On Lanterns Episode 04, tittled The Weenie we finally got John and Hal looking like two people who could actually trust each other and it happens while almost everyone around them is giving them reasons not to, this series is a bit confusing with all the secret war there is going on between the Manhunter, Hal and the Guardians, its like they all want to take something from each other but none of them are willing to spit out why or how everything started. Then there is Sinestro who keeps pressing Hal about getting replaced by John and pushes him toward treating John like a threat instead of recognizing John talent, while Lianna tells John the Guardians are done waiting and wants him to take Hal's ring the next time he gets the chance. I like that setup because John and Hal are at their best when those outside voices are not running the conversation, its like that scenne where you got the Devil sitting in your shoulder giving you instructions. Hal hands John the ring so he can build the drill they need to reach the hidden part of the compound, and that gives John a clean shot at doing exactly what Lianna told him to do. He could recite the oath and claim the ring right there, but he does not, Lianna forgot John is man or honor and he was not raised that way.. That choice matters a lot to me and there is nothing to explain whether John deserves to be a Lantern, he aleready is. He just wants to earn his place instead of taking it behind his back. Hal lets him build the drill on his own instead of doing it for him and their partnership finally starts feeling useful, while Hal still has the experience and the instincts, and John finally gets to prove what he can actually do once the ring is in his hand, instead of them just arguing about who should have the power, I was not thinking they could share the ring but its evident that many want to kill Hal.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26545992/
- Platform: HBO MAX
The best part of that growing trust is the quieter conversation while John is using the ring, because it makes both of them feel less always on their toes without suddenly changing who they are or just putting a show to convince each other. Hal asks about John's background and learns more about his art, while John asks about Hal's family and finds out Hal's mother died from cancer, its during this moment of chatting where John loses concentration for a second when Hal brings her up and I like that small reaction because John has spent most of the series acting like nothing gets through to him. He does care and Hal notices it so I'm not sure if Hal just found a weak point for John. This moment also makes John's interest in becoming Green Lantern feel less cold to me, since he is still a disciplined guy trying to prove he can do the job, but he gets distracted by someone elses pain too, and that weakness actually makes him easier to trust at the same time. Hal starts giving John more credit too instead of treating him like an annoying replacement the Guardians dropped on him. Later, once they are more open with each other, Hal admits John may be better than him in some ways, the most evident is using the ring since John is way more creative. It doesnt felt like Hal handing over the ring or deciding John is ready for everything, it feels more like Hal finally saying out loud what has been bothering him, that John is good enough to replace him and Hal knows it, there is nothing wrong with admiting that while still being irritated with John he still a good replacement, eventually.
A Manhunter Mystery That Makes Zoe Hard to Judge
The hidden part of the compound turns out to be full of technology that can actually shut a Green Lantern down, and the black smoke that knocks out the ring is very interesting to me specially since Im not a comic guy and dont know much about Green Lantern so I find it creative how it just shuts down all the light on that space, also showing how not even Hal cannot just solve everything by having the most powerful weapon in the room, in a way been a Green Lantern is like been Batman, its just another weapon but there is nothing super powerful about the man or living thing who wears the ring. I also like that the case gets stranger without getting hard to follow, how someone prepared for Lantern's specifically and that gives the investigation of who is behind all this some sauce instead of been straight forward. The bigger swing for me is what they learn about whoever has been protecting the town, the mysterious benefactor saved a man who was dying of cancer and has been keeping people healthy, which already makes it hard to write the Manhunter off as just a monster hiding out in Rushville. Then Zoe tells John she was the one who saved Macon and thats the revealing moment. I think John starts connecting the dots right there, and he gets more careful about what he tells Hal after that. Zoe is clearly tied to the answer here, but I am not ready to call everything she has done proof that she is simply the enemy, aka the Manhunter. She helps keep John and Hal alive at the compound, she keeps coming back to John and then her vehicle gets destroyed in the satellite attack. John does not react like someone who fully believes she is dead and by the end he is sitting on a suspicion about her that he has not said out loud to Hal but there is enough silence for an old fox like Hal to sniff it and figure things out by himself. The fact that if Zoe is the Manhunter, she decides to make John think she is dead is both testing him and at the same time kinda keeping him safe from the truth since its a dangerous secret to know.
Lianna and Sinestro Keep Playing Both Sides
Lianna does not just tell John that Hal broke an oath by going to see Sinestro because she wants to keep hidding information from him, in this case information is power and right now its not convinient for her to drop this news on John, she tells him the Guardians want Hal replaced now, pushes John to take the ring himself and goes right after the same insecurities that have followed John his whole life. The Guardians are the part I trust less after this episode, and Lianna is a big reason why. That does not feel like guidance to me, it feels like she wants a specific result and does not care what it does to John and Hal. Sinestro is doing basically the same thing from the other side, telling Hal that John is a threat and that he should use John's desire for the ring against him. The difference is I already expect Sinestro to be shady but the Guardians are supposed to be the people John is trying to prove himself to, latter I found online that this Guardians are very prone to make mistakes just like any other human but in their case is because they might have too much power and a mistake like the Manhunters is more like a oops Ill deal with it latter. Watching Lianna push John around this way makes me question how much of their interest in John is actually about helping him at all, probably why very convinient for the story, John refuses to take the ring, its all about who he is, is he is not a back stabber, and that honestly the best choice for him. He still hides the Guardian conversations from Hal until he gets forced into admitting them, while Hal hides his meeting with Sinestro too. I like that neither of the two are innocent and eventually admit it, they are both lying while also complaining that the other one will not trust them, so when they finally come clean about some of it, the episode gives them a real shot at moving forward. The last lie, about Zoe, matters the most for the episode because John just finished asking Hal to believe him, and then immediately turns around and keeps the most important thing to himself, thats Lianna's work in my opinion.
Hal Knows John Is Hiding Something About Zoe
That ending is very spot on for the episode because Hal catching John in the lie does not wipe out the progress they made, it just proves they are still not partners yet, not even close. After the run in with the fake Hector Hammond, Hal has enough to see that the Manhunter answer is not as simple as some guy stealing credit for it. John knows that too, but when Hal pushes him toward Zoe, he still tries to point the suspicion somewhere else, its like he actually have feelings for her even now when he might just proof she is an Alien, she is the Manhunter. John has reasons to think Zoe could be the Manhunter, but he also has reasons to doubt the idea that every Manhunter is automatically the enemy based on everything Zoe has build in Rushville, basically baby sitting a community that is willing to give it all for her. This series is not perfect but honestly one of the best from DC, but what actually bothers me is that John does not trust Hal enough to just say that out loud everything he knows or suspect about Zoe, its been proven that Hal is not the enemy but between John's mother and Lianna, they all have John head all mess up. Hal responds in the most Hal way possible, making John contact Antaan and then jumping out of the moving car and leaving John inside as it crashes, trapped, a big fuck you moment. It is reckless and kind of stupid, and also comes right after John and Hal were finally getting close to being honest with each other. Hal can forgive John for talking to the Guardians, he can even admit John might deserve the ring, but he is not willing to get past that John suspected Zoe and never said a word, this is mostly because Hal cares about Rushville after all. None of this settles who anybody can actually trust, and that is what keeps me hooked onto this series. Zoe might still be dangerous, the Guardians are clearly hiding more than they are letting everyone know, and Sinestro has his own angle in all of it too, awesome episode after all.
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Rating: 75/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.