Lanterns Episode 6 Review

[00:00:00] This is the Lanterns Podcast on TV Podcast Industries and we're discussing Lanterns Episode 6, Bad Optics.

[00:00:30] I'm so sorry. I've spent the time. We're square. No, you didn't take the fall. You fell, got killed and were a long way from being square.

[00:01:21] Welcome back fellow Guardians, fellow Lanterns. This is the Lanterns Podcast on TV Podcast Industries and we're talking all about Lanterns Episode 6, Bad Optics. I'm one of your hosts, John. Welcome back fellow Guardians. I am your other host, Derek, for the Lanterns Podcast. John, you know, we're recording this podcast tonight and I found out just before we started recording it's 12 years to the day that Gotham premiered and Gotham was the first show that we ever podcasted about.

[00:01:50] So we've been podcasting about TV show episodes for 12 years. Yes, it's the first TV episode that we podcast on. Mad, isn't it? Good stuff, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. But our first ever episode we recorded back in February of that year. That's right. Yeah, we were doing our lead into Gotham before that. But yeah, it's kind of cool that it's a DC show that we're here 12 years later covering an episode of Lanterns,

[00:02:17] a show that we never thought would be a TV show because it was always considered to be too expensive to do a show like Lanterns. And here we are in a premium HBO show doing this. I really miss those days where we used to have 22 episodes of shows to cover of just one show to cover in a year. That was kind of fun. Well, that's true. And over 22 episodes, I should say, although sometimes the 22 episodes were like, no, not just get on with this.

[00:02:44] Because certainly when it was just like sort of, you know, it was kind of sprinkled over the course of six months. Yeah. So it, yeah, we'd come back. Sometimes it felt longer and way much more stuff happening than doing three in a week or certainly two in a week. Like we'd come back for an episode and then it'd be a break for about a month and then I'd come back for another two episodes and then a break for another month.

[00:03:09] It was always very odd scheduling for Gotham when it was going on because it takes a long time to make 22 episodes of a show. Absolutely. Absolutely. But yes, fellow Lanterns, we're here for our spoiler filled discussion. About the sixth episode of this season of Lanterns called Bad Optics. Before we get into our spoiler filled discussion, just a few quick reminders.

[00:03:34] If you're joining us for the first time, you can go back to the other episodes that we've covered or any episodes on DC that we've covered. Whether it's Gotham, as we were talking about just there, but also Marvel. There's our movies and all, everything in between as well. You can subscribe to the podcast over at tvpodcastindustries.com where you can subscribe on any green, blue or white Lantern podcast player of your choice.

[00:04:03] You can also go to the website to leave a voicemail for the feedback part of our podcasts. Indeed, you can also email us at feedback at tvpodcastindustries.com. And we have our Facebook group over on facebook.com forward slash groups forward slash tvpodcastindustries. And down below in the show notes for this episode, you can also find our Discord link as well.

[00:04:32] We'd love to get your interaction on the episodes that we cover on the podcast. So please send in your thoughts, theories and observations, fellow guardians. One quick reminder as well. We are running the Rushville Redneck Bar Quiz as well for this season of Lanterns. Yeah, we're on to the sixth question of the pub quiz later on in the episode here.

[00:04:58] All you need to do is just send in your correct answers at the end of the series to feedback at tvpodcastindustries.com. And you could be in with a chance of getting your hands on some Lanterns goodies. Some good ones out there too. Yeah, absolutely. Let's get on to the episode details. Derek, who gave us what, when and how? Well, the showrunners for the show, of course, are Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. Damon Lindelof is the co-writer for this episode along with Justin Brick Gibson. Justin Brick Gibson wrote last week's episode and next week as well.

[00:05:28] I think I mentioned last week that he was writing episode five and episode seven. You guys were talking about it as well. And it turns out he also wrote episode six, but the credits hadn't been updated last week. So my fault. I thought he was just writing the two episodes, but he got three in a row, which is very unusual. Damon, of course, is one of the executive producers for this show. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, who directed John's flashback episode, which was episode three. And he also directed episodes of Watchmen and The Last of Us as well. So we've talked about Stephen quite a lot on the podcast here.

[00:05:58] Yeah, excellent stuff. I do think Justin Brick Gibson probably got quite a tough assignment here. It's certainly a change of pace. Let's just put it that way. But still, I think, really good. But again, it's an interesting shift. Yeah. And yeah, there were some bits that worked for me, some that didn't. Interesting. Interesting. We'll chat all about that when we get into our major points. But John, do you want to give us your synopsis for Lanterns episode six, Bad Optics?

[00:06:28] Sure. In 2026, John Stewart has become an architect and works with his brother, Marcus. His mother tells him that the other former Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who has been living in Rushfield to make amends for the 2016 incident, wants to apologise to him. John meets Hal at a cafe, but they fail to reconcile. And John breaks his nose after Hal goes him about being too afraid to take the ring.

[00:06:52] After returning home, John learns from Sheriff Kerry Kane, who began a relationship with Hal that Hal has been murdered. John uses a beacon set up by Guy Gardner to summon him to Rushfield, where he is met with hostility by Billy Mackham Jr. and the townspeople. A fight breaks out, forcing Kerry to arrest John. The next day, Guy visits John, who asks him to retrieve Hal's suit and ring for his funeral.

[00:07:20] Guy also reveals that Sinestro has escaped from prison. After leaving the station, John encounters Maggie, a waitress from the cafe, who demands compensation for the damage he caused her family in 2016, or she will tell Kerry that he was the one who broke Hal's nose. After Hal's funeral, John digs up his grave, takes his ring, and with a small top-up of power, summons the Halogram. Farewell, Hal Jordan. Welcome back, Halogram.

[00:07:49] Indeed. Indeed. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. He truly is dead. Or is he? I know we keep saying that, but this felt like he's dead. It did. I think the fact that it was delivered through the Halogram. Oh, hell. Yeah. I think we can take that as confirmation that he's dead. I know, but it's because they keep doing this stuff at the end of episodes, as our cliff hires to next week, that makes me go,

[00:08:19] well, if he really was dead, then you'll have 10 minutes of the episode afterwards, and the Halogram will be going, oh my God, I can't believe I'm the only thing surviving of Hal Jordan. How did he die? And there'd be a whole conversation or something. Yes, agreed. So I just feel like there's a couple of things that could possibly be happening here with Hal, which I'm sure we'll talk about as the episode goes on. Yes, definitely. But let us get into our powering point number one.

