Lanterns ending explained: Who killed Hal Jordan – and is he gone for good?

The DC Universe has a new Green Lantern in the form of John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) – and he had some tough words for rival Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) in the Lanterns finale.

The eight-part HBO drama has shown that this hero won't be afraid to blaze his own trail, as John boldly shatters a millennia of Green Lantern Corps tradition in taking over the ring of his late mentor.

Indeed, the fate of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is also a key focus of this finale, with weeks of questions about his death (including whether he really had died) being answered in this week's episode.

If you're eager to know how Lanterns episode 8 (titled 'Dirt and Stars') concludes – including the key things to know before DC's Man of Tomorrow – then read on for all the spoiler-filled details.

Lanterns ending explained: Key questions answered

Who killed Hal Jordan?

Hal Jordan was killed by his very own lover, Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald).

The shock twist came late in the Lanterns finale, after Sheriff Kane's son, Noah (Shea Pritchard), had already given John a false confession to the crime.

Later, it became clear that he had only done so to protect his mother, who had killed Hal after he discovered that Noah was not human, but rather the last Manhunter.

Kerry feared that the exposure of this dark truth would derail Noah's promising future, as she only wants him to have the most normal life that he possibly can.

Conversely, Noah's drive to protect his mother, at great personal cost to him, indicated to John that he had adopted human values of love and morality.

As a result, he allowed the mother-and-son to continue their lives in peace (although, we'd expect him to keep an eye on them from afar).

Could Hal Jordan return?

Hal Jordan could potentially return in later episodes of Lanterns, although that is very much unconfirmed for now.

The closing scenes of season 1 saw John recharge Hal's ailing Lantern ring, effectively overwriting the so-called 'Halogram' that had kept his mentor's memory alive.

As a result, it might seem unlikely that Kyle Chandler's spiky hero would return in any future DC projects, outside of flashback sequences and archive footage.

However, his longtime nemesis Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) did make an intriguing comment, claiming that his fear-based Lantern could bring Hal back to life.

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Of course, this could be an outright lie, or it could hint towards a horrific distortion of the Hal that we know and love.

It certainly isn't wise to put your full trust in the scarlet-skinned menace, but it's a line that could be given new relevance should the Lanterns writers wish to keep Chandler around.

Is John Stewart replacing Guy Gardner in the DCU?

In a sense, John Stewart is replacing Guy Gardner as Earth's defender in the DCU (but Nathan Fillion's bowl cut buffoon will still be around).

In a major power play at the end of the season, John asserts himself as the new protector of Earth, staking his claim to 'on the ground' cases such as that of Rushville.

He forcefully encourages Guy to focus his attention on cases in outer space, which should keep them out of each other's way for the most part.

Guy isn't thrilled about receiving orders from a rookie, nor is he convinced that the Guardians will go along with John's unsanctioned plan.

For his part, John is gambling that his long history with the powerful bosses of the Lantern Corps will save him from repercussions. Time will tell.

Notably, John's ring runs on both willpower and will "embrace" his fear too, in a major step forward for the character after his traumatic upbringing.

It remains to be scene exactly how this might differentiate him from other members of the Corps.

How does Lanterns set up Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow?

The Lanterns finale sets up Man of Tomorrow by establishing that John Stewart is Earth's primary Green Lantern moving forward.

It also strongly alludes that habitually petulant Guy Gardner will not be happy with this arrangement, so expect to see more bickering between the two Corps members in the film.

It's not entirely clear at present just how large John Stewart's role in the film will be, considering that the Man of Tomorrow cast is rather crowded already.

Returning heroes Guy, Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) will be vying for attention alongside John, Supergirl (Milly Alcock) and Blue Beetle (Xolo Maridueña).

That's before you even get to Superman himself, as played by David Corenswet, plus Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and new big bad Brainiac (Lars Eidinger).

Suffice it to say, John Stewart may only be a relatively minor player in this stacked line-up, and so that explains why Lanterns doesn't heavily allude to the film.

Is a Manhunter still at large?

Yes, John Stewart allows the last surviving Manhunter, Noah Macon, to continue living undetected as a typical Nebraska teen.

Noah professes grave fears about what he might be capable of, due to his mother's legacy and dark thoughts of his own, but John sees the potential for him to do good.

He also believes that Hal wouldn't want Kerry to spend the rest of her days in prison, especially considering how her absence could put Noah on a dangerous trajectory.

As a result, he gives the mother-son duo space to work things out, but it remains to be seen whether this fateful decision will be vindicated – or come back to haunt him.

What happened to Sinestro?

Sinestro is still alive in the DCU, but was last seen marooned on the hellish remains of a planet decimated by the Manhunters.

He has no obvious means of escape, which means he could conceivably perish on the forgotten hunk of rock, but that seems unlikely for a villain with such a rich history.

We'd expect Ulrich Thomsen to reprise his role, if Lanterns is renewed for a second season, as the show has barely scratched the surface of what he's capable of doing.

Could there be a Lanterns season 2?

There certainly could be, but whether there will be remains to be seen.

It has been reported that Lanterns co-creator Chris Mundy is plotting a potential second season, with new recruit Christopher Cantwell (Halt and Catch Fire) working closely alongside him.

However, their pitch for a second season is still in the planning stages, and at the time of writing, it has not officially been ordered by HBO.

Therefore, we'll have to sit tight for confirmation on what the future holds.

Of course, the current merger of Paramount and Warner Bros (which owns HBO) is one of several variables with the potential to throw a spanner in the works.

Lanterns is available to stream on HBO Max. Get HBO Max and NOW membership for £6.99 a month.

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