Tonally, this is the most grounded and mature project yet for the DCU. It's a shift that caught me by surprise similar to when Daredevil premiered on the Netflix. Structurally, the season is split in time between 2016 and 2026 with the overall story being centered around a Manhunter hiding in a small Nebraska town that Hal and John seek to locate. In terms of the DCU timeline, this makes Hal as Green Lantern a hero long before Superman and as such delivers a low-key "first contact" story.
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre shine in their respective roles of Hal and John.
Depending on how you look at it, Chandler plays as Hal as either a showboat or an a-hole. And being a Lantern for about three decades, Hal is understandably afraid to be training his future replacement and losing his claim to fame of being the first human Green Lantern. You'd think this would lead to Hal embracing the fear and becoming Parallax with John having to stop him, but thankfully the story doesn't go that route; it would be too predictable and would just be a rehash of the "Beware My Power" animated film. But I do believe his actions during the 2016 section do come from that fear and results in the Green Lantern title becoming a pariah to some similar to what happened with Wanda in the MCU.
Similar to Ben Affleck's Batman or Margot Robbie's Harley, I thought Aaron Pierre's portrayal of John was very reminiscent of the DCAU version prominent in the Justice League series (even appearing both clean shaven and with a goatee after the time skip). He's serious and respectful to a fault but isn't infallible to making mistakes. He's also shown to have strong will, possibly even more so than Hal. There's a tease of him wearing the GL suit, but it doesn't come to fruition here, meaning we have something to look forward to in next year's Superman sequel. On a sidenote, I think it's kind of weird that the GL suit here is actually a physical outfit that needs to be put on rather than coming out of the ring. I'm not saying it needed to be computer generated again, but just a flash of light like a quick morph done on Power Rangers would deliver a little more comic accuracy and highlight the reverence of the uniform (though the lack of it from Hal is part of his arc) and urgency of the situation.
Depending on how you look at it, Chandler plays as Hal as either a showboat or an a-hole. And being a Lantern for about three decades, Hal is understandably afraid to be training his future replacement and losing his claim to fame of being the first human Green Lantern. You'd think this would lead to Hal embracing the fear and becoming Parallax with John having to stop him, but thankfully the story doesn't go that route; it would be too predictable and would just be a rehash of the "Beware My Power" animated film. But I do believe his actions during the 2016 section do come from that fear and results in the Green Lantern title becoming a pariah to some similar to what happened with Wanda in the MCU.
Similar to Ben Affleck's Batman or Margot Robbie's Harley, I thought Aaron Pierre's portrayal of John was very reminiscent of the DCAU version prominent in the Justice League series (even appearing both clean shaven and with a goatee after the time skip). He's serious and respectful to a fault but isn't infallible to making mistakes. He's also shown to have strong will, possibly even more so than Hal. There's a tease of him wearing the GL suit, but it doesn't come to fruition here, meaning we have something to look forward to in next year's Superman sequel. On a sidenote, I think it's kind of weird that the GL suit here is actually a physical outfit that needs to be put on rather than coming out of the ring. I'm not saying it needed to be computer generated again, but just a flash of light like a quick morph done on Power Rangers would deliver a little more comic accuracy and highlight the reverence of the uniform (though the lack of it from Hal is part of his arc) and urgency of the situation.
The two work well off each other as you can sense the tension and feel they're being played against each other, but you're also hoping maybe they'll eventually see eye to eye. I also thought they had good chemistry with their respective love interests despite how things turn out.
If there's a theme to the series, it's generational trauma. Hal's actions are partially driven by the fates of his father and grandfather whereas John had been put through Gohan levels of rigorous training by his parents since childhood. Even the Manhunter they're looking for has a past they're running from. Given Tom King's prominent involvement in the series, his usual trope of exploring superheroes and trauma was inevitable. I've had bad experiences with King's writing in the past (see my reviews for "The Gift" and "Heroes in Crisis"), but "Lanterns" was one of his better projects. And comparing this to "Supergirl" (which also based on a King story that the movie seemed to botch), "Lanterns" being a series gives it more room to breathe.
"Lanterns" is very different from what one would expect given the source material. But on its own merits, it turned out to be a well put together story of self-exploration with drama, mystery, and some turns that will keep you guessing to the end. While it shows you the tip of the iceberg of what a full-on Green Lantern project could be in the DCU, one needs to temper those expectations and stay close to the ground before shooting for the stars.
