Review: Lanterns, "Lights Out" | Season 1, Episode 5

Episode 5 was arguably the best episode of Lanterns so far, and definitely the most exciting. John Stewart finally takes possession of the Green Lantern ring he’s worked his whole life to get, then almost immediately realizes he doesn’t want it and gives it back. The action-packed hour is the climax of the 2016 part of the story, as we prepare to go back to the future to investigate Hal Jordan’s murder next week. 

Stewart rejecting the ring is beautifully executed. It's surprising but inevitable, which is exactly what you want from a moment like this. Stewart’s disenchantment with the path that was prescribed to him since he was a baby has been growing throughout the season, so the rejection feels earned. We knew he was going to arrive at the conclusion that the ring isn’t worth the corruption to his soul before he did, but the way it happens — so suddenly after he gets it, after fighting a battle that left Rushville destroyed, with a choice so quick and decisive — is unexpected and actually pretty moving. Stewart is a good person whose own integrity is of paramount importance to him, and he wants to stay good, but he can’t with this much power. He doesn’t want to end up like Jordan, who’s a cautionary tale of what happens when the most important thing about power becomes holding onto it. 

For his part, though, Jordan is not too far gone. There’s still good left in him. He uses up the last of the ring’s battery to save Stewart (and himself, to be fair) from getting blown up by Zoe the Manhunter, sparing Stewart’s life when letting him die would have removed him as a threat. He’s not like the Manhunter, who killed Abin Sur after Jordan's predecessor spared her life because she couldn’t risk him changing his mind someday. Jordan is not so corrupted that he will kill out of pure self-preservation of his power. He betrayed his code, his oath, and himself, but there are still lines he won’t cross. He’s Kyle Chandler. Fundamental decency is his whole thing.