{"id":88488,"date":"2026-09-28T11:16:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T03:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=88488"},"modified":"2026-09-28T11:16:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T03:16:59","slug":"hbos-lanterns-season-1-episode-7-review-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=88488","title":{"rendered":"HBO&#8217;s Lanterns Season 1, Episode 7 Review &#038; Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em><strong>Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Lanterns Season 1, Episode 7!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The worst part about Lanterns finally diving into the 2026 storyline first teased back in the pilot is that it forces us into a post-Hal Jordan reality. So much of the appeal of the series rests on the sour dynamic between Kyle Chandler&#8217;s Hal and Aaron Pierre&#8217;s John Stewart, and there&#8217;s just something missing without the former in play. Thankfully, there&#8217;s a workaround in the form of the Halogram backup. Episode 7 exploits that loophole for all its worth, resulting in a new installment that digs far deeper into Hal&#8217;s troubled psyche and dark family legacy. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Fittingly, this week kicks off with a flashback to Hal&#8217;s childhood, where we finally meet Martin Jordan (Jake B. Miller) in the flesh. That opening sequence offers some valuable insight into Hal&#8217;s character. We can see how Martin casually fostered the same sort of fearlessness in his son that the Stewarts mercilessly drilled into John. And we also get a taste of the deep-seated, suicidal depression that is clearly a generational legacy in Hal&#8217;s family. Miller really shines in his brief time in the spotlight, expertly conveying Martin&#8217;s bravado and pain in equal measure. And I have to assume the Sinestro-esque mustache is intentional, a subtle reminder of how much the orphaned Hal would come to look to his GL mentor as a father figure.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Lanterns Images<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" decoding=\"async\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3027214138 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">From there, things shift back to 2026, as the Halogram reacts to being dug up and reactivated after another 10-year hiatus. Again, the series makes the most of its ability to work around Hal&#8217;s murder. We get that all-important Hal\/John banter back, but with the twist that comes from having a slightly younger and less mean-spirited version of Hal in the mix. It&#8217;s endlessly entertaining to watch the two interact and for the Halogram to convey some of the things his flesh-and-blood self could never admit. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">We&#8217;re also treated to a terrific scene involving Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) reuniting with &#8220;Hal,&#8221; one that features arguably Macdonald&#8217;s strongest performance in the series to date. I&#8217;m not prepared to discount the theory that she was Hal&#8217;s killer just yet (particularly if it somehow involved her protecting her son), but her grief is clearly genuine regardless.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;The Jordan Boys Legacy&#8221; does share one flaw with Episode 6. The drama involving the other Rushville locals just isn&#8217;t that compelling. Granted, this episode doesn&#8217;t suffer nearly as much in that regard because it&#8217;s so much more focused on Hal and John&#8217;s investigation, but there are still a few scenes focused on these less compelling subplots. I really can&#8217;t bring myself to care about the blackmail conflict between John and Maggie (Hannah Christine Shetler). So he&#8217;s out $315,000 and a fancy Richard Mille watch. Why does any of that matter in the grander scheme of John&#8217;s Green Lantern origin story?<\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\">\n<aside class=\"card jsx-2310533475 jsx-1178573261 box\" data-cy=\"aside\">\n<h3 data-cy=\"title3\" class=\"title3 jsx-12333944 jsx-3517023867\">Read Last Week&#8217;s Review<\/h3>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong\/><strong>Lanterns Season 1, Episode 6: &#8220;Bad Optics&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It&#8217;s also tough to know what to make of the Noah (Shea Pritchard) of it all. On the surface, his little Hat Day runaround isn&#8217;t that compelling, either. But there&#8217;s obviously something deeper at work with the character. I fully suspect we&#8217;ll learn in the finale that he&#8217;s some sort of human\/Manhunter hybrid and is at the heart of Hal&#8217;s murder (assuming Hal is even dead, which we really can&#8217;t). I&#8217;m just glad the series is running out of room to prolong that particular mystery.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Finally, Episode 7 ends with John stepping foot onto an alien world for the first time. We quickly discover that Hal bequeathed a portal to Antaan&#8217;s (Paul Ben-Victor) home planet, offering a glimpse of the devastation Manhunters can wreak. It&#8217;s a nice change of pace seeing a setting other than Earth, even if the flat, featureless desert doesn&#8217;t make for the most memorable view. It&#8217;s more Stephanie Economou&#8217;s eerie, discordant score that makes this setting feel hostile and otherwordly. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">After a tense fear gas sequence and some more heart-to-heart moments between Hal and John, we&#8217;re treated to a proper payoff to the entire sequence with the long-overdue return of Ulrich Thomsen&#8217;s Sinestro. Naturally, him being marooned on a dead world instead of locked away on Oa raises more questions than it answers, but it&#8217;s enough simply to see the character again. I just hope Episode 8 has enough room to address these many lingering questions and still wrap up John&#8217;s season-long arc in a satisfying way. There&#8217;s still a lot of ground left to cover.   <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/lanterns-season-1-episode-7-review-recap-the-jordan-boys-legacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Lanterns Season 1, Episode 7! The worst part about Lanterns finally diving into the 2026 storyline first teased&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","wpcat-32-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}