[00:08:49] Four. Yes. Not four. Ten-year gap. Yes, we arrive in 2026 here, 10 years after the incident, and actually not back in Rushville. We're in Midway City, and we see here John has, after giving up the ring, has become an architect, has set up an architect firm with his brother Marcus, the Stewart brothers, as a company,

[00:09:18] and he's trying to sell panic rooms at scale to Midway City to counter the possibility of any alien attack. I think he does say, we don't have our own Superman, so we need to make sure that all our citizens of Midway are able to go somewhere safe.

[00:09:38] So he's selling complete and utter superhero-proof, super villain-proof, and also alien-proof panic rooms for the city to buy. Yes, they're kind of like bunkers that he can put them in, but they're the size of football fields, and there'll be about 40 different ones that he could build with the amount of money that the government give them for weapons every year.

[00:10:07] Why get weapons when you can put people in a safe environment to keep them safe while there's an attack going on? I love the little references that we have here. As you mentioned, there's a reference to Superman 2025 and the attack that happened in Metropolis. He also references Suicide Squad with the giant, whatever giant starfish is coming out of the ocean. So I'd completely forgotten until that moment that the Suicide Squad is considered technically part of this new James Gunn universe.

[00:10:34] Of course it is. James Gunn wrote and directed that one, so of course it'll be part of this universe. But I think that's the first mention we've had of it, though. Absolutely, and it connects in with Peacemaker and the animated series as well. Yes, Preacher Commandos. Yes, so yeah, it's kind of interesting because, yeah, likewise, I'd forgotten about that. So yeah, we have him selling his words. I really actually liked throughout this episode just the relationship with his brothers.

[00:11:05] Clearly a more sort of solid relationship with his brother Marcus. Yes. I really liked that interaction. I thought that was a nice thing to sort of bring back. I think could quite easily have just kind of dropped that, not just around John and his brothers, but also it seems that his dad has finally gone into a care home,

[00:11:29] and there's trouble around that as he's not acclimatizing well effectively to that care facility that he's in, the nursing home, care home. And also he hasn't really spoken to his mom in 10 years, Bernadette. The relationship between him and Bernadette has been pretty fraught by the sound. It's broken down, right? It's broken down, exactly.

[00:11:57] So nice touch points here sort of connecting into this 10-year gap. Absolutely, yeah. I just think it's really interesting, as you say, you can kind of read between the lines of what's going on with the brothers and his parents as well. There's a little bit of me that thinks that while his father's in the care home, and as you say, it sounds like there's been a bit of trouble with him going into the care home, it also sounds like he's taking an opportunity because he thinks he can get John to come over to him.

[00:12:24] He's saying, well, you can't put me in here. John has to come and take care of me. And then he shoots out a window because the window isn't the right shape for him. And he's being told he's being kicked out and somebody has to come out and collect him. So it almost feels like his father's making trouble so that John will come out. He makes the nurse in the nursing home contact John, only John. You hear him talking in the background to her, giving her instructions, hoping that John will come back and reconnect with him.

[00:12:52] But yeah, John's not willing to have any connection with him at all. You hear him calling his brother Aaron, who interestingly has become a rapper. I really like that little touch because that was the moment where they were testing John in the back of the car was to see if he knew rap lyrics. And now Aaron's become a rapper himself. So it's quite a cool little touch. But John's saying to Aaron, you know, I've bankrolled your record here. You need to go and pick up your father. You know, then they're having a bit of a back and forth about it.

[00:13:20] And Aaron's saying, but you were always his favorite. And John's kind of going, no, no, you need to take care of him. I'm not getting involved. Yeah, exactly. That's everything that they did, you know? No, absolutely. So yeah, I love these little touches just to show how time's passed, the connection that's there. John is not in the same place as he was in 2016. Even little things like the quote that we had up front when John's talking to Hal, he's a lot less respectful than he used to be. He curses a hell of a lot more than he used to.

[00:13:47] As Hal says, I was in prison for 10 years and people there don't curse as much as you do now. Yeah, no, absolutely. I really like that. I also like his brother's nickname calling him Chosen. It's like, don't call me that. Just kind of rubbing in that sort of sacrifice in a sense, certainly given that he didn't take the Green Lantern ring at the end of the last episode. So yeah, really interesting. And again, a lot of this is kind of peppered over the episode.

[00:14:16] And similar to Hal's, you know, mainly once the action gets back to Rushville, we start to find out, you know, what Hal was up to, what was happening in that 10 year gap. But I mean, primarily it's that Hal went to prison then back after the 2016 incident there in Rushville. And I think this is done really nicely with the cafe connection.

[00:14:45] So, you know, very early on we have a call from his mom saying that Hal Jordan effectively wants to apologize. It looks like it comes to a surprise for Jon Stewart. But ultimately it's that he's in Rushville now. He's back in Rushville as Hal after being in the prison for 10 years. And that's really interesting, isn't it? Like he's, why was he in prison? So he's obviously taking responsibility for the death of Zoe who got shot in the head and all the other people that are killed.

[00:15:15] But what, why was he in prison for all of that? Is it because he drew the attack on the 10 because he was the Green Lantern at the time? Yeah. I mean, it's not, it's not really explored. I guess this is part of some of my issues with this episode is that they, they don't focus on the right things, I think. And a lot of it just seems like he's pinballing it to get to the end bit, which is meaningful.

[00:15:45] And yes, you get a lot of context of what's happened in the last 10 years. But yes, exactly. Other than the cafe scene at the start, all you're getting really is Hal took the fall for all the death, the killings, whether it was considered to be off world or it shouldn't have been done and handled by the Green Lantern. It's important that multiple people were killed as a result, not just aliens.

[00:16:12] You know, at the end of the day, most of the aliens blew themselves up. Yeah. And the Manhunter was killed and there was hearts torn out, but everyone was human. That's why I wonder whether he said that this was just an attack or whether he said, you know, I'm responsible for all the death that happened in this town of all the humans. Yeah. I mean, I just, I don't know, but equally it's whatever the guardians may have said,

[00:16:39] but I'm not too sure it really came off in this episode, whether it's coming and going to be dealt with in the next two. I don't know. But to me, this feels like we're moving into something that's going to connect in with Sinestra. And I prefer them to focus on that. And I think this was the opportunity. And I just, for me, I don't think they gave enough exposition.

[00:17:05] With the exception of them doing it through this confrontation, this agitation at the cafe, where Hal is effectively saying, I took the fall for what happened here, for what we did. And I mean, I love it when he delivers the line, I'm not the only killer here. It's seemingly that Hal is the one who has had all the deaths attributed to him, not the aliens that were going after the Manhunter.

[00:17:33] And Hal is, I mean, or, you know, certainly the collateral damage, you know, there was all this death and destruction, but we've not really been told exactly how that went down with the authorities. But it has led to Hal being in prison, taking a fall, taking the hit for what happened. And it's really interesting that John has none of it. John's first response to him is, you didn't take the fall, you fell. This is your fault.

