door, and John opens it to find Zoe standing there. Initially, it appears that the house call may be related to the business at the compound, but Zoe quickly indicates that she's there for pleasure. In the wake of their intimacy, John uses pillow talk to ask her why she's staying with William. When he assumes that she owes him something, Zoe corrects him, saying that it's William that owes her after she saved his life. John presses her further, but she isn't willing to tell him her secrets, afraid that it will change everything. Lanterns Episode 4 doesn't skip on emotion. John watches as she leaves and, in the most shocking turn in Lanterns yet, red laser beams target and blow up Zoe's truck as she pulls out of the parking lot. Hal comes outside after the explosion, flies up into the sky, and comes back down with the deadly satellite that was used. From there, Lanterns Episode 4 gets even crazier as the investigation into the companies that William signed an NDA with leads them to a cattle ranch owned by a corporation called Atlas. As they walk in, they find butchers with bloody aprons but don't see any signs of cattle or recent butchering. After exploring the inside of the facility for a few minutes, Hal and John come into a room with pristine white tile floors and walls with small devices on them. A portal opens on the wall, and a cow walks through before closing and disappearing as if it had never been there. Hal creates a protective bubble where he and John watch as lasers map out the cow and then, in a moment, butcher it into perfect cuts of meat. A claw machine comes down from the ceiling and starts sorting the meat. Hal and John leave and continue looking for the man in charge. When they find him, he's sitting at his desk, and all he says is '3248 Aspen Way.' John explains that it's his parents' address. He identifies himself as the manhunter and threatens to kill John's parents in 3 minutes if Hal and John don't cooperate. The man explains that he's been listening in on conversations for a while and plays an audio clip of John telling Lianna that Hal is old, that he'll make a better Lantern, and that Hal is just keeping the ring warm. 'The Weenie' continues the HBO Original series' winning streak. Hal, undeterred, calls his bluff and says he doesn't really believe he's the manhunter, and if he's right that once John's parents are dead, he'll have no reason to keep this man alive. With seconds left on the clock, the man finally relents and aborts the program to kill John's parents. When Hal asks him who the manhunter really is, he says it's William Macon. On the drive back to the motel, Hal and John discuss their next steps. Hal explains that manhunters are notoriously normal. They do whatever they can to blend into the community without ruffling feathers or inviting attention. Still, when they're threatened, they act to remove that threat. John apologizes for not telling Hal about the Guardians, but Hal already knew the plan in the first place, thanks to Sinestro. Hal explains that he's already forgiven John for keeping that from him but not for lying about Zoe's supposed death. They contact the aliens, threatening to blow up Rushville, and tell them they have an important update about the manhunter. Hal saw something in John while they were dealing with the man at the cattle ranch: concern. He tells John that it's a level of concern he didn't see in John when Zoe, a woman John seemingly has feelings for, was blown to pieces right in front of him. There's only one reason he'd have such a strong reaction to the idea that his parents were going to die and not to the gruesome death of someone he cared about dying right in front of him; he suspected that Zoe hadn't actually died. John confirmed that he doesn't know how, but that he does have a gut feeling that she's still alive because of something she said before leaving the hotel. Hal apologizes for the rental and then drives straight into a pole, bailing out into the night sky right before it crashes as Lanterns Episode 4 rolls end credits. Lanterns Episode 4 shows that the series is an outlandish mystery with clues hidden in obscure places. While the entirety of Lanterns Episode 4 is contained in 2016, the episode never spends too long in one place, giving it a sense of variety and movement without losing the linear feel that is easier to understand. It's a giant step forward in progressing the investigation, though it's now been three episodes without returning to the 2026 timeline to search for whoever has the ring in that part of the timeline. Moments like Zoe's truck being blown up, the cow being butchered, and the strong implication that Zoe is the manhunter are not simply gimmicks but rather reasons why the episode works so well. Aside from the benefit of keeping short-term attention, it's also a good mechanic for long-term storytelling to enrich the lore being created in Lanterns. Lanterns Episode 4 is an episode that includes a nude art scene, an affair with another man's wife, a supposed satellite assassination, alien tech meat processing, and Hal gambling with the Stewarts' lives. Still, inside all of this weirdness is a series of bridges connecting everything together and showing that Lanterns isn't just some random sci-fi show. It's an outlandish mystery with clues being found in the most obscure places. And yet, Lanterns Episode 4, in a way that hasn't happened all season long, finds its voice by being the loudest, the craziest, and the smartest episode so far. It's not without its imperfections, but it's a bold and creative take on the mystery genre that simply works. Lanterns Episode 4 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing weekly on Sundays. Previous Episode | Next Episode