*** LANTERNS *** (DCU / HBO Series)

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FL_Ag1998
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In reply to Dekker_Lentz • 11:07a, 10/6/26
AG
Dekker_Lentz said:
Enrico Pallazzo said:
FL_Ag1998 said:
The casting was great (other than granny, who was far from being a seductress. Horribly miscast).


Yes, if not for the casting, I'm probably at a 2. The casting helped it a lot


Agreed. I am at the 3.5. Having slept on the finale, I think the one thing I am still a little befuddled is that Hal didn't really seem to have a plan.

I think a strong season 2 leaning into what the show got right pulls season 1 to a 4. If Season 2 leans into the questionable decisions it could drop down to a 2.

Season 2 will be the final word on Season 1. Season 2, I think needs Hal back in some form.


A mistake would be continuing the manhunter stuff into season two. Season two needs to be Sinestro-focused. And yes, Season 2 will definitely suffer a lot without Chandler's charisma.
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Enrico Pallazzo
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11:13a, 10/6/26
Yeah, one of my main complaints is I thought they mishandled significant aspects of the manhunter storytelling, which is kind of a problem given it was the core story lol. Antaan's group, Hal doing the jail time, etc - I think a cleaner, more interesting job of telling the story could have been easily done

I'd put it this way -> I think telling a quality story on the conflict fell secondary to telling John's personal character story, and even with that, I feel like they flubbed some aspects of his character story
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zap
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In reply to FL_Ag1998 • 11:38a, 10/6/26
AG
FL_Ag1998 said:
Season 2 will definitely suffer a lot without Chandler's charisma.

Chandler was credited on IMDB for Season 2 (they have since removed it.) I think there is a decent chance he stays on as Hal-ogram and mentors John some more. Fingers crossed.
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bobinator
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11:42a, 10/6/26
AG
Some of the fuzzy issues around the edge of the story are what's keeping this from being a 5 for me because I thought a lot of it was really great TV. But my microcosm of my issues with the "fuzzy issues" is the football game plot that starts the plot of the show.

Here is how that plot worked:

- A pack of aliens is trying to find the manhunter, they know it lives in Rushville, and that if they get close to it they can track a radioactive signal. So they're going to use a high school football game as cover to... I dunno, hope they bump into it at the concession stand? It's pretty clear that they stayed on their own side of the field until:

- A last second field goal causes a field rush! Now our band of aliens also runs onto the field hoping to run into the manhunter?

- The militia guys set up alien detectors at the football stadium just in case of this exact scenario! (Only way into Rushville is apparently gridiron-based espionage) They open fire on the guys in the middle of the football field, killing all of them but one, and creating a huge scene.

This is just an insane plot by both sides involved, no?
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FL_Ag1998
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In reply to Enrico Pallazzo • 11:54a, 10/6/26
AG
Enrico Pallazzo said:
Yeah, one of my main complaints is I thought they mishandled significant aspects of the manhunter storytelling, which is kind of a problem given it was the core story lol. Antaan's group, Hal doing the jail time, etc - I think a cleaner, more interesting job of telling the story could have been easily done

I'd put it this way -> I think telling a quality story on the conflict fell secondary to telling John's personal character story, and even with that, I feel like they flubbed some aspects of his character story


Agree 100%
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FL_Ag1998
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In reply to bobinator • 11:56a, 10/6/26
AG
Man, you're opening a potentiall big discussion about the details of this entire plot that I would love to go into but won't since I promised to shut up with my party pooping, lol.

But yes, you're correct. In short, don't start looking too closely at the details of this storyline.
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Mathguy64
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12:03p, 10/6/26
AG
This cracks me up. "Yeah i watched it and give it a 2 out of 5. I cant wait to see it next season but its a 2. Those plot holes just are so bad."

Followed by: "LOTR is the greatest book and movie ever. Yeah I know the whole eagles plot hole but man its great. Ignore the eagles."
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BenFiasco14
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12:06p, 10/6/26
AG
So you're telling me Matt Rhule can take the time to cameo in an HBO show, and still start the season 5-0?

What was Elko doing all summer
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
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bobinator
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In reply to BenFiasco14 • 12:11p, 10/6/26
AG
Rhule said he actually filmed this summer before last. Probably why they finished 7-6 last year.

We'll find out next year that Elko was filming season two where the manhunter enters the transfer portal and that's what distracted him this offseason.
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CharleyKerfeld
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12:39p, 10/6/26
You can tell Manhunters aren't that smart because Noah thinks these Power 5 coaches might recruit one of his teammates if he keeps delaying his decision and making them come to more games.

