Lanterns: Alien Murders in Rural America

HBO's 'Lanterns' offers a distinctive take on the Green Lantern mythos, transplanting cosmic elements into a rural American noir. The series, co-created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, focuses on Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, portrayed by Kyle Chandler, and John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre.

The narrative begins in 1996, introducing Hal Jordan as an established intergalactic law enforcer. Twenty years later, in 2016, John Stewart is being trained by Hal for his eventual succession. Their assignment brings them to Rushville, Nebraska, to investigate four suspicious deaths at a high school football field, which Hal suspects involve aliens.

This investigation quickly escalates when a local man reveals himself as an alien and warns of an impending war. His subsequent self-detonation confirms the extraterrestrial connection to the Rushville killings. The season jumps to 2026, where John discovers Hal dead at the same football field, his Green Lantern ring missing.

The rest of the season unfolds as an anti-buddy-cop drama, with Hal and John reluctantly working together to solve the alien mystery while navigating the complexities of the small town, all leading to Hal's death. The series delves into themes of fear, courage, race, aging, and masculine pride.

While praised for the performances of Chandler, Pierre, and Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry Kane, the series is noted for its structural unevenness and sparse use of Green Lantern's signature constructs. It attempts to deconstruct the notion of fear as a weakness, exploring how both Hal and John have been shaped by the belief that it must be eradicated.