Did HBO’s Lanterns Just Ruin Hal Jordan?

Episode 3, when I saw people talking about it and how much emotion people were overcome by the episode, then the... folks talking about all this woke.

What did you think of the episode outside of that? And what do you think about what people are saying?

I don't think you can separate the two in this case.

You know, Vanessa Baden-Kelly was the writer of the episode and she went on the podcast, the official podcast afterwards.

And she was defiant to say the least about her take and her retconning of Jon Stewart's origin story.

I don't think in this case you can separate the two.

This is definitely a don't get fired conversation.

So I'll be very careful and try to be pretty measured in what I say.

But I am incredibly disappointed in the choices that were made here because I think it took a promising kind of world introducing start that they were on.

And I think they have turned this show into nothing but a lightning rod.

And I think, unfortunately, they've kind of revealed, they've revealed what the true purpose of the show is.

And I just, I just fundamentally don't enjoy, as I've always said, you know, I default to the genius of people like Ryan Coogler of how you can engage with sometimes very important issues around race and culture.

without alienating your audience.

I look at Black Panther, I look at Sinners, and I feel like I am learning, but I'm being entertained in the process.

And Kugler never forgets that he is taking you into a world and yes obviously he has a viewpoint that's shaped by his own personal experience and his own understanding of history but he doesn't i don't find his work to ever push me away as someone who came from a different background as him and i thought this episode went out of its way to alienate a large part of the audience And I just I think that's really unfortunate.

And I think now I think it's tricky because to not engage with race at all around the first time we've seen a live action.

Jon Stewart is equally deaf, in my opinion, to just simply pretend like it's a zero is silly, especially when the first issue of the comic, as I understand it, he is very deliberately drawn and based on the real life likeness of Sidney Poitier.

And the writer even said it was meant to give the character a much darker complexion.

That was a point of emphasis.

His first mission with Hal does involve racism and bigotry.

So Hal is actually admonished by the Guardians for their perception that he discriminated against John.

And in the first assignment, John is actually tasked with, I think he's bodyguarding a known racist politician who I believe he allows to be killed.

Yeah.

but not because he's trying to do that it's because he's saving someone else and so my point being that They ingrained that topic into the origin of the character.

So, yes, I would expect that you would engage with it on some level.