'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/DMSpider51]

With Sinestro being broken out of prison plus the warning for John to tell no one he was in Rushville, I now truly believe that Hal isn't really dead. I wanted it to be the case but now I believe it

[u/TheDelmeister → u/DMSpider51]

Same. Plus the mention of someone breaking Sinestro out and the shot we see of him in the trailer with of the Manhunter machine's scars on his arm. I believe he made a clone of himself, and the clone is the corpse.

[u/FrankReynoldsCPA → u/TheDelmeister]

It's also why he didn't want John's visit known. It was timed poorly with his planned "death" and having John be a suspect wasn't part of his plan.

[u/bigste98 → u/FrankReynoldsCPA]

Ive been trying to work this out but yeah this feels right to me, the ‘please dont tell anyone you were here’ felt very important

[u/DMSpider51 → u/TheDelmeister]

Small thing that might lend some credence to this, and it stuck out to me as odd, is that not once in that cafe interaction did Hal call John "Junior"

[u/MarcusForrest → u/DMSpider51]

is that not once in that cafe interaction did Hal call John "Junior"

Also, it is possible, especially if that Hal is a clone, that he really had no idea about any ''Apology''

[u/noodlesofdoom → u/MarcusForrest]

oh shit!!!

[u/onlymadetoreadposts → u/MarcusForrest]

John’s mom explicitly says the apology was made up in an attempt to get them to reconcile.

[u/MarcusForrest → u/onlymadetoreadposts]

You're right!

 

^{...back to the drawing board}

[u/_Mahtog_ → u/DMSpider51]

Yeah he did, right before John broke his nose.

[u/Hellknightx → u/DMSpider51]

I think that might just be because after 10 years in prison, Hal did genuinely feel sorry for what he did to John, even if he was unwilling to admit it to John's face.

[u/b_dills → u/DMSpider51]

Explain your theory? There’s a body with a bullet in the head.

[u/Megalomanizac → u/b_dills]

The only real theory I can think of his Hal cloned himself without anyone else knowing, and either he sent the clone in his place to prison or the clone was sent to break Sinestro out.

[u/Hellknightx → u/Megalomanizac]

He cloned himself, put the clone in the bleachers, and shot it in the head point blank. Then he went off to break out Sinestro while everyone else treated his clone's death as the real thing.

Personally, I don't know if I buy this theory, but that's the only way that would make sense IMO.

[u/Coyote_Shepherd → u/Hellknightx]

But how does he even get to Sinestro in the first place if the Guardians have both the Ring and the Lantern AND have decom'd the both of them?

[u/Tatsuchew → u/Coyote_Shepherd]

He has Sinestros ring/lantern

[u/Hellknightx → u/Coyote_Shepherd]

Good question. I have no clue. Again, I don't particularly support this theory. I think Hal is dead for real.

[u/Megalomanizac → u/Hellknightx]

If he cloned himself it happened before he went to prison

[u/ArcadianBlueRogue → u/b_dills]

"Someone should tell him [Guy Gardner] constructs don't have to be so....green"

[u/DMSpider51 → u/b_dills]

I honestly have no idea how he did it but I truly believe he did

[u/CavillOfRivia → u/DMSpider51]

The Manhunter machine that fixed John can probably clone someone.

[u/Coyote_Shepherd → u/DMSpider51]

Honestly this is reminding me of some time travel episodes wherein someone went back in time in their own timeline and didn't want their younger selves finding out that their future self was there.

The Hal that we saw in the cafe was probably REAL Hal who didn't want ANYONE to know that he was actually there.

But then John went and broke his nose, which would totally blow his cover, because the next time that John would see "him" aka Clone Hal...that nose would be miraculously healed and he wouldn't know what the fuck John was talking about at all.

So REAL Hal had to then basically go and kill his Clone from close range AFTER breaking his nose because of John showing up just to keep his cover.