‘Lanterns’ Episode 1 Ending, Explained

Lanterns (2026) Episode 1 set the stage for an earth-based mystery after a murder in small town Nebraska. At the center of this mystery is new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan. And we already know this season isn't going to have a happy ending. 

But how does Lanterns Episode 1 end? And what clues do the time jumps give us as to what's to come for Lanterns as a series? While we're at it, who are the Manhunters teased in the official trailer and how much should we worry about them? Join us as we break down this HBO Max show!

What Happened at the End of ‘Lanterns’ Episode 1?

Lanterns Episode 1 ended with the revelation that Waylon, the man arrested at the local football game, is actually an alien. He warns Hal about the war that is to come and that they are there for vengeance. And when Hal doesn't take his threat to blow himself up seriously, he self-detonates. 

Hal uses whatever little power the ring has to create a barrier around Waylon. That contains the explosion to a certain extent. But the force breaks a wall, multiple windows, and throws Hal, John, and the Sheriff to the ground. Hal then pops up and tells John, “Told you he was an alien.”

Flash forward to 2026 and John is returning to Rushville, Nebraska. He meets up with the Sheriff at the football field where they all first met in 2016. John and the Sheriff catch up for a second before walking onto the field and up the stands. Hal is revealed to be sitting on the snow covered stands, dead from what we can assume is a gunshot wound to the head. 

John pauses, processing what he’s seeing. And then he goes over and brushes the snow off of Hal’s hand to reveal that the ring is gone.

What Does the Time Jump Give Us Clues To?

The time jump from 2016 to 2026 tells us that whatever is happening in 2016, it doesn't end well. 

The version of Hal that we meet in 1999 is so well put together and really believes in the mission of the Green Lanterns. Fast forward to 2016 and he's not wearing the suit, barely teaching John the basics of being a Lantern, and seems to have crashed out and entered his grumpy old man phase in life. And even though he's lonely and isn’t ready to give the ring up to John, he’s still fearless and trying.

Flash forward to 2026, and Hal sitting there all alone with the snow piled up on him, speaks of loneliness. And it makes me wonder if this wound was self-inflicted or if he didn't fight when faced with whoever shot him or maybe even used the ring against him to kill him. Because we saw the condition he was in in 2016. He barely had anything to fight for back then. So what happened in Rushville in 2016 that he felt like he had to return 10 years later, leading to his death? Whatever it was, it had to hurt. And it had to leave an impression. 

Also, when John was driving in, you could see the gates of the Macon compound. They were absolutely obliterated. The humans have shown that the only power they have is really basic human artillery like guns. But that level of destruction seen at the gates speaks of a higher power. And if the aliens came to this small town years after Hal obtained the ring there, there has to be something tied to Abin Sur and Hal to cause that destruction.

What Are Manhunters and How Do They Fit in ‘Lanterns’?

Before the Green Lantern Corp., the Guardians of the Universe created the robotic police force known as the Manhunters. They were meant to be an interstellar police force that would combat evil across the galaxy. But their fatal flaw, thanks to the Guardians of the Universe, is that they brought order to the universe by any means necessary and with no room for nuance. This led to the manipulation of the Manhunters, a massacre of an entire sector of the galaxy, and the exile of the Manhunters.

Thanks to the trailer, where we see what looks like a human transforming into a Manhunter, we know that they have been able to infiltrate human society. So they could be what destroyed the Macon compound in that 2026 flash forward. The Manhunters could also be here to destroy Earth, a planet in a backwater sector that has absolutely been causing waves in the galaxy. They could have also followed Hal back from whatever mission he was on between 1999 and 2016 that made him into the despondent Lantern we meet in 2016.

But also, we have to think about the aliens who were killed in Episode 1, including Waylon. He said they were there for vengeance. That could mean that these aliens were part of The Five Inversions, the only known survivors of the Massacre of Sector 666 by the Manhunters. And guess who had The Five Inversions leader on his ship when it crashed on Earth way back when? Abin Sur. Maybe that leader, aka Atrocitus, was the one who fatally injured Abin Sur. And maybe he’s trying to make sure that the Blackest Night prophecy actually happens and that fear will rise for the Guardians of the Universe.