Lanterns Episode 5, titled “Lights Out,” delivered the most explosive hour of the HBO DC series yet. The episode saw John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) defeat Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) in a brutal fistfight, kill the last living Manhunter, and then make a stunning decision: he rejected the Green Lantern power ring, walking away from the destiny he had trained for his entire life. The episode is now streaming on HBO Max and aired on HBO on September 13, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET/PT as part of the show’s eight-episode first season.
Zoe Macon Is the Manhunter
Episode 5 confirmed what Episode 4 had already teased: Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan) is the last surviving Manhunter hiding in Rushville, Nebraska. The episode opened with a flashback to 2007, showing how Zoe saved a young Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) from gangsters and offered her a safe life in Rushville—on the condition that Kerry would protect Zoe when the time came. This Faustian bargain extended to the entire town, with every citizen bound to Zoe through a similar arrangement of survival and protection.
Jagannathan told Variety that she did not learn she was the Manhunter until she received the script for Episode 4. “Everyone saw it coming except me!” she said with a laugh, adding that she was grateful the producers kept it from her initially because “in my audition I know I would have acted like a robot”.
The Battle for Rushville
Hal Jordan entered the episode with a plan. After learning Zoe’s identity at the end of Episode 4, he crashed their rental car and trapped John inside, intending to take on Zoe alone. Hal then sent Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor) and his alien crew to William Macon’s (Garret Dillahunt) compound by falsely claiming Macon was the Manhunter. Macon played along thanks to coaching from Zoe, but Antaan eventually discovered the deception and killed Macon in brutal fashion.
Zoe responded by activating a town-wide kill order on Hal and using red light lasers from a satellite to destroy large sections of Rushville. Citizens armed themselves to protect the Manhunter in their midst. Antaan was killed when Hal tossed him away from Zoe, leaving him to explode in mid-air.
John Stewart vs Hal Jordan
The emotional core of the episode was the fight between John Stewart and Hal Jordan at the motel. Before the confrontation, Zoe had healed John from severe burns he sustained when Hal abandoned him in the crashed car. She offered John a deal: she would save his life if he allowed Hal to die and told the Guardians everything was fine. Jagannathan explained that Zoe viewed John as her “crown jewel”—the strongest possible protector. “She quickly assessed who is her biggest threat,” Jagannathan said. “She quickly assessed who could be her strongest protector, and it wasn’t Hal—it was John”.
John and Hal fought with their fists rather than their powers, unleashing months of resentment. Episode 5 director Geeta Vasant Patel told TheWrap that the fight was inspired by “Cool Hand Luke.” “Hal is someone who never gives up, and that is his number one blessing and curse,” Patel said. “He’d rather die with his arms swinging than go down, and he provokes John”. The fight ended when Zoe blew the motel to smithereens. Hal shielded John with a green energy bubble as the building collapsed.
John Kills Zoe and Takes the Ring
John used Hal’s injured body as bait to lure Zoe close, then sniped her, killing the last living Manhunter. He removed her heart as proof of her death. With Hal incapacitated, John took both the power ring and the lantern for himself.
The moment should have been the culmination of John’s life’s work. Instead, it became the moment he realized the cost of everything he had sacrificed.
Why John Rejected the Green Lantern Ring
John’s decision to reject the ring stems from the trauma of his childhood and his growing understanding of the Guardians’ manipulation. In Episode 3, viewers learned that John’s father was approached to wield the ring after Abin Sur’s death but said he was afraid. The ring went to Hal Jordan instead, and John Sr. became bitter. The Guardians of the Universe then approached John’s mother, Bernadette, and proposed that if they raised John Jr. to lose all fear, they would choose him as Earth’s next Green Lantern.
This led to an abusive childhood. John’s parents tortured him with tasks designed to eliminate fear, including shooting apples off his head as a child. They isolated him from his siblings and suppressed his love of drawing so he could become the “ultimate soldier”.
When John finally put on the ring in Episode 5, he felt nothing. In a scene with Guardian Lianna (Laura Linney), he explained his decision:
“I spent a lot of my life imagining what it would feel like to wear this. Pride, gratitude, power? But then when I put it on … I just felt empty.”
He continued: “Hal betrayed everything to keep this ring. His code, the oath, even himself, and it broke him. Probably doesn’t even remember why he wanted the damn thing. And neither do I”.
John left the power ring on the table and walked away. He handed Zoe’s heart to Lianna, calling it “your sins, and consequences,” a direct reference to the Guardians creating the Manhunters in the first place.
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What Episode 5 Means for the Series
Episode 5 delivered what many are calling the show’s biggest twist yet. Lanterns was positioned as a buddy-cop crime drama where Hal Jordan trains John Stewart to become the next Green Lantern. Instead, John rejected the mantle entirely, and Hal Jordan is no longer Earth’s Green Lantern.
The episode also explained why Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) is Earth’s Green Lantern in James Gunn’s Superman timeline. With both Hal and John out of the picture, the Guardians will need to find a new candidate to protect Sector 2814.
Lanterns continues with three more episodes in Season 1. The series stars Aaron Pierre, Kyle Chandler, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Laura Linney, and Nathan Fillion. New episodes air Sundays on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
Also Read: Lanterns Fans Turn Green Lantern Oath into Granny Joke Over John Stewart and Zoe Romance
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