by Charles Kirkland Jr.
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 5 Recap Puts John Against Hal
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 5 Recap brings the hunt for the Manhunter to a breaking point as “Lights Out” turns John Stewart and Hal Jordan against one another while Rushville descends into chaos.
With Zoe’s true nature exposed, Hal attempts to manipulate the aliens into attacking William Macon while John discovers how far his mentor will go to protect the Green Lantern ring.
But the episode’s biggest question isn’t whether they can stop the Manhunter.
It’s whether John still wants to become Green Lantern.
Read our recap of “The Weenie” here.
Explore the complete Lanterns Series Hub.
Lanterns Season 1 streams on HBO Max.
Zoe and Kerry Kane’s History Revealed
Years earlier, a younger Kerry Kane arrives in Rushville after her car breaks down.
At a diner, two men tell Kerry their boss in Gotham has ordered her death. Zoe suddenly appears, kills one and forces the survivor to reveal that they need Kerry’s pinky as proof of her death.
Zoe hands Kerry a switchblade.
Kerry cuts off her finger and sends it back to Gotham.
Zoe then tells Kerry that she owes her a favor and will one day need to protect her. Kerry agrees.
Then Zoe regenerates Kerry’s missing pinky.
The opening explains why Kerry has been protecting Zoe throughout the investigation. Their relationship began with a debt Kerry has carried for years.
Hal Leaves John Behind
Back in the present, John awakens trapped inside the crashed car.
Hal explains that he intends to capture the Manhunter and take her to Oa while allowing the aliens and Macon to fight each other.
Then he leaves John behind.
Elsewhere, Rushville prepares for conflict as Kerry and Mason argue over protecting Zoe. They haven’t located Hal, but they know where John is.
Zoe arrives at John’s wreck just as the burning car explodes.
John appears to be dead.
He isn’t.
The Manhunter Saves John Stewart
The Manhunter rescued John before the explosion and takes him to her machine, where his injuries are healed.
John tells her that he has no loyalty to Hal or the Guardians.
Hal left him to die, and John’s faith in the institution he once dreamed of joining is rapidly disappearing.
Meanwhile, Hal meets with the aliens and tells them that William Macon is the Manhunter.
They head directly for Macon’s compound while Hal turns his attention toward Zoe.
William Macon’s Lie Finally Ends
The aliens attack Macon’s compound, destroying the Weenie and the alien weapons stored there.
Their leader confronts Macon, who desperately insists that he is the Manhunter.
The alien doesn’t believe him.
He kills Macon and cuts out his heart, confirming that Macon is human.
Macon may have protected the Manhunter, but he was never the creature everyone was hunting.
John Stewart Takes Hal’s Ring
Hal fights his way through Rushville searching for Zoe, but his ring eventually gives him a low-charge warning.
He retreats to the motel to recharge.
John attacks him there.
The motel is blown apart during the confrontation, and John takes Hal’s ring before leaving him buried beneath the wreckage.
Earlier, Hal abandoned John inside a wrecked car.
Now John has turned the tables.
But there’s more happening than revenge.
Hal Uses Himself as Bait
Zoe arrives at the destroyed motel and finds Hal among the debris.
She asks where John is and why Hal would leave him exposed.
Hal gives her one answer.
Bait.
John fires a sniper rifle and shoots Zoe in the head.
Despite everything that has happened between them, John and Hal have managed to work together long enough to spring a trap on the Manhunter.
But their partnership may not survive what comes next.
John Stewart Rejects the Green Lantern Ring
John eventually reaches the diner, where the Guardian is waiting.
He tells her that Hal ignored his oath and broke his code to keep possession of the ring.
But John’s problem is no longer simply Hal.
He believes the ring itself changes people.
Then John admits that he no longer understands why he wanted it so badly.
For most of Lanterns, becoming Green Lantern has represented John’s destiny.
Now he finally possesses the ring.
And rejects it.
John removes the ring, places it on the counter beside the lantern, and walks away.
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 5 Ending Explained
Why does Kerry protect Zoe?
Zoe saved Kerry years earlier from men sent from Gotham to kill her. In return, Kerry promised that she would protect Zoe when the time came.
Did Hal leave John to die?
Hal leaves John trapped in the crashed vehicle while pursuing his plan. The Manhunter rescues John before the car explodes.
Why do the aliens kill Macon?
Hal convinces them that Macon is the Manhunter. When Macon tries to maintain the deception, their leader kills him and discovers that he is human.
Why does John attack Hal?
John has become disillusioned with Hal and the Guardians. After Hal abandons him, John attacks Hal and takes the Green Lantern ring.
Why does John shoot Zoe?
Hal allows himself to become bait. When Zoe approaches him after the motel’s destruction, John shoots her from a distance.
Why does John give up the ring?
John believes the Green Lantern ring changes the people who possess it. After witnessing Hal violate his principles to retain it, John questions his own lifelong desire for that power.
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 5 Recap ends with John placing the ring beside the lantern and walking away.
Final Thoughts
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 5 Recap turns “Lights Out” into an episode about power and what people sacrifice to possess or protect it.
Kerry owes Zoe her life. Macon owes his prosperity to forces beyond his control. The aliens are consumed by their pursuit of the Manhunter.
And Hal is willing to compromise himself to remain Green Lantern.
John chooses something different.
Throughout the season, becoming Green Lantern has seemed inevitable for him. The Guardians selected him. Hal trained him. Sinestro encouraged him. John wanted it.
But wanting the ring and understanding its cost are very different things.
John has now seen what that power means to Hal.
When he finally possesses the ring himself, he doesn’t feel victorious.
He puts it down.
That may be John’s most important decision because it belongs entirely to him.
Not Hal.
Not Sinestro.
Not the Guardians.
John Stewart walks away from the destiny everyone else chose for him.
And “Lights Out” leaves Lanterns with a much bigger question than who deserves the ring.
What if John Stewart no longer wants it?
Continue following our Lanterns Season 1 Episode 5 Recap coverage and visit the Lanterns Series Hub for every recap, On Deck preview, Beyond the Episode analysis, character guide, and feature from HBO’s DC mystery.