Cut to Matt Rhule saying, " I'm going to have to pass on the 5 foot 10, 165 pound left guard, sorry Noah."
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FL_Ag1998
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 12:40p, 10/6/26
AG
Mathguy64 said:
This cracks me up. "Yeah i watched it and give it a 2 out of 5. I cant wait to see it next season but its a 2. Those plot holes just are so bad."

Followed by: "LOTR is the greatest book and movie ever. Yeah I know the whole eagles plot hole but man its great. Ignore the eagles."


Who is the poster that ranked Season 1 a 2 out of 5 and then said they can't wait for Season 2?
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Average Joe
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In reply to bobinator • 12:44p, 10/6/26
AG
bobinator said:
Some of the fuzzy issues around the edge of the story are what's keeping this from being a 5 for me because I thought a lot of it was really great TV. But my microcosm of my issues with the "fuzzy issues" is the football game plot that starts the plot of the show.

Here is how that plot worked:

- A pack of aliens is trying to find the manhunter, they know it lives in Rushville, and that if they get close to it they can track a radioactive signal. So they're going to use a high school football game as cover to... I dunno, hope they bump into it at the concession stand? It's pretty clear that they stayed on their own side of the field until:

- A last second field goal causes a field rush! Now our band of aliens also runs onto the field hoping to run into the manhunter?

- The militia guys set up alien detectors at the football stadium just in case of this exact scenario! (Only way into Rushville is apparently gridiron-based espionage) They open fire on the guys in the middle of the football field, killing all of them but one, and creating a huge scene.

This is just an insane plot by both sides involved, no?


They explained this in the show.

They could track the manhunter via a radioactive signal, but they had to get really close. It's a small town in Nebraska. Most, if not all, of the town will be at the football game. Makes it a great time to try and find the manhunter.

The stadium wasn't the only place with the metal detectors. They were in other buildings like the center they had the gathering.
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bobinator
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In reply to CharleyKerfeld • 12:46p, 10/6/26
AG
Side note, I did like the conversation where he kind of slipped in that he was considering Navy because of the access to power it would eventually bring.

That would have been an incredible close to the season or a post-credit-scene is that everything played out exactly the way it did but without the Nebraska hat and then it's like "one month later..." and Noah holds a hat choosing ceremony and chooses Navy.
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bobinator
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In reply to Average Joe • 12:49p, 10/6/26
AG
I know, how were they going to get really close from the other side of the stadium? That's exactly what I'm saying. Were they going to hang out by the bathroom and hope for the best? It's clear they didn't attempt to infiltrate the other side of the stadium until the game ended, but what was their plan if the game didn't end in last second field rush?
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schmendeler
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In reply to bobinator • 12:51p, 10/6/26
AG
bobinator said:
Side note, I did like the conversation where he kind of slipped in that he was considering Navy because of the access to power it would eventually bring.

That would have been an incredible close to the season or a post-credit-scene is that everything played out exactly the way it did but without the Nebraska hat and then it's like "one month later..." and Noah holds a hat choosing ceremony and chooses Navy.


That whole story would be a pretty cool arc for a series
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CharleyKerfeld
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In reply to bobinator • 12:56p, 10/6/26
bobinator said:
Side note, I did like the conversation where he kind of slipped in that he was considering Navy because of the access to power it would eventually bring.


Yeah and I like that it wasn't just "I could take it by force" but more that "they' just give it to me".
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Average Joe
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In reply to bobinator • 1:06p, 10/6/26
AG
bobinator said:
I know, how were they going to get really close from the other side of the stadium? That's exactly what I'm saying. Were they going to hang out by the bathroom and hope for the best? It's clear they didn't attempt to infiltrate the other side of the stadium until the game ended, but what was their plan if the game didn't end in last second field rush?


Walk amongst the crowd. This is a small high school stadium. I could cover the entire place in less than 5 minutes. I doubt they would have given up if they wouldn't have found the manhunter at the game, either.

The MH could also detect when they were tracking it up close, so they couldn't make it super obvious until it was too late for the MH to do anything. Then they blow up.

Not everything needs a super deep, super thorough explanation.

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bobinator
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In reply to Average Joe • 1:13p, 10/6/26
AG
... but that's not what they did, at all. You're talking about what they could have done and it would make sense, but that isn't what they did in the show. If they'd have walked the aisles during the game they'd have presumably been shot right then, OR they wouldn't have found the manhunter and they'd have just left. But neither of those things is what actually happened.

