Who Is Earl? Hal Jordan's Pet Plant In 'Lanterns' Episode 2 Might Be A Deadly Easter Egg
Lanterns (2026) Season 1, Episode 2, “Trust Fall,” gives viewers an intriguing look into the personal life of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). In the episode, Jordan sends his trainee, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), to his home in Coast City to retrieve his power battery. The Easter egg-littered house is an amusing and sad look into Jordan’s strange life as Stewart probes the enormous, empty house and spots his wall of celebrity meet-up photos. However, the strangest part of his home is what else is living in it.
Jordan instructs Stewart to feed “Earl.” While Stewart expected Earl to be some kind of dog or cat, he’s surprised to find that Earl is a giant, carnivorous, extraterrestrial plant living in Jordan’s greenhouse. If you left Lanterns wondering why Stewart seems to have his own version of Little Shop of Horrors’ (1986) Audrey, use our guide to find who, or what, exactly Earl is.
Earl's Possible Comic Book Origins, Explained
Lanterns doesn’t confirm Earl’s comic book counterpart, if there is any. Most viewers assume, though, that Earl is Lanterns’ version of Itty. Jordan really did adopt an alien plant in one of DC’s weirder and more heartwarming Green Lantern storylines. In the comics, Jordan’s adventures take him to the Vivarium, an artificial world that houses the Ayrie. Ayries are little plant-like aliens that don’t need food or water to survive. The creatures appear to have intelligence comparable to guppies, though someone once thought them important enough to preserve in the Vivarium.
Jordan shows affection for the little creatures and successfully saves them. Upon leaving the Vivarium, he realizes he has picked up a little hitchhiker, with one of the starfish-like plants lingering on his shoulder. Jordan acknowledges that the Green Lantern lifestyle can be lonely and welcomes the little plant as a pet, naming it Itty. The pair become friends, and Itty even proves useful in helping Jordan during his adventures and battles. For several issues, Itty almost becomes part of Jordan’s design due to its constant presence on his shoulder.
When Itty passed away after years of adventures, readers thought it was the end of the creature’s story. Instead, Itty rises from the grave and uses calcium to evolve into its true form, an enormous humanoid gas being. The creature thanks Jordan for allowing it to obtain its true form before departing Earth for space.
Earl vaguely resembles Itty’s true form. Additionally, in the comics, Itty also proves to be a meat-eater, attempting to eat Green Arrow’s bones in search of calcium. Both creatures are plant-like aliens who befriend Jordan and help him through his loneliness. Hence, Itty may be the inspiration behind Earl in Lanterns. However, Earl could also be a much darker Easter egg.
Could Earl Be A Deadlier Easter Egg In 'Lanterns'?
Not all DC alien plants are as (relatively) harmless as Itty. In the comics, Jordan comes up against one of the universe’s more sinister extraterrestrial plants, Black Mercy. Black Mercy is quite a cruel plant. It attaches itself to a host and incapacitates them by making them hallucinate that they are living out their wildest dreams. While living out their fantasy, they’re unaware that the Black Mercy is feeding upon them.
In the comic book story “For the Man Who Has Everything,” the supervillain Mogul uses Black Mercy against the Justice League. Under its influence, the heroes momentarily think the deepest desires of their hearts have come true. Since their debut, they’ve entrapped many DC characters in their hallucinations, including Jordan. Under the Black Mercy’s influence, he dreamed that his parents never died and his mentor, Sinestro, never turned evil. Although most of the superheroes are eventually able to recognize and shake off the Black Mercy’s power, the toll of living out and losing their dream lingers with them long after they’ve woken up.
What A Black Mercy Might Be Doing In ‘Lanterns'
If Earl is, indeed, a Black Mercy hiding out in Lanterns, it comes with serious connotations for the show. Considering Jordan is keeping it as a pet named “Earl Jordan,” he likely doesn’t recognize the powers of the plant he’s harboring. The plant has the potential to serve as a significant weapon were anyone to recognize its power, whether it’s the Lanterns or the extraterrestrials in Rushville, Nebraska.
More than a weapon, though, the Black Mercy could help get to the heart of Lanterns. The first two episodes raise the question: Who is Hal Jordan really? There’s something more to him than meets the eye, and everything from his guarded persona to the teases of his unraveling invites viewers to really think about who the Green Lanterns are and what they sacrifice in their work. Nothing could get quite as deep into this concept as going inside Jordan’s mind via the Black Mercy to his deepest, most persistent desires.
