Lanterns has spent its opening five episodes uncovering what happened in Rushville, the fall of Hal Jordan and the forces that turned a quiet Nebraska town into a disaster zone. Episode 6, 'Bad Optics', returns to 2026 and the mystery that launched the series: who killed Hal Jordan?

John Stewart is drawn back into Rushville, where old anger and unfinished relationships surround the former Lantern’s death. The episode also introduces Guy Gardner and ends by reopening a secret John thought had been buried with Hal.

It is a quieter return, yet its final minutes change what Hal’s death means again.

A decade has changed John Stewart’s life. In 2026, he works with his brother Marcus through Stewart Brothers, a company specializing in secure panic rooms. John pitches Midway City officials on underground shelters designed to protect thousands of people during another superpowered or extraterrestrial disaster.

That progress is interrupted when John’s mother, Bernadette, tells him Hal wants to apologize. John returns to Rushville and finds Hal at the café where their troubled partnership began. Hal argues that he paid his debt by spending years in prison after the Rushville catastrophe. John rejects the idea that the two men are square, pointing to the lives lost because of their decisions.

Hal then suggests fear kept John from accepting the Green Lantern ring. John answers with a punch that breaks Hal’s nose. Before leaving, he agrees to keep the meeting private. Almost immediately afterward, Sheriff Kerry Kane calls with devastating news: Hal has been found dead at the football stadium, the same location where the premiere revealed his body.

Kerry explains that Hal had returned to Rushville after prison and spent his time trying to repair the damage left behind. He knocked on residents’ doors and offered help even when many rejected him. His return also brought him back into Kerry’s life, revealing a relationship John never knew about.

The autopsy shows Hal died from a gunshot to the head fired from a 9mm weapon. The evidence suggests he was facing the person who shot him. His broken nose creates another complication because John knows exactly how it happened.

‘Lanterns’ Season 2 Is Already in the Works as Damon Lindelof Confirms Writers’ Room

The investigation now points John toward another Lantern and the major secrets Hal left behind.

John and Kerry follow a clue from Hal’s belongings to a storage unit containing a sophisticated vault linked to a pocket dimension. The system requires Hal’s live voice, so Kerry tries an old message he left for her. The recording fails, leaving another mystery connected to Hal.

John later activates the Green Lantern beacon in Rushville. Instead of bringing help, it draws hostile residents who blame the Lanterns for the town’s suffering. John fights them and wins, yet Kerry arrests him. While in custody, John receives an unexpected visitor: Guy Gardner.

Nathan Fillion’s Guy enters with the arrogance and humor associated with his comic counterpart. John tells him Hal is dead and asks for assistance. Guy refuses to join the murder investigation, saying involvement would be “bad optics.” He also explains why his ring differs from Hal’s. Hal’s original ring was decommissioned and placed on Oa, while the Guardians created a new one for Guy after John walked away.

Guy brings another major update. Sinestro has escaped the space prison where he was being held, leaving a separate cosmic threat hanging over the story.

John asks Guy to bring Hal’s uniform and ring for the funeral. Guy eventually agrees, and the ceremony in Rushville is small, quiet and intimate. Kerry attends, John is there, and Carol Ferris arrives in the present as well. Her appearance connects the series to Hal’s comic history.

Carol quietly hands John the eulogy Hal wrote for himself, and John reads it beside the grave. Hal’s speech reveals that he expected a grand public farewell. John stands over the grave carrying years of anger, guilt and unfinished affection.

Power Ranking All 3 Green Lanterns in DCU's 'Lanterns': Hal Jordan vs John Stewart vs Guy Gardner, Who's The Strongest?

The funeral does not close Hal’s story. John has another plan for the ring.

After the funeral, John tells Kerry that he will remain in Rushville for a few days to settle Hal’s affairs. Later that night, he returns to the cemetery alone. John needs the ring to reach the answers hidden inside Hal’s vault. At Hal’s grave, John digs until he reaches the coffin.

He opens it, removes Hal’s ring and places it on his own finger. The ring has little energy remaining, yet John still manages to activate it. Instead of producing a conventional construct, it summons a recorded projection of Hal. The Halogram looks down at Hal’s body and reacts with a stunned curse.

That image immediately changes the murder mystery. The projection does not identify the killer, but it gives John direct access to a version of Hal preserved through technology.  The episode does not establish how much of Hal’s memory survives in the projection.

That uncertainty gives the final reveal weight. Guy Gardner holds Earth’s current Green Lantern ring, Hal’s original ring is on Oa, and Sinestro has escaped custody. John has also violated a grave to reactivate Hal’s legacy. Episode 6 closes with John returning to the role he rejected years earlier. He is holding Hal’s ring, standing over Hal’s body and listening to Hal speak again. The murder is now tied directly to Hal’s secrets.

HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ Debuts at #1 on IMDb's Most Popular TV Shows Chart, Tops ‘Reacher’

What did you think of Guy Gardner’s arrival and the Halogram twist in 'Bad Optics'? Let us know in the comments.