[00:18:03] This is your responsibility. You absolutely deserve to be put in prison for what you did. And Hal's not actually in prison for the full 10 years. I just realized he's been back in Rushville for quite a while now, for a very long time, actually, for about three or four years, I think. He's been back for quite a while. I think that's it. It's like, I couldn't quite make it out because Hal ultimately killed an alien.

[00:18:33] So that would be his jurisdiction as a Green Lantern after the opening episode around terrestrial or extraterrestrial jurisdiction. So, you know, it's how it's been spun, possibly by the Guardians, to sort of make Hal fall. Yes, I think. But I do think John is very, you know, Hal ultimately didn't kill anyone in that exchange.

[00:19:00] The lasers were coming from the Manhunter's satellites. That's right. And it was the aliens that were killing people at the Macon ranch. It's the alien that killed William Macon. And it's John that put the bullet in Zoe's head. Yeah. And Hal's purpose was to capture her and take her back to the Guardians.

[00:19:24] So it's an interesting kind of juxtaposition here with John Stewart. And we certainly didn't really get the full extent as to why that was the case or why Hal went to prison for as long as he did. And I'm guessing that John Stewart didn't because it was kept out of the record.

[00:19:47] Hal is the main celebrity, if you will, here in that incident. Exactly. Exactly. And I am guessing that we will get a little bit more of this story as well, what happened in those 10 years now that we have the hologram returned. So I guess we'll get that over the course of the next episode. I would say so. I mean, what I really liked here across the episode was just this notion that it was the way Kerry kind of says, well, he came and he started knocking on people's doors saying,

[00:20:16] do you want any handy jobs doing around the house, the garden mowing? Yeah. I was like, gosh, this is like Boy Scouts where you do an odd job to get some money for the local scout headquarters or whatever. Yeah. But actually everyone just hates him. So Hal has swallowed an awful lot of humble pie for whatever reason to live back in the community, the town of Rushville where everybody hates him.

[00:20:46] Everyone, in a sense, won't give him the time of day with the exception of Kerry Kane, who he has formed a relationship with. Yeah. Which is another big sort of element to this. So interesting, all these different things. But as I say, I think for me, it would have been good that this came out in this episode. There was a lot of me where there was a lot of convenient, this happens, that happens, then the other thing happens.

[00:21:15] And I know it's more about actually underlying all that. I think there's an element that Jon Stewart wants to stay in Rushville in order to understand the mystery that's happened here. Yeah. And with, you know, post the cafe scene because Jon Stewart's called back very quickly. But I think that's more for sort of kicking off our point number two.

[00:21:41] I think the other main thing around this 10-year gap is that Guy Gardner has become, has been given the title of Green Lantern for this sector, which includes Earth. And the interesting element here, though, is that in effect they retired Howl's old ring and forged a new one for Guy Gardner.

[00:22:04] So again, a very different process for how Guy Gardner as a lantern has come into being here. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. You know, again, the show kind of going against what it told us was the standard process. Well, you know, originally it tells you the process is a Green Lantern dies as the ring goes to the new Green Lantern. And that's then they say, oh, well, the new Green Lantern can take it off the old Green Lantern if they just say the oath and are plugging the ring into the lantern.

[00:22:34] Then they become the new Lantern. And now they say, oh, well, actually, we can retire the old ring and forge a brand new ring and give it to whoever we choose as the new Green Lantern. Or maybe they let the ring choose Guy Gardner. I don't know. But they forged a new ring for him, which is very different to what we had heard earlier on. But yeah, great to have Guy Gardner appear in this episode. I know we'll talk a little bit more about him as we get through the rest of our points. But again, interesting that this is what's been going on in the last 10-year gap.

[00:23:02] Just one final thing I want to mention about the 10-year gap on John being the architect. I just think the interactions that we hear across the episode about John trying to set up his business, he is able to convince the people in Midway City to buy into his business. He seems to be doing a really good job about that. But they need him to go to the military because that's who actually gets the funding. And I think there's a really interesting moment in the episode when John isn't able to turn up to the meeting

[00:23:31] with the general who is supposed to be responsible for these funds. And the general hangs up on him when John says, this is the most important day. I wish I could be there, but I can't. And the general hangs up on him. And I was trying to think whether there's two reasons for it. Number one, it's completely disrespectful for the general, for John not to drop everything, to be there with him. And then maybe he's found out about John being dishonorably discharged from the military.

[00:23:58] And then he won't want to deal with him because he's not high up enough to know the circumstances with which John was actually discharged from the military. So I thought that was an interesting open question almost as to why John can't get his business off the ground. Will this be something that we'll hear a bit more about later on in the series? Well, it's that and it's the tension it brings with Marcus, who's kind of like, you know, he basically says, well, you've never left that town.

[00:24:26] You know, don't come back until you've put it to rest and make sure you don't die in the process. Effectively, Marcus's words when after that, John Stuart calls back to say, you know, I lost the signal drops. He said, no, he hung up on you. What are you doing? And that's all being peppered throughout, again, the episode where he's like, why are you still there? When are you coming back?

[00:24:50] And in the end, you know, that's the concern that Marcus has is that actually this is all, you know, is this a serious venture for his brother? I mean, it must be relatively profitable because his house is massively gorgeous and is John Stuart's and he is bankrolling his brother Aaron in producing music.

[00:25:20] So he must have a good architect's business. Yeah, I think that just this is the kind of the big job that will get him into into world class. Like the member of the town council or whatever it is, the beginning of the city council at the beginning says to him, if you if you land this deal, you can build whatever you want for the rest of your life. Basically, it's one of those. Yes. One last big job. Yeah. Yeah. But again, really interesting.

[00:25:46] This is all tying into the history that we know of John and everything that's happened over the course of the last 10 years. All being told to us in this way. Yeah. Shall we get into our power ring point number two? Let's do that. Yes. We're rushing back to Rushville because after driving up to meet Hal at the cafe,

[00:26:12] driving back after punching him in the nose and because he sort of agitated him too much. He then rushes back to Rushville after getting the call from Kerry, who because Hal has been found, as we saw at the start of episode one,

[00:26:38] covered in snow and with a bullet through the head and a broken nose. And it's kind of interesting here because Kerry says the person who broke his nose is probably the person who shot him. And you have that really awkward moment where you're like, OK, so John, you're not going to tell her that you were up here sort of two hours ago, three hours ago, trying to get an apology from Hal Jordan,

[00:27:07] who you didn't get it and you caused the broken nose. Because, yeah, you know, with the autopsy and everything, the bloods have all gone off to forensics and they'll take four weeks. So we might have a four week jump going on here. I think it was even four months because the person doing the autopsy, Bitsy is her name, she is not willing to call it any favours at all to rush these. So it could even be four months before she gets his back. She doesn't care at all.

