Lanterns - Episode 3, "OutKast" - Review & Recap
- Jimmy Palmquist
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
⚠️ Spoiler Alert: This review may contains spoilers. ⚠️
Three episodes in, Lanterns finally gives us the episode I’ve been waiting for.
Episode 3 takes a break from the investigation into the Manhunters and instead fills in a huge amount of information about John Stewart, Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians, and why these two men have been brought together in the first place. Frankly, a lot of this information would have been nice to know earlier. But after some frustration with the first two episodes, I’m very happy we finally got it.
This is also the episode that convinced me Lanterns probably would play much better as a binge. If I weren't already such a huge superhero and Green Lantern fan, I'm not sure I would have stuck around long enough to get here. Watching the episodes back-to-back, however, could make the slower setup feel more like deliberate groundwork rather than information the show has been withholding.
Because Episode 3 changes how I look at almost everything we've seen so far.
Most importantly, we finally understand John.
The episode digs into his childhood, his relationship with his parents, and the experiences that shaped the man we've been watching. Even that bizarre moment involving John's father (played by J. Alphonse Nicholson) shooting apples off his son's head suddenly has context. Apparently, this was a normal thing in the Stewart household.
Sure. Why not?
More importantly, the episode explains why John manifested the bird with his ring. What previously seemed like another strange, unexplained image becomes connected to his past and the person buried underneath the guarded exterior we've seen during the first two episodes.
That is something Lanterns desperately needed.
We also get a much better understanding of John's relationship with Hal and, perhaps more importantly, why John was selected in the first place. The Stewart family has zero love lost with Hal Jordan and John grew up with that mentality his whole life. Now we know it's not because he's a Lantern in training, but because his father was passed up for Jordan.
Rather than continuing the search for the Manhunters, Episode 3 turns its attention toward one of the fundamental questions surrounding Green Lantern mythology: Why does the ring choose one person over another?
That question becomes especially important when we learn John's father was considered but ultimately wasn't chosen. It leads to one of my favorite scenes of the series so far when John's mother, Bernadette (played wonderfully by Jasmine Cephas Jones), confronts a Guardian, played by Laura Linney, about why Hal Jordan was selected instead of her husband.
And she doesn't hold back.
The conversation becomes about more than cosmic jewelry and superheroes. Bernadette challenges the Guardian's understanding of humanity, race and fear, essentially accusing her of racism for failing to understand what fear means to a Black person living in America. It is both sad and true. Kudos for the writers to tackles this. It sucks.
The traditional Green Lantern requirement has always centered around the ability to overcome great fear. But the episode asks an interesting question: How do you objectively measure fear when people's experiences with it can be fundamentally different? For John's mother, being Black in America means fear is already part of the equation.
Overcoming it isn't some hypothetical test of courage. It can simply be part of navigating the world. But more importantly, how do you raise a potential candidate for the corps who is Black so that they don't inherit that fear.
It's one of the more interesting ways Lanterns has taken familiar Green Lantern mythology and examined it from a different perspective.
The Guardian also reveals something much bigger. John isn't simply another Lantern.
He is being prepared to eventually replace Hal Jordan. Also, as far as we know, Hal does not know he was at least second choice to be a Lantern. We may have also learned that Hal is being replaced because he doesn't follow orders. Yet another reason for John to dislike Hal as he was given a top secret, incredibly difficult covert mission that ended up. lasting nine months in the wilderness just to have Jordan thwart it at the last minute. Against the Guardians orders nonetheless.
That's particularly interesting because Hal doesn't appear to understand the entire plan. As far as he's concerned, he's training a new Green Lantern. Begrudgingly. Behind the scenes, however, the Guardians are looking toward a future in which John can take his place.
Suddenly, the tension between Hal and John carries considerably more weight.
We also see John interviewed by the seemingly ageless Guardian as they evaluate whether he is ready. But John doesn't truly become worthy simply by proving how tough, fearless or disciplined he can be.
Instead, his breakthrough comes when his mother finally allows him to embrace another part of himself.
Art.
Once John is allowed to explore his artistic side and eventually enters art school, something changes. He isn't simply becoming stronger. He's becoming more complete. And that's when the path toward becoming Green Lantern finally opens.
I really liked that choice.
Being worthy of the ring isn't presented simply as having enough courage to punch something scary. John has to understand who he is before he's ready to become the person the Guardians believe he can be.
Maybe the biggest accomplishment of Episode 3 is that the relationship between Hal and John finally makes sense. I've struggled with their dynamic since the premiere. I understood what the show was trying to establish, but I didn't necessarily feel invested in it.
Now I am.
Knowing that John is secretly being prepared as Hal's eventual replacement changes the context of their relationship. It also makes me much more interested in seeing how Hal reacts if, or when, he discovers what the Guardians have actually been planning. And let's not forget that the Stewart have held a lifelong grudge against Hal simply because he was chosen. Now the stakes are even higher.
Those callbacks to earlier episodes are one of the strongest elements here. Moments that previously seemed odd, unexplained or frustrating now have meaning. Again, I just wish we'd gotten some of this information sooner.
Episode 3 is easily my favorite episode of Lanterns so far.
Ironically, we put the Manhunter investigation largely on hold, yet I came away more interested in the overall story than I was when the characters were actively investigating it. That's because we're finally getting the roadwork explaining why this entire series of events is happening and why any of it matters. We understand John better. We understand his family. We understand his connection to the ring. We understand why the bird appeared. We understand more about how Lanterns are selected. We understand why Hal is training John. And, perhaps most importantly, we now know there is a larger plan for John that even Hal may not fully understand.
For the first time, the pieces feel like they're coming together.
Would I have preferred some of this groundwork in Episode 1? Absolutely.
Would the series probably work better if you could binge these first three episodes together?
I think so.
But none of that changes the fact that Episode 3 delivered exactly what I needed from Lanterns.
I've been waiting for the series to give me a reason to care about the relationship between Hal Jordan and John Stewart beyond the fact that I'm already a Green Lantern fan.
Episode 3 finally did.
Tired of reading? No problem, check out our video review below:
Check out the trailer for Lanterns:
