Lanterns Episode 3 Review: “OutKast” Reveals John Stewart and Hal Jordan’s Complicated History

Lanterns episode 3, “OutKast,” is easily my favorite episode of the series so far. This episode finally dives into John Stewart’s backstory, and I really enjoyed the way they connected his childhood, his family, his military career, and his eventual path toward becoming a Green Lantern.

We start in 2016, with John falling onto a bed of mattresses inside an abandoned mall. There are arrows giving him directions, eventually leading him to the manager’s office, where we’re introduced to Laura Linney’s character. John tells her he’s there for the interview, and she says she’ll be right back. She proceeds to leave this man waiting there for an entire day and night. She comes back surprised that he actually stayed, but honestly, that’s just who John is. The man has steely focus.

If John Stewart says he’s waiting for you, apparently he’s willing to wait until the end of time.

What I really liked about this interaction is that John already knows exactly who she is. He knows the Guardians’ lore, he knows about the Guardian who died, and he clearly knows way more about this entire situation than she expected. Then he looks at her and asks why she isn’t blue.

We then flash back to a young John Stewart, and this is where the episode starts getting really interesting. We learn that the Green Lantern ring originally went to John’s father. His father was afraid and ultimately couldn’t pass the test. The next day, young John sees on television that Hal Jordan passed the test, and you immediately understand where some of John’s complicated feelings toward Hal come from.

His father was given the opportunity and failed, while Hal succeeded. John’s mother doesn’t believe any of this happened, though, and she kicks him out. Eventually, the Guardian comes back and talks to Bernadette, explaining that they want to offer compensation because they’ve traumatized various candidates. She reveals her true form, and Bernadette just casually offers her coffee.

I really liked that scene because it’s weirdly funny while also setting up some of the heavier themes of the episode. The Guardian talks about race and what it means to be Black in America, while Bernadette explains what happened to her husband and how he essentially became an alcoholic. She also tells her that she needs to prepare her son because John could potentially be next. And that’s when we start understanding what John’s childhood was actually like.

We jump to John showing up for a sniper mission, and I actually saw this scene at Comic-Con during their Hal Jordan panel, so it was really cool seeing the full thing here. John is completely locked in. He has this steely focus about him and tells them that he doesn’t do panic.

We then jump back to John’s parents talking about what happened. His mother explains that the Guardian came back to apologize and admitted there was a flaw in the system. She tells him that baby John could be next, and they decide they have to train him to be fearless. Even if he hates them.

And this is where I started to have some serious issues with John’s mother, because I understand what she thinks she’s doing, but some of the shit she puts this kid through is absolutely insane. The whole shooting apples thing was John’s idea?! And his mom was the one who actually went along with it?! This lady is nuts.

His training continues, and at one point his parents leave him in a sketchy part of town and make him walk home. This is after his brothers were already making fun of him for sounding “white” while rapping. When John finally gets home, he just breaks down and cries. That scene really got to me because it’s juxtaposed against this idea that his family won’t miss him and that there’s no love. His parents are trying to make him fearless, but in the process, they’re also teaching him that he can’t rely on anyone.

And then his mother takes things even further by asking him to shoot an apple off his father’s head. What the hell?! John can’t do it, and honestly, I was glad he couldn’t.

At this point, John’s mother became a horrible person in my eyes. She’s so obsessed with making him fearless that she doesn’t seem to understand what she’s actually doing to him emotionally. She’s not teaching him how to deal with fear. She’s teaching him that being afraid is unacceptable.

Then we find out that she made up the story about the birds. John grew up believing that the Guardians were sending birds to watch over him, which is apparently why he loves birds so much. But his mother admits that the Guardians were never actually sending them. She made it up.

That revelation is honestly heartbreaking because John has spent his entire childhood believing that these cosmic beings were watching him and that he had some kind of destiny. Now he’s finding out that even part of what he believed about himself was fabricated.

And then, after that conversation, John wants to shoot the apple off his mom’s head. She looks absolutely terrified. And then, in the middle of this incredibly tense moment, John says: “I hate cheeseburgers.” What do the neighbors think?! All these gunshots at night!!!

