Lanterns Ep. 6 'Bad Optics' Recap

[lip smack] So with episode six, starting with John, what I enjoy about it was that we see the fact that John's family dynamics have greatly changed in a way that he's putting boundaries.

It's clear that he put boundaries up for himself while also still trying to reconnect with his family.

But then that itch that comes from not only his mom telling him that Hal Jordan wants to, oh, see him to he ap- so he can apologize, but then also Hal dying.

And it's with that, that number one, you know, when it comes to John and Hal's relationship, John is still feeling some way towards Hal.

Because I mean, let's just be real, as much as Hal may not have wanted John to be stuck in that car to die, it happened.

And just Hal's sort of nature of how he went about stuff caused everything to happen to Rushville, which we'll get into in a moment too as well.

So there's clearly the animosity is there.

You know, Hal mentions that, hey, he took the fall for what happened in Rushville, and that's why he had to serve time in prison and such, which was very interesting.

Um, but it's clear that John is still feeling some way towards Hal, and Hal tries to emphasize the fact that John still is dealing with fear, particularly when it comes to his parents.

You know, which that tracks in a way because obviously John went about that whole regiment as a kid to build up to that point and that moment at the end of episode five when he doesn't take the ring.

I love how that was the point where not only it pushed John to effectively...

Just that moment of him telling the guard, telling Lianna, "Nah, I'm done.

I'm not, I'm not taking the ring.

I'm done.

I'm not doing this." And he's forging his own path in that moment, right? And obviously that comes from the conversation that he had had with Zoe before she healed him and stuff in regards to John not trusting the guardians and things like that.

So that, him denying himself from, well, basically saying, "Hey, I'm not gonna take the ring and stuff," was-- it's clear that that kind of broke his relationship with his parents.

You know, his dad is in a home.

His mom is at home doing whatever.

And then the revelation that she essentially lied to him to get him to talk to Hal.

And I like how Hal's just looking at him like, "You really expect an apology? Nah, that's not happening." You know.

Um, which, you know, further pisses off John and, you know, and that's when John punches him in the face, which is very interesting that coming out of that conversation, Hal is telling John, "Hey, don't tell anyone that you were here." You know, so- That moment right there ties into something that I have later on when it comes to theories, 'cause you have that happening, and obviously that can go two ways on that, but just walk, walk with me on that one as I get to that point.

[lip smack] But not only that, but you have a situation where John also is reforming his relationship with his brothers, 'cause he starts a, um, business where, you know, he's working with his brother Marcus.

They have their little business and, you know, we see that John is a architect and he's building out these panic rooms and shelters to kind of, you know, learn the lessons that he got from Rushville, but also some of these other things that's happening in the, in the world with meta-humans and superheroes and stuff, and tries to want to protect people by virtue of building these panic rooms and safe houses and stuff for, for these people.

And I think it's interesting that this is also another ep- this is a episode that drops sort of like, give us greater connotation of the DCU as a whole.

You know, we see John bring up the whole thing with Starro from Gunn's Suicide Squad film.