My Predictions for the Season Finale of Lanterns

Are you afraid? No, but I'm excited.

Lanterns is wrapping up on Sunday, and I cannot wait. This was, from the moment it was announced, my most anticipated project in the DCU (after Superman). We've barely seen the Green Lantern Corps in any live-action movie or TV show, and they are one of the pillars of the DC Universe. Not only have we gotten an awesome version of John Stewart: we've also gotten a broken, tragic Hal Jordan, a snarky, hilarious Guy Gardner, and a chilling, calculating Sinestro. These stories are just getting started, and I have thoughts about where this one is going to go on Sunday. So here are my predictions for the eighth and final episode of Lanterns.

John Stewart Dons the Uniform

The main protagonist needs to get his big moment in the finale

Okay. Let's start off with the obvious. John Stewart is set to return in Man of Tomorrow, and I whole-heartedly believe that that film is going to set up some sort of primitive version of the Justice League. That movie already has a lot going on, so if John had to get the Green Lantern suit there, I think that would put too much weight on its shoulders. This is also the ultimate payoff that Lanterns has been building towards: John gave up his chance at the ring, but with everything now set up with Sinestro, I think he could be almost forced to don the suit. I personally cannot wait to see Aaron Pierre in a full Green Lantern suit. If this doesn't happen, it'll be a major disappointment, but Lanterns has been so good that I really do expect this to be the big moment of the finale.

William Macon is Resurrected as the Black Hand

Garret Dillahunt's mysterious tease could pay off

This is one of the big fan theories that has existed throughout the show, and mots of it is due to actor Garret Dillahunt's tease about who he'd be playing in Lanterns. William Macon is not a character from the comics, but before the show's release, he said it might "be a front for some other kind of character that's very familiar to you all." That could absolutely be an empty tease: maybe he was trying to throw people off about who the Manhunter was. His character is obviously dead, but I think there's a chance that he comes back. William Hand is, in the comics, the supervillain Black Hand, who is an agent of Nekron, DC's personification of death. They haven't really set this up, but I do think this would be an interesting way to expand the Lantern spectrum and bring back a character who seemed to have a lot going on behind the scenes. I don't know if the finale has time to introduce a supervillain as big as Black Hand, but if they did, I'd be interested.

Kerry Kane Returns to Gotham

The quiet setup of Batman could continue

On the opposite side of things, the writers have explicitly said to "not expect anything" from Kerry Kane's earlier reference to Gotham. After WandaVision, I don't really believe anything anyone who is working on a show says to tease or temper fan expectations. I know that's ironic considering I just predicted that Macon gets resurrected as Black Hand, but I take his comments with a grain of salt, too. You don't just casually say a character is from Gotham. That's a direct reference and connection to Batman, and the next movie in the DCU takes place in Gotham. I doubt we get any teases for Clayface (that would feel too MCU-like), but I think we could see Kerry go back to Gotham and just show us our first glimpse of the DCU's version of it. It's going to be a minute until we see the Dark Knight, but it'd be interesting to see his city. I also think Kerry is going to want out of Rushville after whatever happens in the finale, so maybe she returns home.

Noah Macon Killed Hal Jordan

Zoe's enigmatic grandson may secretly be another Manhunter or just be out for revenge

The overarching mystery of the entire show is going to be answered in the finale. Before Zoe Macon was killed, she told her grandson to "remember everything that [she] taught you." Since the show transitioned to taking place fully in 2026, Noah has also received a lot more attention than he did in the 2016 storyline. That's not an accident - I am pretty sure they are setting up this kid to either secretly be a Manhunter or just be a kid who wants revenge for the death of his grandmother. I think there'd be something poetic about Hal Jordan, cosmic superhero and space cop, getting shot by a teenager who is angry about the death of his grandmother. Hal didn't have the ring when he died, so that opens up the possibility that whoever killed him may have just been human. We will see, but either way, I think Noah is too prominent now to not serve some big role in the finale.

Hal Jordan is Resurrected as Parallax

Lanterns could give us a dark, exciting version of Emerald Twilight

One of the most famous Green Lantern stories in the comics is, of course, Emerald Twilight, where a grief-stricken, broken Hal Jordan is possessed by the embodiment of fear after Coast City is destroyed. Now, Lanterns could take a different route, but this version of Hal Jordan is also broken. We will talk about this next, but Sinestro's plans on whatever planet he's on most likely has to do with fear. Parallax is the cosmic embodiment of fear, so maybe Sinestro is trying to release or control it. If he succeeds, I could see a scenario in which the fear entity resurrects Hal Jordan under Sinestro's control. Sinestro does still like and respect Hal Jordan, so it would make sense if he wanted his former protege on his side. The way to do that could be by resurrecting him with Parallax, which would make for a really interesting future conflict between John Stewart, Hal Jordan, and Sinestro.

Sinestro Creates the Yellow Lantern Ring

Hal Jordan's nemesis is seemingly going to become the master of fear

This, alongside John donning the Green Lantern suit, is the prediction I am most confident about. Lanterns is a show about fear: the amount of times someone has asked "are you afraid?" is almost becoming sickening. James Gunn has confirmed that the Yellow Lantern Corps do not exist in this DCU yet...but what else would Sinestro be doing on a desolate planet? He's got plans, and they have to do with fear. The title Lanterns does not only imply multiple Green Lanterns: it implies multiple different lantern corps. Even the short teaser trailer for the finale seems littered with clues - Sinestro is almost definitely going to craft the Yellow Lantern Ring, and maybe this allows him to resurrect Hal Jordan as Parallax. Things could get crazy in the finale of Lanterns.

The Series Ends on a Cliffhanger

Lanterns has too much to set up for the future and too many exciting possibilities

There is absolutely no way that Lanterns is going to wrap up this story in its entirety. If anything, this feels like a prologue to whatever the true story of the Green Lantern Corps in the DCU is. Thaal Sinestro is going to be one of the big villains of James Gunn's DC Universe, because he's one of DC's most interesting and compelling antagonists. If he crafts the Yellow Lantern Ring, we are not wrapping this story up. That is going to open up so many new paths and possibilities for the future of the DCU, so I think Lanterns is going to end on some sort of huge cosmic cliffhanger that frames up John Stewart to appear in Man of Tomorrow. Maybe Sinestro escapes somewhere across the galaxy and John has to pursue him. That could lead him to meeting Brainiac, which could then place him in Man of Tomorrow. Either way, I expect Lanterns to set up some major things for the future of DC, and I highly doubt this story is wrapping up with roses and rainbows. There's going to be questions, dangling plot threads, and some huge cliffhanger that leaves us salivating for John Stewart's next DCU appearance.

The finale of Lanterns, titled Dirt and Stars, airs on Sunday, October 4th at 9 P.M. eastern time on HBO Max.