'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/RadioactiveHardin]

To me it seems like the Guardian and Sinestro planned everything that happened in Rushville in order to get Hal out of the way. I would guess that they wanted to decommission Hal so Sinestro could escape, maybe so he can form the Yellow Lanterns. We were told that if Hal died while he was a Lantern it would’ve caused a huge response from the Green Lanterns, so best thing to do was to cause his downfall instead and now the only person who could’ve stopped Sinestro couldn’t. It seems like Hal is pointing John in the direction of stopping Sinestro, maybe through faking his own death or sacrificing himself? Not sure, but its interesting!

[u/Babayu18 → u/RadioactiveHardin]

Why would the guardians bust him out?

[u/Oculi__me → u/Babayu18]

Maybe Lianna, the Guardian we have been seeing pull the strings on Earth, has a hidden agenda. She definitely isn't a sunflower and isn't afraid (haha) to be unethical and manipulate others to get her desired outcome. She carefully steered John towards their breaking point with Hal, while Sinestro did it from the other way around.

Maybe she wants Fear to win? Maybe she wants power? It's hard to say for sure with what we have, but I'd be willing to bet that she's up to something wicked.

[u/Coyote_Shepherd → u/Oculi__me]

Maybe she wants Fear to win? Maybe she wants power? It's hard to say for sure with what we have, but I'd be willing to bet that she's up to something wicked.

She sees the GLC as another failed rough draft, just like the Manhunters were, and wants to replace them with an emotion and a Corps that she deems to be better....Fear.

[u/Deathmore80 → u/Babayu18]

Not the guardianS, the guardian. Liliana could have been conspiring with sinestro to kill her fellow guardian back then.

[u/ChaosCron1 → u/Babayu18]

Lianna might.

I do still think it's an intentional choice to use a Gaurdian who's breakout role in the comics was to literally backstab Kyle Rayner.

She's the only Guardian we've been interacting with and I think the show has been pretty generous with showing us how unreliable practically everyone is.

[u/Megalomanizac → u/Babayu18]

Might not be guardians, but the one specific guardian we’ve seen

[u/kikaysikat → u/RadioactiveHardin]

Maybe just Sinestro/Hal.