[00:27:37] But even she's kind of going, yeah, it's probably the guy that broke his nose. Could have been five minutes before him getting shot. Could have been two hours before him getting shot. And you can see John in the background kind of going, but if he does tell her, remember, again, he is a sniper. So that is what he's known for shooting people from quite large distances. So that would definitely put the ring of suspicion on him. Definitely until the autopsy, though, because that's when Bitsy says actually the gunshot was from close.

[00:28:06] Because she says, pardon the pun, it was dead on. Yeah. As in at the same level. Now, I'm trying to think whether she said distance, but the way she said it seemed to me that the killer was close. That he saw the guy. And saw the killer. And, you know, it was a close gunshot. Not to the head or anything, but, you know, it was on the same level. The shot was fired. Right. So who knows?

[00:28:33] The interesting thing here just for our fellow lanterns is I don't know whether, like me, you were going, is there a continuity error happening here? Because, of course, when John drives up first time, there's no snow. So second time, there's a, you know, there's a good layer of snow has happened. Hal is covered in snow as well. But I did think, I was like, is this where they've kind of done stuff out of sequence

[00:29:02] and they haven't quite kind of matched it up properly? But, no, as he's leaving, there is snow starting to fall outside the cafe. Outside the window of the cafe. That's right. So it's not. But I was suddenly thinking, oh, God, they've got all the timelines. Or what is the timeline for this? Like, is it as... A couple of days later or whatever, yeah. Yeah. Or is it, as is suggested, that he's literally just gotten back from driving down from Rushville

[00:29:31] and he's going back up because Kerry's just given him a call. So that's what they're suggesting here. Yeah, yeah. But then suddenly the presence of snow and all that, I was like going, it feels like it's a different time of the year almost. But there is snow starting to fall outside the cafe window before John hits Hal. Absolutely. Absolutely. Really interesting stuff about that as well, the punch in the nose that John gives Hal.

[00:30:01] Because what Hal is pushing him about is the fear that John has in taking over the ring and taking over the position of Green Lantern. And he's saying to him, you're afraid, you were totally afraid. Now I know why it is that you had to refuse to take on the position of Green Lantern. It was your fear. And that's what pushes him over the edge. And again, we're not massively into the lore of the lanterns,

[00:30:27] but we do know that one of the other lantern groups are ruled by fear. That is how they get their lantern rings, the yellow ring. And so why is Hal so dead set on pushing that button, that specific button with John Stewart that he's fearful of taking on the ring? And that's when he pushes him to break his nose. But as John's leaving as well, Hal pleads with him to not tell anybody,

[00:30:58] don't reveal it to anybody that he was there in town in Rushville and then he met with Hal. The only person that's aware of them meeting is the server in the restaurant, Maggie. Why is he so dead set on making sure nobody at all is aware that John Stewart had met with Hal Jordan? Absolutely. And I mean, it's a great question. It also explains why John doesn't tell Kerry.

[00:31:25] Because of those passing words by Hal Jordan. For the reason, yeah. So really interesting. Maybe, again, it's because he knew what was coming. Maybe. Certainly because he's now got the bullet to the brain and goes for the autopsy.

[00:31:49] And then it's all really about preparing for the funeral and John Stewart staying up there. So I do kind of like how, you know, the parts of the story unfold here. I think importantly, I think it's quite nice to see that, you know, Earl has been brought up to Rushville by John. As you were saying, possibly Earl is his only true friend.

[00:32:17] I think it's really kind of quite touching when it seems as though it's John Stewart who's delivered the news to Earl by being on the phone to someone of the death of effectively his potter, Hal Jordan. I accidentally made the alien cross sad. Yeah, no, exactly. I don't know, they do a really good job of making you sad for the puppet. It's a really good job. No, it is. It's really good.

[00:32:46] And I think you had a really sort of good point around the funeral as well with poor Earl as well. Yeah, it was just what I saw online. Actually, I will take credit for it. And just one of the comments I saw was, why wasn't Earl invited to the funeral? He's basically Hal's only actual friend. And everybody else got to go that even had any kind of nice things to say about Hal. And that was only four people. Yeah, definitely. And even some of them may not have had nice things to say about him.

[00:33:16] Exactly. I don't know. This town is aware of aliens as well. So there's no particular reason why you wouldn't bring Earl along. But at least we know he was taken care of. And that remains John's excuse for staying for a few extra days. He says, well, somebody's got a funeral. I'll do it. Yeah, exactly. He's staying in Hal's place, which is decidedly more lived in than his previous place that John Stewart visited in order to get the lantern. I do like the fact that as Kerry suggests, he could stay there.

[00:33:46] He's effectively told, but don't go through the front door. Yes. Because it's all rigged up to fire a shotgun. The shotgun. If it's opened unauthorized. So, yeah, you can see then, you know, he is, in a sense, living in fear. So that's an interesting thing.

[00:34:10] And certainly because with the arrival of Guy Gardner to Rushville, that he does inform us here around Sinestro. Because he's escaped, as Guy Gardner says, from Space Caban, as in the space as Caban. So, again, another hint to the fact that they're trying to push Harry Potter on us all. Of course. Or at least the TV version of it. Yep. Third Harry Potter reference this season. Yeah.

[00:34:39] So, all of that. I mean, to be honest, what I really liked in terms of references and puns was the Fortress of Storage, where there is a vault. It's like a storage unit. And there's a vault being left there by Hal. And they can't open it using simply the voice from Kerry's voicemail from Hal. I kind of liked how awkward was that.

[00:35:09] Kelly MacDonald has just played that so well. She looks so uncomfortable playing that private message about what his schnookums type sweetie name for her is. Which is Buttercup, isn't it? Yeah. So, yeah, all of this was kind of really, really good. So, that is the moment when John decides that he's going to go along with Kerry's plan to have the funeral, isn't it? When he sees that he can't get into the storage unit for Hal.

[00:35:37] That's what makes me think, anyway, that he can't get into the storage unit and then goes, Ooh, actually, I think I have an idea here. It makes it sound really plausible that he does want to have a funeral for Hal Jordan. But also, he could be just trying to play out this investigation as to who killed him and doesn't really care about it. He's just trying to get the job done again. Yeah, it's interesting now because I'm not entirely sure.

[00:36:01] I think what's happened is Jon Stewart, I'm not entirely sure of his genuine feelings. I know he dislikes Hal, absolutely. But I'm not too sure he's a complete and unempathetic. But it's just really unclear now. So, he kind of says to Kerry, look, let's do a funeral.

