Lanterns - Episode 4, "The Weenie" - Review & Recap
⚠️ Spoiler Alert: This review may contains spoilers. ⚠️
Episode 4, “The Weenie,” is easily the best episode of Lanterns yet.
The entertainment factor ramps up considerably, the mystery gets deeper, and, most importantly, the complicated relationship between Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) finally becomes the heart of the show.
Hal and John are essentially playing several hands of poker at once. They’re investigating the case together, trying to figure each other out, and simultaneously receiving information designed to make them distrust one another. For a while, it actually feels like they’re beginning to trust each other. Then the backstabbing comes to light and everything starts falling apart.
Ironically, even after that happens, I get the sense these two still respect each other. They may not trust each other, but when something needs to be done, they continue working together and trying to do the right thing.
Well... except for that last scene.
Before we get there, we also get considerably more from Will Macon (Garret Dillahunt). And when I say more, I mean more. Yes, there’s a nude scene.
I’m not sure why Damon Lindelof DC projects apparently need to show off penises, but they certainly do. At least this one isn’t blue. And technically, most of what we see is represented in a charcoal drawing.
Anywho, it happened.
What made the sequence work for me was John’s reaction, or complete lack thereof. He doesn’t flinch. He simply tells Will how to pose so he can continue drawing while Hal questions him. It’s such a wonderfully dry character moment for John. Luckily, Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) eventually steps in and arrests the Lanterns, essentially saving them from their own increasingly bad plans.
Before all that, though, Hal and John are genuinely beginning to function as a team. At the exact same time, outsiders are feeding each of them reasons to believe the other is a threat.
Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) warns Hal that John is his replacement, not trainee/back up. According to him, the Guardians want Hal out, meaning Hal needs to constantly watch his back.
On the other side, Lianna (Laura Linney), ostensibly one of the Guardians, tells John that he needs to prove himself. She wants him to take the mantle, keep Hal’s ring and say the pledge, officially becoming the next Green Lantern.
So while Hal and John are learning to trust one another, the people around them are actively giving them reasons not to. That makes their relationship much more interesting.
Meanwhile, the Nebraska investigation continues as they dig deeper into the mystery surrounding the Manhunter. Things take a dramatic turn after Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan), following a late-night visit with John, is apparently assassinated by an unseen threat in the sky. John realizes where the attack came from and directs Hal toward the weapon. Hal flies into the sky and eventually returns carrying a small satellite, giving them another bizarre piece of this increasingly strange puzzle.
Their investigation eventually leads them to Hector Gutierrez (Jason Manuel Olazabal), who attempts to convince them that he’s the Manhunter.
Hal isn’t buying it.
My favorite moment of the episode comes when Hal asks Hector a wonderfully simple question: What color was Abin Sur?
Hector doesn’t know and makes excuses for not knowing.
Hal immediately knows he’s not their guy.
It’s a fantastic little reminder that underneath Hal’s attitude and questionable decision-making is an experienced Green Lantern who knows exactly what he’s doing. Hector might have constructed an elaborate threat, but Hal cuts through it with one question.
Unfortunately for the Lanterns, Hector still has an ace up his sleeve. He plays a recording of John’s conversation with Lianna, including her instructions for John to keep Hal’s ring and say the pledge.
Whatever trust Hal and John had managed to build suddenly evaporates.
Which leads us to the ending that deliberately echoes an earlier moment in the series. Hal jumps out of the car while it’s speeding down the road, except this time it happens at night.
And this time, John doesn’t have Hal’s ring.
Fade to black.
“The Weenie” is the episode where Lanterns really clicked for me. The mystery is becoming more compelling, the supporting characters are getting more interesting, and Chandler and Pierre are developing a fantastic chemistry as two Lanterns who simultaneously respect, distrust and need each other.
The show is also doing a great job of making the larger Green Lantern mythology part of the mystery instead of simply dumping exposition on us. Sinestro, the Guardians, Abin Sur, the Manhunter and the question of who actually deserves the ring are all becoming intertwined with the central investigation.
Most importantly, I’m invested in Hal and John.
Every time it seems like they’re finally becoming partners, somebody throws another grenade into the relationship. Yet underneath all the lies, manipulation and suspicion, there still seems to be genuine respect between them.
That makes me want to see these two eventually figure it out.
After Episode 4, Lanterns has officially gone from a show I was cautiously enjoying to one I’m genuinely excited about.
I cannot wait to see where all this intrigue goes next.
Check out the trailer for Lanterns:
