The Major Plot Twist at The End Of HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ Premiere Explained

Warning: Major spoilers from “Lanterns” Episode 1 below.

Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart are just two crime-solving guys who can’t seem to get along in the new television drama “Lanterns.”

The HBO series — which premiered on Aug. 16 and is based on the DC comic “Green Lantern” — introduces viewers to versions of the iconic superhero that some may be surprised to see. While Hal is the current Green Lantern, who’s tasked with protecting Earth, and John is his trainee, the duo isn’t wearing the iconic green suits or battling supervillains quite yet.

Instead, the series, which feels like a mashup of “True Detective” and “Watchmen,” opens with a young John in 1996, watching Hal on television open up about his identity as a superhero. The episode then cuts to 2016, when Hal and John are working as partners despite their constant bickering.

Hal, via his backup consciousness hologram, receives a message that he is needed in the small, rural town of Rushville, Nebraska. Thanks to the power of his Green Lantern ring, he is able to fly off to the Midwest to investigate the situation. Meanwhile, John is stuck having to go through the hassle of booking a flight and renting a car before the two can meet up again.

In Rushville, the pair learn there was a mass shooting at a high school football game. Kerry — the local sheriff, played by Kelly Macdonald — rejects Hal’s theory that the killings could be connected to an alien presence.

The interaction sets up a series of Season 1 mysteries. Unusual alien activity occurs in the Nebraska town, and Hal and Jordan have to determine who their enemies are and what these foes are after.

“Lanterns” also explores the underlying tension between John and Hal, as more details about the trainee’s upbringing are revealed.

But the drama saves its biggest mystery for the final minutes of Episode 1. Read on to find out how the premiere ends and how it sets up the duo’s journey for the rest of the eight-episode season.

How Does ‘Lanterns’ Episode 1 End?

Despite Sheriff Kerry’s initial pushback, she agrees to let Hal interrogate the man who was arrested in connection with the shooting at the game.

John and Kerry watch from the other side of a two-way mirror as Hal questions the suspect. After pressing the suspect, Hal extracts the truth. The human is actually an alien in disguise who is on Earth for a “very important purpose,” the creature says.

The alien warns Hal that the purpose requires “great discretion and secrecy. A purpose that would need to be kept from the likes of a galactic peacekeeping organization because it concerns the exact opposite of peace — that being war.”

The alien goes on to mock Hal by reciting the “Green Lantern” oath. He tells Hal that he is after vengeance, before blowing himself up.

The show then fasts forward to present day. It’s 2026 and John drives through a snow storm. Outside his car window, he sees a destroyed field.

John then joins Kerry at what appears to be the same high school football field seen earlier in the episode. John follows her into the stadium and the two ascend the snow-covered bleachers to find Hal, sitting there dead, with a bullet in his head.

John examines the body of his mentor in silence and notices that his Green Lantern ring is missing before the episode ends.

Now, the series has more questions for viewers to ponder: Who killed Hal? And who stole his ring?

What Could Happen in the Next Episodes of ‘Lanterns’ Season 1?

With Hal dead in the present timeline, “Lanterns” Season 1 will explain the events that ultimately lead to the Green Lantern’s demise.

The series will unpack both Hal and John’s backstories, digging into why Hal seems to harbor resentment toward his protégé and why John was the one selected to inherit the ring.

In the 2016 timeline, Hal and John will be busy trying to piece together all the clues from their confrontation with the alien to figure out why the creature was hiding out in Rushville and who is behind it all.

Episode 2 of “Lanterns” will arrive Aug. 23 on HBO and air at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. There will be a new episode every Sunday before the finale on Oct. 4. The episodes will stream on HBO Max, as well.

“Lanterns” also stars Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Ulrich Thomsen and Jason Ritter. Nathan Fillion is also in the show as fellow Green Lantern Guy Gardner.