[00:36:26] We should bury him because the Bitsy, the coroner, has basically said, well, he's got no next of kin. He has no family. So, it will be cremated. And then, as far as I'm concerned, he can be flushed down the toilet like a dead goldfish pet. And it's at this point that you kind of think, well, he is truly dead. There is this tragedy, in essence.

[00:36:56] And Jon Stewart is advocating that, well, he's given a burial. Yeah, because he's not a goldfish. Because he's not a goldfish. Yeah. But you're right. It could equally, now you've said it, be, well, another plan of ultimately by calling then Guy Gardner. So, I thought this was another interesting point around having like the bat signal type thing, the lantern signal. Yeah. And quite specifically, just by the way, Hal does call that out as well. He says he's ripping off the guy in Gotham who has his symbol.

[00:37:25] He's made himself a lantern signal here to make up for what we did back in 2016. So, just a little note there, Batman is active in Gotham. Yeah, yeah. Right now with the bat signal. Absolutely. So, while we won't see him in the DC universe for a couple more years, we will see Batman 2 before we see him being incorporated into this James Gunn universe. We know that Batman is out there right now. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:37:51] But on activating it, it feels a bit like you fight with a truck full of rednecks. It does give a chance to sort of introduce Billy Macken, Kerry's former husband. And it's just before he's off to get food with Kerry and Noah. So, we do see an older Noah here as well.

[00:38:17] Again, sort of really not probing too much. So, again, maybe he is spying without making it obvious. I know he's listening in. He's getting the facts. He's getting the lowdown. But he certainly is aware that his mother and Hal had a relationship. I don't know. He seems slightly not set apart from Kerry.

[00:38:45] But there is a slight distance here. He does something of bringing around a perfectly fitted suit for Jon Stewart for the funeral. Yeah, I thought it was weird that he didn't say, like, my mom says you probably need this for the funeral or something. He comes around as if he's thought about it himself. And he knows Jon's perfect measurements. So, here he is at the door.

[00:39:08] But, yeah, he's obviously taken the side of Kerry in the divorce between William Macken and Kerry. He's living with her. He mentions that he knows his dad is trouble. So, he probably started the fight with Jon. He knows that. So, he's not blaming Jon for the situation. But he won't go to Hal's funeral, of course. Because, well, because of Hal, his grandfather and grandmother are both dead. And also, as he said, it would be weird. Yeah.

[00:39:36] And we do find from the dinner that Kerry cooks for Jon is that he's no longer a vegan. So, he's happy to eat meatloaf. He has his food. But the call from the deputy basically means that she has to, because all the eyes are on her, she has to arrest Jon Stewart for the fight in the town. And it's in prison, where, again, you know, Guy Gardner meets him the next day.

[00:40:04] And there's, you know, you have this kind of really awkward moment. But, I mean, the crux of it is that Jon is looking to have full lantern honours given to Hal Jordan with his uniform, his ring, as I say, that has been decommissioned,

[00:40:29] and also the presence of Guy Gardner at the ceremony at the service as well for Hal's funeral. And the only thing is, is that Hal's ring, his uniform is on Oa. So, you know, Guy is nervous about going and getting it, because he's also not particularly had a good relationship with Hal Jordan. Yeah. And also, he doesn't want to annoy the Guardians.

[00:40:58] So, he's aware of, you know, that Hal annoyed the Guardians. So, he doesn't want to do that. So, ultimately, it transpires that he does get everything that Jon asks for here. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I like that, you know, Guy's basically telling Jon he doesn't want to get involved. At all, Bad Optics, as the name of the episode, he just doesn't want to get involved in this situation, because the Lanterns had to recover for a very long time after what happened here in Rushville.

[00:41:28] But, as Jon says to him, if I had taken the ring, which was my original choice, so you wouldn't be the Green Lantern. Yeah, that was a nice moment. Yeah, I like that. Everything that you are, everything that you've got is because I turned down the ring. It's a great moment. So, he actually does do everything. Yeah. He goes and gets all the items required. But, ultimately, so he can be quits with Jon Stewart. Yeah. Really. And that's what is, you know, in fact, he doesn't really stay for the service. No.

[00:41:55] He pays his own respects, as far as we know, and says, right, my debt is paid to you. It's done. Yeah, we're done here, Stewie. As he says. Is that a reference to Family Guy? Maybe. Is he calling him Stewie because of that? Maybe. Yeah, absolutely. One last thing, really, about Rushville. We kind of mentioned Maggie earlier on, the person who'd seen Jon punch Hal in the nose.

[00:42:21] But she's going to blackmail Jon Stewart with this information. And quite a specific amount of money. She wants $314,536.27. That's not your Pope Quiz question, is it, Jon? It certainly isn't. Okay, good. Good. I thought it might be. But she wants that from him because that would cover everything that she lost since 2016. Because it turns out she's the little girl that he picked up a watch and gave to and said everything's going to be okay. Okay.

[00:42:50] She was nine back then. Now she's grown. So I've grown into a watch fan. Yes. Because of that moment, I guess. I guess so. Yeah. That was the little girl that was with her father who'd lost his leg. I think so. Yeah. I think so. I think that's exactly it. So, yeah. Very exact. Uh-huh. Very specific. I mean, I was wondering why they did that. And now it's here. So it's clear why it was in that episode.

[00:43:15] Because there's a repercussion 10 years later for Jon Stewart and a very exact price tag. It's funny, isn't it? Wasn't Chris you ever talking about that as well? Yeah. That seemed really unusual that they put it in there. Yeah. Being put on. And, you know, for reparations for damage to her. So, again, as you say, by midnight tomorrow or she's going to tell the sheriff everything. Yeah. The other thing just quickly as well on Noah is that there's no mention of his grandparents

[00:43:42] during this episode from him or even Kerry. No mention. It's about her husband, Billy. It's about what happened in Rushville. It's about Kerry and Hal. But there's no notion, not even when talking about Hal, that that's part of the reason why his grandparents would have been killed. Yeah. Yeah. So very interesting omission, I think, there that I wonder how that will play out.

[00:44:12] But certainly just another little point there on Noah. Because the only thing they talk about with Noah is that he's about to make his choice for what football team he's going to be going to, what college he's going to be going to, and what football team he's joining. So, yeah. And that's really highlighted in the episode as well, because you have the guy driving by the house when Noah's there with John going, which team are you going to pick, kids? You know, I won't tell anybody, you know. That's true. And also that he wants to get into politics.

[00:44:38] And we talk about the power play of Manhunters, that they find how they can insert themselves, gain influence and so on. So, again, being the all-American sports person, quarterback, going to college, looking to be a senator, but ultimately with an eye on the White House, is really what's kind of mentioned here over the dinner table at Kerry. Interesting. So, you know, very ambitious.

