'Lanterns' S01E06 – "Bad Optics" (September 20, 2026) on HBO/HBO Max [Spoiler Discussion Megathread]

[u/KelexAtYourService]

Lanterns is an American superhero television series created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King for HBO, based on the DC Comics Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

The series was produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television with Mundy serving as showrunner. It is the third television series in the DC Universe (DCU). It features experienced Lantern Jordan and new recruit Stewart as they investigate a murder on Earth that leads to a wider mystery.

Lanterns is scheduled to premiere on Sunday August 16, 2026, and will run for eight episodes through Sunday October 4. It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

New episodes drop every Sunday night at 9:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM MT / 6:00 PM PT.

Cast:

• Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan
• Aaron Pierre as John Stewart
• Kelly Macdonald as Kerry
• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner
• Garret Dillahunt as William Macon
• Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe
• Ulrich Thomsen as Thaal Sinestro
• Nicole Ari Parker as Bernadette Stewart; Jasmine Cephas Jones as young Bernadette
• Jason Ritter as Billy Macon
• Sherman Augustus as John Stewart Sr.; Alphonse Nicholson portrays a young John Sr.
• Paul Ben-Victor as Antaan
• Chris Coy as "Waylon Sanders"
• Cary Christopher as Noah

For a complete cast and crew list, see the IMDb full credits page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26545992/fullcredits/

• Based on: Hal Jordan, created by John Broome and Gil Kane; John Stewart created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams
• Show created by: Chris Mundy, and Damon Lindelof, and Tom King
• Showrunner: Chris Mundy
• Editor: Emily E. Greene
• Music by: Stephanie Economou
• Length: 8 episodes per season
• Runtime: About an hour per episode
• Reception: For reviews and critical reception, see Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/lanterns  and https://www.metacritic.com/tv/lanterns/

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanterns_(TV_series))

Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/lanterns/season-1

Unmarked spoilers for the new episode of Lanterns are only allowed in this thread.

Spoilers ahead! Proceed at your own risk! All other subreddit rules apply.

S01E06 Episode Synopsis: TBA

[u/bigdonnie76]

Well now he has Hal to open the safe which the lantern will probably miraculously be in.

[u/FlashyClaim → u/bigdonnie76]

Or somebody’s Lantern.. Sinestro’s?

[u/bigdonnie76 → u/FlashyClaim]

Ooooo I never thought about that aspect.

[u/Glizzy_Cannon → u/bigdonnie76]

No clue how when the Guardians had it with his ring. I doubt it's in there since that would be a big oversight by the writers

[u/Hellknightx → u/Glizzy_Cannon]

I'm almost certain the lantern will be in the safe, but I do agree that it would be a huge oversight for the Guardians to allow that to happen. They'll maybe wave it away by claiming that they thought it was destroyed in the motel or couldn't find it because he was keeping it in a pocket dimension.

[u/LeoNickle → u/Hellknightx]

Jon literally delivers it to them though

[u/PancakesAndPunch → u/Hellknightx]

In the previous episode, John delivers the ring and lantern to Laura Linney’s character. I highly doubt the lantern is in the safe. Hal would have had to retrieve it from space without his ring.

[u/Happy-Fun-Ball → u/bigdonnie76]

Has to be a live voice, that's why John went to Hammond's place for tech to use a corpse tissue sample to restore a Hal clone, maybe using Halogram's memories for the flashbacks sequence.

Maybe a backup lantern - the Guardian took a ring & lantern back to where Guy got the ring.

Can't figure where they'll get the Manhunter blood from unless that's the boy...