Now, again, does this really matter? No. I already said I really liked the show. But there's just a few examples of some of this stuff where the details of this show got a little fuzzy around the edges and it's best not to think about it.
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Average Joe
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In reply to bobinator • 1:32p, 10/6/26
AG
bobinator said:
... but that's not what they did, at all. You're talking about what they could have done and it would make sense, but that isn't what they did in the show. If they'd have walked the aisles during the game they'd have presumably been shot right then, OR they wouldn't have found the manhunter and they'd have just left. But neither of those things is what actually happened.

Now, again, does this really matter? No. I already said I really liked the show. But there's just a few examples of some of this stuff where the details of this show got a little fuzzy around the edges and it's best not to think about it.

I think y'all are just looking for things that are not necessary. They were there looking for the manhunter because that's where most of the town was. Not sure why it has to be any deeper than that. It's not handwaving. It's just not spending a ton of time on details that don't matter when you are trying to fit Jon's entire life story, a significant portion of Hal's time and experience as a GL, and the introduction of Guy Gardner as GL into a single season of a show. All while having an ongoing plot that makes you interested in three different characters playing the same hero.

Same with why Hal went to prison. An entire town got destroyed and everyone there blamed Hal, including the Sheriff, and the Guardians hated him too much to defend his actions. The writers also needed a way to explain what happened to Hal and Jon between 2016 and 2026. Hal was in prison. Jon was building his company. Do we need to know anything else beyond that? The story still makes plenty of sense without knowing what the exact charges were, and where he served his time.
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bobinator
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In reply to Average Joe • 1:44p, 10/6/26
AG
Hey if for you it doesn't have to be, then that's fine. But we're talking the 8PM Sunday night HBO show that puts it in line with True Detective, Game of Thrones, etc. caliber of shows. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the plot to be pretty tight. Especially in what is essentially a murder mystery show where the details could matter.

I just think there's like ten ways they could have done that scene where it made sense but for some reason they chose a way where it doesn't really and that kind of spilled over to a few different things on the show.

Again, for me, very good overall! Just some of the fuzziness on the edges kept it from being really great for me.
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FL_Ag1998
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In reply to bobinator • 2:01p, 10/6/26
AG
bobinator said:
Hey if for you it doesn't have to be, then that's fine. But we're talking the 8PM Sunday night HBO show that puts it in line with True Detective, Game of Thrones, etc. caliber of shows. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the plot to be pretty tight.


Bingo. This isn't the CW Arrowverse version of DC superheroes. This has been HBO's premiere show for the past two months.
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dixie whiskey
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In reply to Average Joe • 7:20p, 10/6/26
AG
Average Joe said:
bobinator said:
Some of the fuzzy issues around the edge of the story are what's keeping this from being a 5 for me because I thought a lot of it was really great TV. But my microcosm of my issues with the "fuzzy issues" is the football game plot that starts the plot of the show.

Here is how that plot worked:

- A pack of aliens is trying to find the manhunter, they know it lives in Rushville, and that if they get close to it they can track a radioactive signal. So they're going to use a high school football game as cover to... I dunno, hope they bump into it at the concession stand? It's pretty clear that they stayed on their own side of the field until:

- A last second field goal causes a field rush! Now our band of aliens also runs onto the field hoping to run into the manhunter?

- The militia guys set up alien detectors at the football stadium just in case of this exact scenario! (Only way into Rushville is apparently gridiron-based espionage) They open fire on the guys in the middle of the football field, killing all of them but one, and creating a huge scene.

This is just an insane plot by both sides involved, no?


They explained this in the show.

They could track the manhunter via a radioactive signal, but they had to get really close. It's a small town in Nebraska. Most, if not all, of the town will be at the football game. Makes it a great time to try and find the manhunter.

The stadium wasn't the only place with the metal detectors. They were in other buildings like the center they had the gathering.


100%. Also I think they were clearly trying to portray Rushville as the sort of small, midwestern town where a high school football game is the main attraction. It seems reasonable that they'd look there if basically everyone in town is known to be there. As far as their actual search during the game, we obviously aren't shown the entirety of the football game. I dont have a problem with them expecting us to assume they worked that out. One of the most annoying things about superhero stuff in general is the way they tend to insist on showing every little thing on screen, I'm not going to complain that we finally got a show that trusts the audience can make the leap sometimes.