[00:45:09] But I think we should get on to our power ring point number three. Yeah, let's do it. It is Hal's funeral. I would say his funeral goes ahead. I think there's a few interesting moments here where John Stewart is given a eulogy by one of his exes,

[00:45:35] Carol Ferris, and he assumes it's Carol who has written this, when in fact it is Hal who wrote the eulogy himself. And the eulogy is for a different venue, shall we say, and a different audience. Whilst there's maybe three people in the church for the service,

[00:45:58] as John Stewart reads out the eulogy, that Carol has basically said, it needs a certain sort of oomph to it. Yeah. You can deliver it, I can't. But I love how it starts off with, it kind of lists president and first lady, terrestrial and non-terrestrial dignitaries.

[00:46:24] So he is assuming that this is much more of a almost a state affair. Yeah, yeah. It's interesting by the time it gets to the end and the last couple of paragraphs that he does get a bit of a smile out of John where he's going, actually I wrote this whole eulogy as a bit of a joke. I just hope I mattered. I hope I did help save people. He doesn't actually expect that all of those people that he's listed in the opening would actually be at this.

[00:46:50] He probably knows how badly his life has gone by the time he wrote this. But then again, Carol Ferris, we haven't seen her in the show. She's not been mentioned at all in the show. If you did watch that absolutely terrible Green Lantern movie, or you're a fan of the comics, more likely, Carol Ferris is a partner of Hal Jordan's. She's probably the most well-known partner of his. She was played by the now wife of Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively,

[00:47:20] who they met on the set of that movie. And as he says himself, the movie might be terrible, but it gave him everything in his life. So just to mention, that's who Carol Ferris is. She's a very important character in comics and in the previous movie. So I'm surprised that the only time we see her here is when John sees her and she gives the eulogy and she looks just as aggrieved by Hal Jordan as everybody else in their lives have been by Hal Jordan.

[00:47:48] So she doesn't look like she has a nice thing to say about him. She disappears from the grave site even before John Stewart and Kerry Kane do. So she kind of just seems to have been told, when I die, give this eulogy to somebody to read at my funeral. And that's kind of, she lived up to her end of the bargain. Yeah, exactly. So it seems like. No, absolutely. It's interesting actually after that and before the nighttime dig, effectively digging up the body after its burial,

[00:48:18] there's a really great image of John Stewart over Hal's grave with Kerry walking away from the grave after they've exchanged some final words here. It's just a really great image with the sort of setting sun, I think, behind. Just really, really nice image, I think, of John Stewart over the grave of Hal Jordan. So yeah, I liked that shot. I thought it was really nice.

[00:48:46] But ultimately, you know, cut to nighttime and we have John Stewart then digging up the coffin, effectively in order to get the ring, Hal's former ring, in order to activate this hologram. Yes, yes. Which is great. I love that kind of element to it. And again, it's suddenly like, I'd love to know if it's all preconceived or whether,

[00:49:14] you know, he did want the funeral to happen, but it also allowed him to get this in order to kind of get Halogram. Like we're suspecting so that you can open that vault, but equally it is not the old Halogram. It's a more recent version. Potentially, yeah. Just his look, the way he sort of looked at John, looked down at the coffin containing him,

[00:49:43] it felt like the Hal who was training John. Oh, interesting. So I feel he's done some other sort of update to it. Back up to it, basically, yeah. Which I thought was kind of interesting. But I think, so maybe there's some more information there that can be gleaned, but I think ultimately the information to be gleaned is in the vault and he needs Hal's voice. Yes. Yeah. So that's my feeling as well.

[00:50:12] That's what I thought. And I don't know, there was a moment where I was like, hang on a second. There's no way John Stewart done this whole thing so he could just get the Green Lantern ring and become the Green Lantern. That sounds like, just steal it now that Hal's dead, you know. There's no way we go that far. But yeah, it seems like he at least wants to get into that vault. And maybe he just wants to solve the murder of Hal Jordan, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Maybe that's all it is. But yeah, I do like the hologram just looking down at his own dead body basically going,

[00:50:42] God damn. Yeah. What a way to wake up, you know. Really good. Really good. I've got, I think we went through most of my notes as we went through the episode. But yeah, huge thing that we don't want to miss out is the reveal that Sinestra has escaped from prison, as Guy Gardner said. So why is Sinestra gone? Who let him free? If Hal's been in prison and not able to fly up to the prison planet, how did Sinestra get out? Who helped him escape?

[00:51:09] Was it the same person that was informing Sinestra what was happening on Earth with John Stewart the last time we saw him on screen, you know? He has connections. But yeah, who freed him? And will he play in a big way in the next couple of episodes? Absolutely. I mean, even just the fact that, you know, the shotgun up against the chair attached to the front door is suggestive someone living in fear. Well, yeah. And trying to protect themselves. Yeah.

[00:51:37] So again, this notion that the ring no longer wants him or, you know, fear has started to sort of envelop him, which is, you know, it is the method of the yellow lanterns. So who knows? Yeah. Could be that. Could be that. I do like the line from Kerry again, because the show loves to give you another explanation to, you know, hide away some of the things they're saying. When we hear that the person who killed him is probably the person that broke his nose.

[00:52:06] And we all know it's John that broke his nose. And then Kerry just goes, yeah, but everybody in town wanted to break his nose. You know? So again, just we think we know how this is going to play out. But they love layering in little extra things that could potentially be part of it. So Sinestro could possibly be in some way involved in what happened to Hal, which would make sense for the show itself. But there could also be another 15 explanations. And we'll only find out as the episodes go on, really. Yes, absolutely.

[00:52:35] My one last one, I just noticed in the credits as we were watching the episode a second time that the people that John beats up are listed in the credits as Edie, Meany, Miney and Moe as their character names. Excellent. Good stuff. Good stuff. So I think that's it, John, with our notes and our thoughts for the episode. Do you have a score? What would you score this episode? I would give this four Gardener's Worlds out of five. Very good.

[00:53:04] I liked it a lot. I think the change of pace maybe really did shock me a bit. I think potentially the slow pace of this episode, given there's only two more episodes, if, as would appear from the mid-season trailer and what people are looking for, which is we get some kind of flashback to Hal.

[00:53:30] I just feel increasingly there's a lot to cram in potentially here. If you've given five episodes to one side of this story and three to the other, I hope they've just given enough time. I don't really like to use that as an excuse, but there were just some elements of this where I just felt we didn't get enough explanation.

[00:53:57] As I say, it more than likely will come in the next two episodes. There's a lot of, as I say, pinballing it up to get to the funeral thing. For me, I think Noah is odd. The fight element was strange.