The Guardians want John to share everything he’s uncomfortable with, which I thought was an interesting contrast to how he was raised. His entire childhood was about suppressing fear and becoming this emotionless, fearless person, while the Guardians are essentially asking him to open up and confront the things that actually bother him.

We eventually get back to John’s sniper mission, and this man now has a full head of hair and a beard. It’s been nine months, and he still hasn’t been able to take the shot. Then Hal Jordan swoops in and completely ruins John’s opportunity. Now John has to take the fall because nobody can know that Hal was involved at all.

And this is where the resentment between these two really starts to make sense. Hal has been hanging over John’s life since childhood. His father failed the Green Lantern test while Hal passed it, and now, years later, Hal has interfered with John’s military career.

Then we get another interesting moment with John’s mother, who gives him an application she filled out for art school and tells him to go. John goes to the art school, takes an exam, starts sketching random objects, and then suddenly he’s offered a Green Lantern ring. He’s told to create something from his past, and he creates his father’s watch.

I really liked that moment because John’s father has been such an important part of his story. His father’s failure is essentially the reason John has grown up under all this pressure, and now John is taking something connected to him and turning it into something completely his own. Then the episode brings us right back to where it started. The interview. The manager’s office. The Guardian. Everything finally comes together.

John tells her that Hal Jordan is the reason he isn’t in the military anymore, even though Hal was specifically told not to interfere with terrestrial relations. Of course, Hal didn’t listen. The Guardian then asks John if he’s comfortable replacing Hal Jordan, and we learn that John has essentially been positioned as Hal’s backup.

And that’s where things get really interesting. Because John gets home... And Hal is already there. Hal puts on this whole performance in front of the Stewart family. He’s charming, he’s friendly, he’s calling them the Huxtables, and he’s playing the part perfectly. But the second they get outside? The mask comes off. Hal is pissed.

He’s angry about this entire arrangement, and you can immediately tell that this isn’t going to be a simple mentor-and-student relationship. These two already have history. John has spent his entire life knowing that Hal succeeded where his father failed. Hal has now played a role in John’s military career falling apart, and now John is essentially being positioned as Hal’s replacement. That is going to create a very interesting dynamic moving forward.

Courtesy of HBO

Overall, I really enjoyed “OutKast.” I think this episode does a great job of giving John Stewart an actual emotional foundation instead of just rushing through the usual superhero origin story.

John isn’t fearless simply because the script tells us he’s fearless. He’s fearless because his entire life has been built around trying to eliminate fear from him. His parents trained him to suppress it, his military career reinforced it, and his childhood forced him to grow up faster than he should have. Now the Guardians are asking him to do something completely different by actually confronting and talking about the things that make him uncomfortable.

That’s what makes John’s story so interesting to me. We’re not just watching a guy get a Green Lantern ring; we’re watching someone who has spent his entire life trying to become fearless finally confront what all that training actually did to him.

There’s clearly a lot of trauma and resentment underneath John’s calm exterior, and I think this episode does a great job of showing us where that comes from without making it feel like we’re being given a simple explanation for his entire personality.

And then you add Hal Jordan into the mix. I’m really interested to see how this relationship develops because John isn’t just some random Green Lantern taking Hal’s place. Hal has been connected to John’s story since he was a kid. His success was constantly compared to John’s father’s failure, and now Hal has directly impacted John’s military career. So for John to suddenly be put in the position of replacing him creates a really interesting dynamic between the two of them.

Hal clearly isn’t happy about the situation either, and that final scene makes it obvious that whatever relationship these two eventually develop isn’t going to be easy. There’s already resentment, pride, and a lot of unresolved history between them, and now they’re going to have to work together.

Yeah... this is about to get messy, and I’m absolutely here for it. The not so subtle racial issues were also prevalent this episode and I LOVE IT! I know some people may not care for it but it had to be addressed and they handled it with care.

What did you think?

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• Loved it
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• So/So