OutKast
The Guardians’ larger strategy for training John Stewart as a Green Lantern begins to come into focus. The episode also explores his past, offering more insight into the family tensions that had been hinted at in earlier episodes.
Warning: Spoilers Below.
Meeting the Guardians
The episode picks up in 2016, with John Stewart landing on a pile of mattresses after hearing a voice tell him to “Jump!” He enters the building, where he meets one of the Guardians, played by Laura Linney. They have officially recruited him to become a Green Lantern. John knows he is being interviewed for a position, although he isn’t entirely sure why the Guardians have chosen this particular moment. Still, he is confident that he understands why he is the one being considered.
Photograph by John Johnson/HBO
The episode then shifts back to John’s childhood, beginning with him as a baby lying in a cradle beside his parents’ bed. His father suddenly begins screaming, leaving his mother concerned about his health. Years later, when Hal Jordan makes his first public statement as Earth’s Green Lantern, John’s father shoots the television. He then reveals that the ring had originally come to him, but he was too afraid to accept it, causing it to leave.
The Guardian who will eventually interview John later meets with his mother and explains that the ring’s selection process was flawed. There is still a chance that young John could become a Lantern someday, but only if his parents raise him “without fear.”
Without Fear
The episode takes an in-depth look at what it means to be a Black person during this time period. John’s parents discuss the issues they face and why they live with fear because of the color of their skin and the way some people choose to treat them. Ensuring that John grows up without fear will be difficult, and even his father comments that John may eventually hate them because of the way he will be raised.
On his fifth birthday, John Sr. and Bernadette reveal the Green Lantern plan to John Jr. and begin training him to live without fear. John Sr. shoots apples off his son’s head in a William Tell-like exercise. John’s parents also tell him that birds report to the Guardians, which helps explain why he created the bird in the previous episode. The Stewarts train John in unconventional ways that border on abuse, and they become increasingly frustrated by the Guardians’ lack of communication. Bernadette eventually decides to try something even more unconventional.
Photograph by John Johnson/HBO
She suggests that John Jr. shoot an apple off his father’s head, but John struggles to pull the trigger. It is clear that his fear comes from the fact that he loves his father and doesn’t want to hurt him. Eventually, Bernadette admits that she lied about the birds and that they have received no communication from the Guardians. John Jr. says he is ready to shoot the apple but wants to shoot it off her head instead. He successfully completes the task and then says he wants a different treat than the one his father usually gives him.
Following Orders
John’s actual interview with the Guardians is intercut with scenes from his childhood training, though much of the focus shifts toward his adult life. After receiving no further communication from the Guardians, John decides to join the Marines. He becomes a well-respected servicemember until an incident results in his dishonorable discharge. The Guardian conducting his interview wants to know more about what happened before considering him for the Green Lantern Corps.
Photograph by John Johnson/HBO
John was assigned to a sniper mission in which the U.S. government wanted a target killed rather than taken into custody. Unfortunately, just as John gets a clear shot, Hal Jordan arrives and surrounds the target with a protective bubble before blowing up the house. The target survives and is taken into custody, leaving the U.S. government to answer to the Russians.
Looking for someone to blame, the government makes John the scapegoat because he was the one ordered to take the shot. John says he holds no ill will toward anyone involved because everyone was simply “following orders.” The Guardians, however, reveal that Jordan was not following orders. In fact, he had repeatedly been reprimanded for interfering in human affairs.
New Lantern
In the flashbacks, it’s revealed that John Jr. has been moping around the house since his discharge. His mother suggests that he enroll in an art program, showing that she is supporting ambitions beyond becoming a Green Lantern for the first time since he was five years old, when all he wanted for his birthday was crayons. During the interview, the Guardian produces a Green Lantern ring and asks John to use it to construct his father’s watch. John succeeds, and the Guardian tells him to proceed with the interview. We then hear the “Jump!” from the beginning of the episode as John slips through a hole and lands on the mattresses.
The Guardian informs John that he will be training with Hal Jordan and explicitly explains that the plan is for John to eventually replace Hal. However, Hal will be led to believe that John is being trained as his sidekick. John goes home to tell his parents, only to discover that Hal has already arrived and told them the news. Hal initially seems jovial and happy about the arrangement, but his attitude changes once the two are alone. He tells John that he doesn’t need a sidekick or an apprentice and makes it clear that he knows John wants his ring.
Photograph by John Johnson/HBO
This establishes the contentious relationship between the two that we see in 2016 when they investigate the aliens in Nebraska. The episode ends with John talking to a bird and saying, “I think he likes me.”
Final Thoughts
While it doesn’t directly advance the larger 2016 investigation, this episode provides some great character development. We learn more about John Stewart, his upbringing, his recruitment, and his desire to become a Green Lantern. We also get a better understanding of why he and Hal clearly didn’t get along when the series began. It’s great representation for an underrepresented community in superhero television, especially with what appears to be a similar trend developing over at Marvel.
This approach works for one episode, but I hope we get back to the investigation more thoroughly in Episode 4. There are still plenty of questions surrounding this season. Why does Sinestro believe Hal Jordan needs to fear John Stewart? The teaser after the episode reveals that Hal knows, or at least suspects, that Stewart is being groomed as his replacement rather than his colleague. So how do they go from this antagonistic relationship in 2016 to John mourning Hal’s death in 2026?
Regardless, I’m hooked. HBO Max has delivered another great superhero television show.
Check out Lanterns, streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
Add comment
Comments