[00:54:22] But overall, I did enjoy seeing Jon Stewart's new life with his family and the tensions that still exist there. I do think Noah is very interesting. A lot of the hints being dropped here. I liked certainly the pun around the Fortress of Storage. I wish they would stop trying to promote Harry Potter in the DC world. Space Caban. And there was another one as well, I think.

[00:54:52] Yes, the sourcing hat at the college is what they said around Noah. I'm like, give it a rest. Focus on DC. Harry Potter will have enough people that will want to watch it for various reasons. So let them get on with it. So those bits just took away from this. But overall, I do like it. I like the fact that Maggie is interesting. It's an interesting little twist.

[00:55:20] I thought that was just some random aspect within Episode 5. But here we are asking for a very specific amount of money. Sinestro. In fact, a lot of the interesting stuff here were just very short lines around Sinestro escaping.

[00:56:08] I'm not sure about John's motives anymore. Yeah. Yeah. Certainly given the opening scene in the cafe, which was really, really good. Really enjoyed that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There were some really good lean in threatening moments here. Not just there, but in other parts of, I say threatening. Yeah. Threatening.

[00:56:31] Even just Jon Stewart sort of saying to Guy, well, the reason you're here is because I didn't take the ring. Like, you know, that threat there. Jon has certainly changed since we saw him in 2016. He's a different person. And, you know, almost as different as Hal was to his 2006 counterpart or 1996 counterpart that we saw in the ring. Right.

[00:56:57] So those two versions of Hal are very different to these versions of Jon Stewart. So, yeah, even more intrigue for me for the rest of the season. One final question for you, Jon, as you do your wrap up, because we all want to know. We talked about it for about five episodes. What did you think of Guy Gardner in the show? Did he work? Did they find a way to make him work? Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think. But again, it's just a stupid look. But I think it did work.

[00:57:28] You've got to have him because he is the Green Lantern. And we love Nathan Fillion. Oh, no, absolutely. Love Nathan Fillion. And I do like Guy Gardner, but it's the look of him. It's not even. And I think what worked was they did focus on. It was more focused on what he was saying. I like the little bit of comedy about being a sports director rather than a gym teacher. And that was a point of contention between him and Hal. Like that.

[00:57:56] I think just his deployment in Superman just. And it's more because I really like Nathan Fillion. It felt just so throwaway that I wasn't even really thinking, oh, he's the Green Lantern anymore. I just thought it was a silly character. And I like those silly characters in those moments on a James Gunn thing. Yeah. It. I was like, I just hope it works. I think it did. I just don't like the look of him. Yeah. And I hope, you know, I just want Nathan Fillion to be around more.

[00:58:25] And so I'm hoping it's not the end of his Green Lantern stint either, potentially. No, he will be in Man of Tomorrow next year, I believe. Grant. Excellent stuff. Good stuff. Yeah. So for me, four gardeners worlds out of five. Fantastic. We're back in Rushville. Let's go back to the bar for the Rushville Redneck Bar quiz for a drink, John. Yes, absolutely. Fellow Lanterns, fellow guardians, and of course, fellow quizzes. Here is question six.

[00:58:55] What's the name of the nursing home where John Stewart's father is? Oh, interesting. When did I catch that one? Hmm. Hmm. I know it's got one less window in the place. Well, absolutely. It certainly does. John, do you want to give the question one more time? Yeah. What's the name of the nursing home where John Struitt's father is? Fantastic. That is the sixth question of eight questions at the end of the season. Send in all the correct answers to feedback at tvpodcastindustries.com.

[00:59:24] And you can be able to chance of getting your hands on some Lanterns goodies. That is the same email address where you send in your thoughts for any of the episodes that we're covering. We've only got another two left to go and then our wrap-up episode. So we want to hear your thoughts as we go through the season. But first up, we have a message in on Facebook on last week's episode from Drew Wally. He just shared his feedback on episode five just after we'd recorded. So let's start with him, John. Yes, Drew Wally said about episode five.

[00:59:50] I've really been enjoying this show so far and this episode did not disappoint. Hard to believe Zoe just standing there watching John burn so she could then save him and have him owe her a favor too. The action and the twists were great plus some loose ends tied up. Still curious on what twist we will see with the lone guardian who seems to be acting all on her own.

[01:00:14] Looking forward to your continued coverage as we head into the final three episodes. Great stuff, Drew. Really glad you enjoyed episode five. Me too. Just a conclusion to that part of the story, that timeline of 2016. Really well done. And yes, now we move into the final endgame of this. Absolutely.

[01:00:42] Just to cross my comic labels over. But yeah, really enjoying it too. And yes, some really good action and twists coming along in that fifth episode as well. Absolutely. Yeah. Thanks so much, Drew. Thanks, Drew. For this episode of Lanterns, by email, we got some feedback in from Coffee and Vodka. Yes, Coffee and Vodka says,

[01:01:12] Greetings fellow well-attended defenders. There's something to be said for having one third of your creative team being deathly afraid of plot holes. Guest Lost was able to serve some purpose after all. Words put to how Guy found his green groove. What Hal and John had been up to. The battle's lasting aftermath to Rushville and showing the threat of the Manhunters might not be a thing of the past. In addition, we got the threat implicating John and Hal's death, as well as the return of the ring and the hologram.

[01:01:41] Now, to get them to the storage unit and Hal's spare charging lantern next week cannot come soon enough. Nice to see the online rumors that the Halcicle might not be Hal himself laid to rest. Finally, Kerry was great as always and Guy excellently fit to the tone of the show. 4.5 regular everyday normal guys, star sapphires and freed fiends out of five. Peace and take care, Coffee and Vodka. OPS, Mark is telling John that he never really left Rushville.

[01:02:07] His strained relations with his parents and a diminished billy were all masterful touches. If this team doesn't get greenlit to put out another season, there's something seriously wrong. Ooh, great stuff, Coffee and Vodka. Yeah, it's really hard with the HBO shows specifically at the moment and with everything that's going on at Marvel on Disney Plus as well. You never really know whether they're aiming for another show of these kind of premium shows or whether they're trying to do something massive over the course of eight episodes and it's a one-off, you know.

[01:02:37] We got to the end of Watchmen thinking there's no way they're going to do a second season of this and then there seemed to be talk that they definitely had a plan for a second season and then that got cancelled. There was no plan for it. They ended it there. Here, I'm absolutely enjoying Lanterns every week, but it seems to be so premium that I just don't expect another season to be coming around the corner. And then this week we had the announcement of another cancellation of a Disney Plus show. Daredevil Season 3 will be the last season of Daredevil Born Again next year

[01:03:06] when we just thought it was just about getting up to speed for its third and fourth season of the show. So you just don't really know. But yes, given how well this is doing and how many viewers are watching it every week, we're up there with Game of Thrones now with the viewership for this show apparently, you would absolutely expect this would be something that would turn around and do another series of, right? Oh, absolutely.

