Lanterns Episode 5: 5 Best Easter Eggs, Ranked

Lanterns Episode 5, titled Lights Out, brings the Rushville investigation to an explosive conclusion. Well, we get a conclusion to one mystery, anyway: the mystery of the Manhunter. We still don’t know who killed Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), if indeed that was Hal at the end of the premiere episode. We likely will not get an answer to that until the end, but there is also a lot to unpack in Episode 5. It connects the small-town story to DCU’s Gotham and its criminal world.

​We also revisit the death that made Hal Jordan a Green Lantern and also get an intriguing opening for a familiar ring-bearer who we have met before. Here are five of the episode’s most interesting Easter eggs, ranked by what they add to Lanterns.

5 Lights Out Shares Its Name With a Green Lantern Crossover

The name Lights Out is suitable for an episode wherein Rushville faces almost utter devastation and the issue of a depleting Green Lantern ring. It is also related to a GL crossover story.

In this particular story, Relic, a supervillain, becomes a threat to all the Lanterns. The title does seem like a callback only.

4 Kerry’s Past Brings Gotham’s Criminal World to Rushville

We know from Lanterns Episode 2 that Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) was originally a Gothamite. We see more of her backstory in Episode 5. She’s on the run from some criminals who catch up to her. But Zoe, who we now know as the last of the Manhunters, subdues them.

Batman’s hometown carries considerable baggage even when there’s no mention of its most famous resident. We know it’s a city of powerful crime families like the Falcones and the Maronis vying for control of its different districts. More likely, the Gotham connection is DCU world-building.

3 Zoe’s Confession Rewrites Abin Sur’s Fate

Zoe’s admission that she killed Abin Sur gives the investigation a direct connection to Hal’s origin. Sur was a GL whose death preceded Hal inheriting his ring. Zoe hiding in Rushville is therefore tied to the event that changed Hal’s life.

The lore is a little different. In Green Lantern: Secret Origin, Atrocitus mortally wounds Abin Sur after escaping captivity aboard his ship (via DC Comics). The show places Zoe in the role of Abin Sur’s killer instead.

2 Hal’s Downfall Echoes Emerald Twilight

The determination with which Hal wants to keep his ring is reminiscent of a dark period in his lore history. In Emerald Twilight, Hal experiences a falling-out with the Guardians and the Green Lanterns. He transforms into Parallax.

There is a thematic connection here. Hal’s identity has been so tied up in being a Green Lantern that the idea of having his position taken away brings out his basest instincts. In Lights Out, his desire to hold on to his position overrides everything else, including his duty to John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).

1 The Unclaimed Ring Opens the Door for Guy Gardner

Lanterns Episode 5’s most intriguing potential DCU connection arrives when John walks away from the ring. Hal’s lost the Guardians’ confidence. John was their intended replacement, and he’s declined the position. That leaves an opening for a familiar candidate: Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion). He’s already operating as a Green Lantern in Superman, which takes place in 2025. So, is this why Guy eventually occupies that role?

Which DC connection in Lanterns Episode 5 caught your attention? Share your picks and anything we missed in the comments.