Notes on HBO's Lanterns S1E1

 SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW IN THE TITLE, OBVIOUSLY

As with the Odyssey, I have a huge prior bias when it comes to this property since I've been reading Green Lantern comics since I was a kid, and Hal Jordan specifically has been my favorite superhero for decades. So yeah, I carry some baggage here.

Overall, the first episode was cool. It introduced a lot of solid mythology about the Green Lanterns (if not the CORPS specifically). We've got space cops, sectors of jurisdiction, charging the ring with the battery, the oath, Guardians, etc. I didn't feel like too much of it was dumbed down, except maybe the focus on fearlessness and imagination over willpower - DC's various adaptations seem to shy away from the comic-accurate willpower being the main driver for a GL's power, while imagination/knowledge of how things work fuels the complexity of their constructs. Hal is obviously very proficient with his ring and able to make small and subtle constructs, but doesn't use it as a crutch at all times and is perfectly willing to take it off and face the world; that's fun, and something we've seen in the comics (even if it always makes readers scream "keep the ring on at all times" to the page). We haven't seen the Guardians in action yet and don't know how strict they are, but apparently they don't care if Hal uses his ring for (minor) profit and meaningless personal actions; at times in the comics that would've seen the GL reprimanded on the spot by an auto-generated message from the ring!

So many writers have tackled these characters in different ways in the comics over the years that there's really no sense in arguing "accuracy," though I will say that to me, John Stewart felt really solid! He's talented, disciplined, focused, and a bit angry with something to prove. I look forward to seeing him wield the ring, and I'm excited for another generation of Green Lantern fans having John be their guy like the Justice League cartoon did for so many.

Hal is... well, let's just say this isn't my favorite depiction. I'm at an even bigger disadvantage here because I've never really liked Chandler as an actor - he usually just feels boring and generic to me. I appreciate that he's trying to make Hal somewhat larger than life with a big ego and attitude, and some of that works. Good backstory inclusion of dad dying in front of him and the source of his fearlessness. But why is he such an asshole? Is that a requirement to get the ring, since we've already seen Guy Gardner? I think it would've been more interesting to show that Hal and Guy are so very different, though deep down fearless and deserving of the ring.

Hal dying? Obviously I'm not a fan, but on the one hand I expected something like this to show how the ring progresses through different wielders and on the other... it's "capeshit" so this could absolutely be a fake, he comes back, etc. Might even be another test.

The look and feel of the show is as dark as the preview images made it seem, which is weird considering it takes place in the same universe as Gunn's Superman. There are elements that can be read as the creators or the show itself being embarrassed by its comic book roots, particularly the oath and the costume; Hal literally doesn't want either of those witnessed by others. One of the things I always loved about Green Lantern comics, and this should be obvious, was the COLOR. This is the universe of the emotional spectrum, colors with meanings and powers, not to mention all of the weird and wacky alien races. Lanterns is at best muted, when it isn't downright dark.

Loved the description of the Abin Sur backstory even if it's a bummer we didn't see it. It was always a fun element that no one thought humans could ever be worthy of serving in the Corps, and then of course human members would save the universe over and over again. And they even included suspicion about Abin traveling in a spaceship and crashing here, of all places, which makes me wonder how far they'll delve into that old yarn.

I'm looking forward to more, and particularly to see how the show incorporates Guy (I can imagine his interactions with both leads), as well as things like the Manhunters, Guardians, and of course Sinestro.