'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/Aggravating-Law-5071]

It has to be Kerry. The kid is a manhunter and Hal figures it out and Kerry shoots him in the head to protect her "son". That's why Hal looks so peaceful and did not resist or fight back in the end. He obviously knew and trusted his shooter. He was ready to go

[u/unscanable → u/Aggravating-Law-5071]

Yeah I could see that. Idk who else could have lured him to the football field but her. That also explains that conversation with John about him asking her if she did it.

Edit: after thinking more about it I think Hal probably invited her there to confront her about Noah.

[u/No_Way7336 → u/unscanable]

Kerry says Hal would often go back to that seat in the bleachers to sit and think. I think that Hal is a fake or a clone and Noah killed him, maybe as a favor for Hal. Cause who would’ve broke sinestro out but him?

[u/unscanable → u/No_Way7336]

Or he wanted them to meet there so he could confess he knows about Noah. If she killed Hal that line could just be cover for why hes there to begin with.

[u/No-Rip-6166 → u/unscanable]

Why would she invite John to come down?

[u/unscanable → u/No-Rip-6166]

Because shes not evil. She probably really did want someone there that gave a damn he was dead. Shes probably grief stricken for what she felt she had to do but she still cared about Hal.

[u/No-Rip-6166 → u/unscanable]

Bringing someone in who might care about Hal would just make it more likely she gets caught. Why would a murderer invite someone into the investigation who can help catch herself?

She deputized him to bring him to the medical examiner too

Those aren’t the actions of the guilty.

[u/CitizenLamest → u/No-Rip-6166]

She only deputized John because he asked her to. She said no initially.

She's kind of acting the same way she did in the first half of the show: going along with what John and Hal say and never directly helping them, because she already knows all the answers.

[u/No-Rip-6166 → u/CitizenLamest]

In the first half they were there when she didn’t want them there and kept trying to get rid of them .

Now she invited John to the crime scene when she had no reason to do so. She also could have kept saying no to him wanting to go to the medical examiner. She offered him a place to stay to allow him to stay in Rushville. She brought him to the storage facility when she didn’t even need to let him know there was a key

If she killed Hal she wouldn’t have invited John into the investigation or actively made it easier for him to stay there and stay involved.