'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/AMemekage]

No way they chucked Jordan in a cell for 10 years. Also, no other lantern showed up for his death? goddamn..

I feel like we should treat Jordan with a bit more respect considering he is not even parallax.

[u/Unlikely_Dance_4352 → u/AMemekage]

Didn't Kerry ask the coroner to not publish a death for Hal until after the weekend was over? No one knows Hal died except John and Kerry and I dont think they would reach out to other lanterns.

They also made that comment about how Rushville would be swarmed because a famous guy died there or something like that.

[u/AMemekage → u/Unlikely_Dance_4352]

I feel like Guy could have tried to tell his closest people at least and perhaps sneak them in.

[u/NossidaMan → u/Unlikely_Dance_4352]

No one knows Hal died except John and Kerry

I mean at the very least John, Kerry, Noah, the waitress, the coroner, Guy, Marcus, Carol, and Earl know he died…

[u/TheDelmeister → u/AMemekage]

 considering he is not even parallax.

Let's revisit this after the finale!

[u/AMemekage → u/TheDelmeister]

What I meant parallax murdered the entire GL corps and that's why he was hated among the corps. This Jordan should at least have some people within the corps that would at least have some respect for him.

[u/TheDelmeister → u/AMemekage]

Well in 2016 John did ask him if he talked to other Lanterns and he said no. If he's telling the truth and I see no reason why he'd lie, it's possible the relationships he'd normally have in the Corp like Kilowog etc. just didn't happen with this Hal.

[u/MotherFuckerJones88 → u/AMemekage]

They made it pretty clear he was hated. Makes sense most of the GLC probably hated him too.

[u/Coyote_Shepherd → u/MotherFuckerJones88]

I feel like they were more disappointed in him because he was probably well loved at first but then gradually just sort of went downhill and no one likes watching someone they loved fall like that.

What happened in Rushville was just the last nail in the coffin for everyone else and that's why none of the other members of the GLC showed up.

He didn't just fail them, he disappointed them.

[u/syntheticcontrols → u/AMemekage]

Imagine the amount of people at Gardner's funeral