‘Lanterns’ Finale Shocker: Who Really Killed Hal Jordan?

The finale is upon us, and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) is still trying to uncover who murdered Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). But the investigation has taken a wild turn, sending John and Hal’s Halogram to another planet, where an escaped Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) is waiting — and he may have some answers about what really happened to Hal. Warning: Big, fat, giant spoilers for the finale of Lanterns ahead.

But first, we finally see how Hal and Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) became an item.

How Did Hal and Kerry Get Together?

We jump back to Rushville in 2016, just after the town was destroyed. The water tower is crumbling, the motel is rubble, and limbs are thrown around all willy-nilly. Kerry finds a bloodied Hal in the wreckage and asks if it was worth it. He knows he’s going to prison and believes that will be the solution the Guardians are looking for. He’ll be out of their galactic hair for good.

Cut to 2026, when Hal is released from prison, and Kerry is waiting with a six-pack of Schlitz and a smile. Their first real date leaves a lot to be desired, as everyone in town stares down the former Green Lantern for what he did to their fair burg. Hal worries Kerry will lose the respect she spent years earning by being with him. Her solution? Announce to the room that she likes him, believes he paid his dues, and thinks he deserves some peace. Later, after some adult fun time, Kerry invites Hal to Noah’s (Shea Pritchard) football game. A big step for both of them.

At home, Hal is feeding Earl when his house is firebombed. He tries to get Earl to safety but falls through the landing and passes out. Hal wakes up inside the Atlas Inc. lab — the Macon-owned slaughterhouse with the fancy gadgets — with a deep inoculation imprint on his arm. Standing over him is Kerry’s son Noah, who tells him, “It’s better if you keep still. Your skin is new.”

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John Discovers the Dark Truth About Hal’s Past on ‘Lanterns’

Oh. Goodness. Little Noah. Noah reveals that he healed Hal and asks him not to tell Kerry what he is.

Why did Noah need Sinestro?

Meanwhile, Sinestro confirms to John that Noah is a Manhunter — and a powerful one. Noah was the one who broke Sinestro out of jail. But to John, that doesn’t make sense. Why would Noah save Hal’s life just to kill him?

John decides that perhaps some time in the soothing, suicidal waters of madness might loosen Sinestro’s lips. After a little good, old-fashioned torture, Sinestro admits he made Noah a lantern, forged with fear from the water to make it more powerful. Sinestro also tries to convince the Halogram to turn against John, promising they can overpower him and bring Hal back to life. Hal’s Sentry declines.

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John, meanwhile, puts the pieces together. Sinestro is the only person to ever kill a Guardian. That’s why Noah broke him out and had him forge the lantern: He wants revenge. John leaves Sinestro on the dead planet and returns to the portal. The Halogram wants him to charge the ring, even though doing so will destroy what’s left of the Sentry. John trusts his gut and believes Noah won’t hurt him.

Cut to Noah immediately greeting him with a few kicks to the ribs.

Who killed Hal Jordan?

Noah takes John’s ring and forces him to drive, demanding to know why John killed his grandmother, Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan). John explains that Zoe saved his life, but only after watching him burn until he was nearly dead so he would owe her and kill Hal. That is how she operated. But in the end, Zoe knew that if she died, no one would look for Noah.

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Noah says he didn’t firebomb Hal’s house; he was trying to rescue him. But after saving him, Hal followed him, discovered the portal, and learned what Noah really was. Noah then confesses to killing Hal to stop him from telling his mom, Kerry.

Noah is terrified of his Manhunter programming. He tells John that one side of him wants to play football, find a girl, get married, and have an average, wonderful life. The other wants to use football to become famous, enter politics, gain access to weapons, and use the lantern and ring against anyone who gets in his way. As John did before him, Noah takes off the ring and asks John for one big favor: “I want you to kill me.”

Who really killed Hal Jordan?

John then finds Kerry on the sidelines and tells her about his mother, who used to leave him in a terrible neighborhood as a child to make him fearless. What he didn’t understand was how scared she was every time she did it. “My mother held her breath for my entire childhood.”

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“Why are you telling me this?” asks Kerry. John responds: “Because I think you know exactly how my mother felt. You must have been so scared for Noah every single day…”

She knew Noah was a Manhunter. “I wasn’t scared,” she admits. “I was terrified.”

And then we get the real story of Kerry, Noah, and Hal’s death. After Noah’s game that night, Hal confronted Kerry and told her he knew about her son. Kerry admits that after Zoe saved her life and regrew her finger, she left Kerry with something else: She was pregnant. Noah was the product of Zoe’s healing.

Hal thought Noah was planning something dangerous and wanted them to flee to Guadalajara. Kerry refused. Hal kept pushing, wanting to run, wanting to destroy their lives and the happiness they created for themselves in Rushville. Kerry was flustered and wanted none of that. She was scared. In the midst of his screaming, “People are in danger! Noah is in danger! God dammit, I love you!” a terrified Kerry shot him. “It happened so fast, and I couldn’t undo it.”

Kerry killed Hal. Noah’s confession to John was a lie to protect his mother.

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Kerry worries that she ran to Rushville to escape one monster only to raise another, but John doesn’t see it that way. Noah confessed to murder to save his mother. That isn’t programming, John says. That’s love. And when Noah asked John to kill him because he’s afraid of what he could become, John refused. Noah has the potential to be the person Kerry raised him to be. If he gives in to his worst instincts, however, the world will need someone to stop him. Kerry offers to turn herself in, but John refuses, believing that’s not what Hal would have wanted.

The game ends, Noah wins, scouts single him out, and his parents embrace him. It’s a good night. John, meanwhile, still has some Green Lantern business to handle.

The brightest day, the darkest night…

He activates the Green Lantern beacon and calls Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), who is less than thrilled to be in Rushville and even less thrilled to discover John has Hal’s ring. John explains that he needed it to solve Hal’s murder and tells Guy that Hal died a hero. Not that Guy gives a sh*t. Then Guy spots the “unsanctioned lantern,” and things really go downhill.

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John tells Guy he can be the Guardians’ Green Lantern of Sector 2814, “but I’m gonna take Earth.” John plans to operate independently of the Guardians, which goes over about as well as expected. Guy threatens to tell them, whining they’ll send an army, but John just asks him to pass along a message: “If they search their hearts, I know they will find it within themselves to let me be.” A miffed Guy gives him the finger and flies off.

The Halogram appears one last time, and John asks for advice. Hal tells him, “My gut tells me: You are going to be better at this job than I ever was. And you’re ready,” followed by one final Hal-ism: “Don’t be afraid to be afraid.” Before disappearing, Hal asks what John’s last words were when he was talking to Kerry, to which John replies: “I love you.” Hal responds, “I love you too, junior,” and flashes away.

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That leaves John with one final issue: The oath. The old one isn’t quite him, so he writes his own while also tying up a few loose ends, including giving money to Maggie (Hannah Christine Shetler) as compensation for losing her father and making good with his family.

“The brightest day, the darkest night, I embrace my fear, I’ll do what’s right. I choose this ring, I choose this fight, in service to this lantern’s light.”

The ring charges, and John flies away. Finally.

Hal’s murder is finally solved, but John’s story as a Green Lantern is just getting started. He has the ring, his own oath, and a very different idea of what being a Lantern should look like. More importantly, he’s chosen Earth over the Guardians and made it clear he’s going to protect it on his own terms. Whether the Guardians are willing to accept that is another story.

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