‘Lanterns’ Episode 4 Review & Ending Explained: Is Zoe the Manhunter?

HBO’s Lanterns returns to its central mystery in Rushville in Episode 4, titled The Weenie, after exploring John Stewart’s origin in Episode 3. The episode answers the biggest question we have had in the series so far: who is the Manhunter? It is revealed that the identity of that synthetic lifeform is Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan). We also learned that John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) has known, or at least suspected, that for some time. This is what widens the rift between John and Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) further.

​The episode begins where Episode 3 ended. Hal visits Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), his imprisoned former mentor, who wastes no time getting into his head. He wants Hal to see John in the way he saw Hal. He even suggests that Hal should kill John. But there is another option too. Rather than killing John outright, Hal can expose the Manhunter and deliver it to the Guardians. This would disgrace John and convince the Guardians of Hal’s fitness as Green Lantern.

Lanterns Episode 4 Review: Hal and John Finally Start Working Together

If you have read my reviews of the three episodes thus far, you know I love this show. And in Episode 4, I get what I wanted: Hal and John begin to function like an actual team, however briefly. John investigates William Macon’s (Garret Dillahunt) compound. They take the assistance of Sheriff Kerry (Kelly MacDonald) and dig a tunnel beneath to get into the compound.

John uses the ring to create a massive digging machine. The show insists that he as a Green Lantern is fundamentally different from Hal, or would be. Thanks to his art background, his constructs are extremely precise and intricate, and quite different from Hal’s.

Anyhoo, inside the compound, they discover advanced alien technology and become increasingly convinced that the Manhunter is hiding there (or was). The sequence even throws in an Indiana Jones-style pressure alarm. But their attempt to fool the system fails spectacularly after Hal clearly lies about his weight (you should really watch this episode).

They are captured. William Macon, though, does not look too upset. Instead, he strips down and asks John to draw him. Macon then reveals that his mysterious benefactor (who we suspect is the Manhunter) cured his cancer. According to him, nobody gets sick because of this person (this solves the mystery of no patients being there in the local hospital). Macon says nobody gets sick in the town thanks to the Manhunter.

What makes the episode work particularly well is its balance between the grounded detective story and increasingly bizarre science-fiction elements. The mystery never feels like it is moving too quickly. And yet, there is enough progression to keep things engaging. Hal and John also have noticeably better chemistry here. Both Pierre and Chandler are great at bouncing off of each other. The episode’s stranger moments, particularly inside the compound and towards the end, add some welcome humor without undermining the tension. More importantly, Episode 4 finally makes the Manhunter mystery feel like it is reaching somewhere. There are still plenty of questions, but the clues are beginning to connect in genuinely intriguing ways.

Lanterns Episode 2 Ending Explained

Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as John Stewart and Hal Jordan in Lanterns episode 4, The Weenie | Credits: DC Studios

Zoe does not feel like a twist for shock value. In fact, she was one of my suspects. And in hindsight, Lanterns have been building toward it. Zoe’s strange connection to her husband, William Macon, was always suspect, for Macon did not seem too bothered by the fact that John slept with his wife.

But of course, a synthetic lifeform like Manhunters doesn’t die in a fireball the way a human does. Her attachment to him wasn’t romantic spontaneity but reconnaissance, and her urging him to leave town looks, in hindsight, like a Manhunter trying to protect the one person capable of exposing her, or simply covering her own retreat. It also explains why John has clearly suspected the truth for longer than he’s let on, widening the rift with Hal once it’s confirmed he’s been sitting on this.

The Manhunter Was Hiding in Plain Sight

Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe in Lanterns episode 4, The Weenie | Credits: DC Studios

Zoe does not feel like a twist for shock value. In fact, she was one of my suspects. And in hindsight, Lanterns have been building toward it. Zoe’s stranger connection to her husband William Macon was always suspect and Macon did not seem too offended by the fact that John slept with his wife. 

Jagannathan has revealed that she did not know Zoe was the Manhunter until she received the Episode 4 script (via Decider). So, her performance was not built around telegraphing the twist to the audience (though I am not sure how that would work). The episode also deliberately throws viewers off the scent with Hector Hammond. The character initially appears to be the obvious comic-book answer (Hector Hammond is the name of a Green Lantern villain). But the man Hal and John encounter is actually Hector Gutierrez, a rancher recruited to serve as a decoy.

But the real revelation is what Zoe’s identity means for John and Hal. John has apparently suspected the truth but kept it from Hal because he wasn’t certain. Hal, meanwhile, realizes that John’s reaction to Zoe’s apparent death does not make sense. That discovery finally pushes their already fragile partnership toward a breaking point. At the end of the episode, Hal jumps out of the car as he did in Episode 1, but this time, “junior” doesn’t have the ring to protect himself.

What did you think of the Manhunter reveal in Lanterns Episode 4? Do you think Zoe is genuinely trying to protect John, or has she been manipulating him all along? Share your theories in the comments below.

Lanterns Episode 4 is now streaming on HBO Max.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 4 Review & Ending Explained: Is Zoe the Manhunter?