James Oconner 
Anil Krishna 
Jonathan Millar 
‘Lanterns’ Episode 5 Breakdown: Trust Crumbles as the DCU Mystery Takes a Dark Turn
© HBO Max
The mystery around Zoe Macon finally starts to come together in Episode 5, “Lights Out,” and it turns out there was a lot more going on with her than anyone realized. Zoe, who appeared to die in the previous episode, actually staged her own death. She is the surviving Manhunter who crash-landed on Earth decades ago alongside Abin Sur, and she has been hiding here ever since. The episode also gets into some of the older Green Lantern lore, revealing that the Guardians created the Manhunters before the Green Lantern Corps even existed. They were meant to be a peacekeeping force, but the androids eventually became far too extreme, forcing the Guardians to try and destroy them. Zoe was the one who survived, disappearing on Earth and quietly building a life away from all of it.
Hal Jordan vs. John Stewart
The relationship between Hal Jordan and John Stewart has been getting worse for a while, so it was probably only a matter of time before they actually came to blows. Hal tries to cut John out of the investigation by locking him in a car, hoping to chase down the Manhunter lead himself and take credit for finding her. John eventually gets out and tracks Hal back to his motel room, where Hal is trying to recharge his ring. The argument between them quickly turns physical, and John gets the better of it, beating Hal badly enough to leave him lying on the motel floor. At that point, John could have simply taken the ring and walked away, but he has something else in mind.
A Trap for Zoe
John knows Zoe is coming for Hal, so instead of taking the ring right away, he leaves Hal where he is and uses him as bait. Hal is wounded and basically defenseless inside the rundown motel, which makes him an easy target when Zoe arrives. She thinks she’s walking into a straightforward kill, but John has already set the trap. He takes the shot from the shadows, putting a sniper round through Zoe’s head, and then cuts out her glowing, crystallized heart to bring back to the Guardians as proof that the Manhunter has been dealt with.
It’s a pretty brutal way for John to handle the situation, and it says quite a bit about how far things have gone between him and Hal. John isn’t just following orders anymore. He’s making his own decisions, even when those decisions are pretty ugly.
John Rejects the Green Lantern Ring
John eventually returns to the motel and takes Hal’s power ring and charging battery, leaving his former mentor alive but badly beaten. From there, he heads to a local bar to meet Lianna, the Guardian in charge of their mission. This should be the moment when John finally steps up and becomes a Green Lantern himself. He has the ring, he has done what the Guardians wanted, and everything seems to be pointing in that direction.
But John has seen enough by this point. He has watched what the ring has done to Hal, and he is starting to see the Guardians’ mission differently too. Whatever they are selling him, John doesn’t seem convinced that becoming another version of Hal is the answer. So when the time comes to recite the Green Lantern oath, he doesn’t do it. Instead, John gives the ring back to Lianna and walks away.
The final scene leaves him alone in the night as Rushville burns around him. John has rejected the Green Lantern mantle, but that decision comes with a pretty serious consequence: Earth is now left without an active Green Lantern, just when it may need one most.
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