Speaking of Guy, he sure kicked up a ruckus between fellow contributors Chase Hutchinson and Jarrod Jones after his guest-starring pop-in in episode six. They argued for and against the colorful DC Universe increasing its brightness into Lanterns territory during a most controversial Crosstalk, and reached a consensus that, sure, more Lanterns in Lanterns means a merrier show—which is great news for Kilowog, if HBO can afford the big, pink lug in a potential second season! And since we’re talking about the show’s many extraterrestrials, contributor Joshua Rivera grappled with its use of aliens as story devices in a feature suggesting that Lanterns can’t make up its mind about aliens. No shade from our end—we couldn’t make up our minds which suspect was the secret Manhunter during the season’s gripping first half, with one of the dopier among us suggesting that Hal freakin’ Jordan could have been a secret murder robot!
Sure, The A.V. Club‘s criticisms can sometimes burn hotter’n a Rushville bar-b-cue (excuse our accent—we’re “TV Show Nebraskan!”), but don’t go thinkin’ our coverage has all been hot takes. Hutchinson returned with an ode to Sheriff Kerry Kane herself, Kelly Macdonald, and our TV critic Saloni Gajjar had a wonderful interview with actor Poorna Jagannathan, who expressed surprise at Zoe Macon’s big mid-season twist.
In truth, for a show so invested in identity and so willing to make challenging creative decisions, our team worked overtime to match Lanterns‘ thoughtfulness with their own. Rivera asked which character Lanterns is most beholden to, while Senior TV Editor Erik Adams dwelled on a story beat involving Kyle Chandler sitting in the stands of a football field—a daring artistic choice that certainly scandalized those who still love Friday Night Lights, and still echoes through the show. And while deep cuts from DC Comics lore weren’t necessarily at the forefront of Lanterns‘ ambitions, that didn’t stop Jones from unpacking his longboxes to parse the comic history of the Manhunters—and what the secrets of their war crimes may still yield in a show that’s yet to finish. (Note the increasingly yellow tinge to the show’s opening title card. Something fearsome is growing within Lanterns!)
And at the core of The A.V. Club‘s Lanterns coverage have been Dennis Perkins’ crackerjack recaps of each episode, which took the long view of each surprising twist and revealing character moment. We hope they enriched your Lanterns-watching experience. With the finale barreling at us like an oncoming asteroid, you can count on Dennis to continue his Lanterns watch with Sunday night’s finale—and if you think that’s all the Lanterns coverage we have left, fear not! We’re also hosting a Lanterns finale live watch party over at Surf, where you can join us in thrilling to the ramifications of that bonkers, if somewhat predictable, Sinestro twist in the penultimate episode. (We mean, sinister plots are kind of insinuated in the dude’s name.) As this HBO series enters its blackest night, we endeavored to ensure no episode, plot twist, or John/Hal scrape escaped our sight. For all of you who enjoyed the season’s wily, creative might, we hope you also enjoyed us being right there with you, basking in Lanterns‘ light.
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