I'm not a GL reader so I can't speak to the accuracy of anything, but I really enjoyed this show. I thought the story was well written and the pacing was good considering all the ground they had to cover. As someone who is mostly burned out on the Marvel stuff and how (imo) it's become way too big and for its own good, it was a refreshing watch. Particularly the way they managed to keep the feel of everything grounded and character focused despite the subject matter. I also appreciated that they were able to make it a show clearly meant for adults without going snyderverse edgelord with it. I think some of the less successful Marvel output like Moon Knight could have benefitted from this sort of approach and tone.

eta: This was 100% intended to be a character driven show. None of the external conflicts or plot points were ever meant to overshadow that. I thought it was the strength of the show and one of the reasons Marvel has been so bad lately is they moved away from that sort of thing. Iron Man was done similarly and it's one of the best superhero movies ever. I guess not everyone agrees with me here judging by the other posts.
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Average Joe
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In reply to bobinator • 7:38p, 10/6/26
AG
bobinator said:
Hey if for you it doesn't have to be, then that's fine. But we're talking the 8PM Sunday night HBO show that puts it in line with True Detective, Game of Thrones, etc. caliber of shows. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the plot to be pretty tight. Especially in what is essentially a murder mystery show where the details could matter.

I just think there's like ten ways they could have done that scene where it made sense but for some reason they chose a way where it doesn't really and that kind of spilled over to a few different things on the show.

Again, for me, very good overall! Just some of the fuzziness on the edges kept it from being really great for me.

Both True Detective and Game of Thrones have huge plot holes, though.

Hell, the biggest one in True Detective S1 is on the same vein as the football game in Lanterns. Why was Dora Lang, the first victim they show, tied up and displayed like she was? She was the only one of the victims to be put on display like that. Didn't mesh with the rest of the killings, but they needed a way to kick off the series. Same as Lanterns needing something to get the GL to Nebraska.

Game of Thrones is full of them. Like Cersei being pregnant in Season 7, and then not anymore? No mention of what happened. The battle of High Garden where the better army, with a castle, loses to the lesser army? Euron building thousands of ships in a year from an island with no trees?

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Lathspell
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In reply to Average Joe • 8:08p, 10/6/26
AG
In all fairness, no one has ever argued that the last few seasons were well thought out. I doubt a story following a GRR Martin story would have been that full of plotholes.
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bobinator
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In reply to Lathspell • 8:58p, 10/6/26
AG
Yeah I mean the plot holes and random storylines left hanging are why it started to suck.
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bobinator
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In reply to dixie whiskey • 9:08p, 10/6/26
AG
My issue, and why I picked this example, is they went out of their way TO show it on screen. We show Jon acting like some kind of Navajo tracker able to recreate the last few seconds of the game (the tee still on the field, the railing broken in front of the crowd, etc.)

If we're not supposed to care about it that's fine, but then why dedicate any screen time to it at all? Just leave it at that"some people got shot at the football game and our characters show up in the aftermath."

(But again, very good show to me overall! I like discussing these kinds of things with people on the internet and maybe it makes it seem like I hate the show, I extremely didn't.)
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CapCityAg89
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8:53p, 10/9/26
AG
Nothing to add but I really liked that show. Best DC work since early Green Arrow and Flash. Need that intensity on the big screen.
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BenFiasco14
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6:52p, 10/11/26
AG
My wife's out if Kyle chandler isn't coming back
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
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Enrico Pallazzo
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7:25p, 10/11/26
I might be out if Kyle Chandler isn't back. /no homo
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MROD92
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8:39p, 10/12/26
Some of the more horrific crap I've ever watched. Kill off an iconic superhero. But keep AXEING me a question. Drop as many F bombs as possible, everyone sleep together and let the dangerous alien live. What crap. Waste of my time
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PatAg
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In reply to MROD92 • 11:23p, 10/12/26
AG
MROD92 said:
Some of the more horrific crap I've ever watched. Kill off an iconic superhero. But keep AXEING me a question. Drop as many F bombs as possible, everyone sleep together and let the dangerous alien live. What crap. Waste of my time

lol
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CharleyKerfeld
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In reply to PatAg • 2:22a, 10/13/26
PatAg said:
MROD92 said:
Some of the more horrific crap I've ever watched. Kill off an iconic superhero. But keep AXEING me a question. Drop as many F bombs as possible, everyone sleep together and let the dangerous alien live. What crap. Waste of my time

lol

When I hate shows, I make sure to watch the entire thing.
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AgGrad99
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In reply to Enrico Pallazzo • 4:22p, 10/13/26
AG
Enrico Pallazzo said:
I might be out if Kyle Chandler isn't back. /no homo

Same. I'm sure I'll check it out, but I'll hate it if he's gone. Their push-pull was the best part of the show.
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fig96
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5:43p, 10/13/26
AG
I feel like they've kind of built in a mechanism for Chandler to stick around with the Halogram, curious to see where they go with it if we get a s2.
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CharleyKerfeld
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6:56p, 10/13/26
They need to have a season that's all Hal and SInestro.
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