[01:03:32] I think for probably most American shows, it's whether they are politically correct to the current White House enough. And that's the big concern. I mean, you know, and maybe it will be, maybe it won't be, who knows? But it clearly should get some additional coverage here, I think. And let's hope it does. Because I totally agree with you, Coffee and Vodka.

[01:03:59] I really enjoyed the sort of interweaving of Marcus in particular into John's storyline over the last 10 years. Again, yep, strained relations with the parents, but even also Aaron holding on to, well, you are the chosen one. You know, just because you didn't get it, just because you didn't take it. You know, this is for you to sort out. You know, you sense the distance that has formed between Aaron and his parents

[01:04:29] because of how he feels they treated him growing up as opposed to John Stewart. That strain, that tension. You know, ultimately, it's only the threat of having his money pulled that basically means he will go and try and sort out whatever's going on at the care home. Yeah. So, yeah, really great touches in there for the Stewart family, for sure.

[01:04:56] I mean, even Howell having it reiterate it, saying, you know, you always had a strange family life to John when he comes up to the cafe to sort of get his non-existent apology. Quite interesting hearing that Bernadette and Howell have become friends over the years, that the two of them have been in contact quite a lot. Yes, that was interesting. That moment where the two of them met in the house, that didn't seem like they were ever going to be friends, did it? Not at all. Not at all. Yeah.

[01:05:25] So, yeah, really, really interesting. Yeah. So, great stuff. Thanks, Coffee and Vodka. Absolutely. Thanks, Coffee and Vodka. I did notice that in your out of five, you mentioned Star Sapphire, which was Carol, the character I mentioned earlier on. Yes. That was her superhero name in the DC universe. So, nice catch there, Coffee and Vodka. Great stuff. We also got some feedback over on our Discord feed. Paolo says, Not sure what to say about this episode. I feel it lacks something, but I'm not sure what.

[01:05:54] The acting was excellent, as it has been throughout the series. Guy appearing was interesting. They managed to fit him in, even with his stupid hair. It seems like this role was just to get the ring back to John. The whole town, other than Kerry Kane, wanted Hal dead, but I hope it was something more than a revenge kill. Sinestro, maybe. I might have missed something, but some kind of clue, hook, red herring, would have been good. Looking forward to hear your opinions. Three out of five bowl haircuts.

[01:06:24] Thanks so much, Paolo. You know, I'm not, I'm kind of with you a bit on this. I think there's something intangible that I can't quite put my finger on. I think there's a lot of stuff that I quite like in this episode, I think. And that's why I gave it a four. But I totally understand a three out of five. I remember just thinking, maybe it's the jolt of the change in pace. You know, five was a big episode. And all of a sudden, you get this kind of,

[01:06:53] it's not even really an investigation. As you say, it's just to get the ring back. And I feel as though things just happened along the way. Interesting. Yeah. I think the only one I feel, or the only two that I feel may have more in it than anything else, will be just Noah being almost slightly off center within the episode. I think that's purposeful. And I think Maggie is an interesting, you know,

[01:07:23] whether that's someone being put up to ask for that, possibly from Noah. Who knows? I don't know. Because again, if it's just for reparations, okay, so be it. But it's an interesting kind of thing to have. So I think you're right. This notion of maybe sometimes just a little bit more of a bigger clue or hook. I mean, as I say, I think it could be Sinestro.

[01:07:52] You're probably right. I mean, it feels like a dropped line by Guy. But I suspect it probably isn't. And I kind of like the idea that I kind of formed for me was that he was living in fear, possibly hell, by the end of it. Certainly with the shotgun set up on the front door. Absolutely. And again, you know, the drop line from Kerry that everyone in town wants to kill him anyway.

[01:08:20] So he probably uses the shotgun there for that reason is the other side of it. But yeah, myself and John did talk about it after we watched the episode for the first time. This is one of those episodes that is very difficult to give a rating to because until you've seen episode seven and episode eight, it feels like there's loads of things in here that are leading out of basically the end of a series. What we all said on episode six, it felt like they were tying up a huge storyline there. But they'd already started this storyline of Hal being murdered in episode one.

[01:08:48] And now they're returning to it and need to set all the pieces in place. How did everybody get to where they are now? How is Hal in that position? How is John in that position? What was their relationship? And it felt like that whole the whole episode was setting up all of the pieces for the final two episodes of the show. So it's a very difficult episode to have a review or a score to. And I think there's loads more coming in these last two episodes that will, you know,

[01:09:12] I don't think we'll even be thinking and questioning the kind of things we're questioning after just watching this episode after we've watched the other two. Yeah. I mean, and I think it was a difficult task for the writer to follow the previous episode. But I think like we talked, I mean, even just having Carol Ferris there. Yeah. Just lines of dialogue around delivering the eulogy that just said who she was, why she was there.

[01:09:35] And, you know, because, and again, even, you know, this last minute funeral that an ex-girlfriend from probably another part of the country has managed to fly whatever to get there. And so I think that could have, you know, it's things like that.

[01:09:56] I think it was just, she's just seemed to be there in order to hand this eulogy to have that funny moment. Great. Really good. Or is she there for something more? Or is it a red herring? So I definitely get your point there, Paolo. So I'm glad that I'm, I have someone else who maybe had those thoughts about it as well. But I still did enjoy it.

[01:10:22] And I think with, you know, a few multiple viewings, I kind of got a bit more out of it than I did certainly on initial viewing. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thanks so much for your feedback. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their feedback for this episode. Great stuff. And thank you so much, fellow Lanterns, for joining us. Please stay subscribed to the podcast.

[01:10:47] And of course, as we say, if you enjoy what you hear, please, why not share it with your friends, family and relatives? Because, of course, sharing the podcast is sharing the love. Yes, it is. Absolutely. We'll be back next week for the penultimate episode of Lanterns Season 1, maybe. Looking forward to that. And in a couple of weeks' time, we'll be starting up our chats all about Vision Quest, the new show coming to Disney+. Had a look at the trailer for that this evening. Really good.

[01:11:17] Really intrigued to what's going on in the third part of the Marvel trilogy that started with WandaVision. Went into Agatha all along and now is closing out with Vision Quest. I'm really excited to see how that's going to play out. Yeah, excellent stuff. Until next time, fellow Lanterns, keep watching, keep listening, and of course, keep shining a light. Bye. Bye.