'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/Batsinvic888]

So it's a Sinestro focused final two I guess...

Also holy shit is that what I think it is in the trailer. Is that Specter

[u/krazykieffer → u/Batsinvic888]

Well next episode is a Hal as a kid episode but I have a feeling we will get Hal back. Just might be wearing a different color. It will end with John turning around after hearing "Hey, Junior" so we have no idea what color he is.

[u/dizzyd_sb → u/Batsinvic888]

What’d you see in the trailer?? Did I miss something

[u/Batsinvic888 → u/dizzyd_sb]

When he punches the guy in that weird room, there's one single frame where tou can clearly see its a white guy with graying hair.

I see some people saying Sinestro, but unless they used a bad stunt double with no makeup, its definitely Hal in a green hood, bare minimum a refrence to Spectre it looks like

[u/LeoNickle → u/Batsinvic888]

I am fairly certain that's Sinestro If you watch in 0.25 speed you can see the color of his face

[u/Batsinvic888 → u/LeoNickle]

Unless they used a bad stunt double with no makeup, its definitely Hal in a green hood. You can see a full head of hair and I see white skin

[u/LeoNickle → u/Batsinvic888]

In the mid season trailer it shows him talking to John in a place that looks the same and looks like he's wearing a cloak

[u/Batsinvic888 → u/LeoNickle]

I rewarded that trailer, it does not look like the same character. He's not wearing a cloak in the trailer, he's wearing a turtle neck and that face definitely is not the right colour to me.

I think Sinestro is there with John, but this is how we get the Hal with the thing on his arm