Lanterns by The Upstairs Lounge
Sep 5, 2026 · 19 min · 8 segments
In this episode, I take a deep dive into Hal Jordan and John Stewart’s visit to Will Macon’s heavily armed Nebraska compound, where Garrett Dillahunt’s character immediately raises questions about…
The first thing the ranch does is encourage us to make the same assumption John and Hal do.
Armed men at the gates, more patrolling on horseback, a firing range full of people with AR-15s.
John takes one look and says militia.
Hal does the duck test and reaches the same conclusion.
We have apparently arrived at the home of what we assume are heavily armed anti-government survivalists.
But Will Makin immediately complicates that.
Hal assumes the hidden enemy is the federal government, presumably waiting to descend on the ranch, confiscate the guns and trample everybody's rights.
Will thinks that idea is ridiculous.
The weapons are not here for Washington.
They are here for whatever might come from a bit further away.
That is where Billy's comment about like-minded starts to make sense.
Hal and Will have independently reached almost the same terrifying conclusion.
Hal has believed for 30 years that Abin Sur did not crash near Rushville by accident and built a lookout because he expected whatever caused it to eventually return.
Will has also concluded that something is coming and has built his own early response system.
Hal's involves an impossibly powerful ring and a copy of his own consciousness.
Will's involves, as far as we know at this point, and there's more to come, acreage, rifles, and enough men to make the ranch look like somebody has started making another Red Dawn remake in Nebraska.
If I'm right about Hal and his bosses, both men distrust reassurance from above.
Both believe official institutions may be missing something.
Both have independently decided that if the threat arrives, waiting for everybody else to understand it will be too late.
Billy was right.
They really are like-minded.
The difference is what each man thinks should happen after the warning light comes on.
Will's argument is strong.
Earth has discovered that intelligent life exists on thousands of planets, many of them technologically superior, and humanity is sitting here effectively undefended.
Well, apart from Hal Jordan Green Lantern, of course, but he isn't omnipresent nor invulnerable.
The first thing the ranch does is encourage us to make the same assumption John and Hal do.
Armed men at the gates, more patrolling on horseback, a firing range full of people with AR-15s.
John takes one look and says militia.
Hal does the duck test and reaches the same conclusion.
We have apparently arrived at the home of what we assume are heavily armed anti-government survivalists.
But Will Makin immediately complicates that.
Hal assumes the hidden enemy is the federal government, presumably waiting to descend on the ranch, confiscate the guns and trample everybody's rights.
Will thinks that idea is ridiculous.
The weapons are not here for Washington.
They are here for whatever might come from a bit further away.
That is where Billy's comment about like-minded starts to make sense.
Hal and Will have independently reached almost the same terrifying conclusion.
Hal has believed for 30 years that Abin Sur did not crash near Rushville by accident and built a lookout because he expected whatever caused it to eventually return.
Will has also concluded that something is coming and has built his own early response system.
Hal's involves an impossibly powerful ring and a copy of his own consciousness.
Will's involves, as far as we know at this point, and there's more to come, acreage, rifles, and enough men to make the ranch look like somebody has started making another Red Dawn remake in Nebraska.
If I'm right about Hal and his bosses, both men distrust reassurance from above.
Both believe official institutions may be missing something.
Both have independently decided that if the threat arrives, waiting for everybody else to understand it will be too late.
Billy was right.
They really are like-minded.
The difference is what each man thinks should happen after the warning light comes on.
Will's argument is strong.
Earth has discovered that intelligent life exists on thousands of planets, many of them technologically superior, and humanity is sitting here effectively undefended.
Well, apart from Hal Jordan Green Lantern, of course, but he isn't omnipresent nor invulnerable.
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