“Lanterns” season 1 ended last night, and the season finale delivered shocking revelations. We learned who killed Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler); we learned once and for all whether there’s another Manhunter out there, and we finally got to see Aaron Pierre put on the Green Lantern’s ring and say the magic (slightly amended) words that make John Stewart Earth’s protector going forward.
- Premiere date/time: All eight episodes out now
- Channel: HBO and streaming on HBO Max
In short, the season finale answered our questions … mostly. Luckily, I was invited to an HBO panel hosted by The Ringer’s Mallory Rubin, featuring none other than Pierre and his co-star Chandler, and they were able to answer a few more questions, including their reactions to the end of season 1, finally seeing this show on screen and how they would use the ring if they had it for themselves for 24 hours. Read on for some of their more insightful comments.
‘He won my heart over in the end’
Both Chandler and Pierre were surprisingly at peace with the ending of “Lanterns.” That’s not to say they were ready to move on; in fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d have said they were still in character. Pierre largely took the lead in the press conference, with Chandler chiming in with some insights tinged with comic relief. But this show wrapped up for them nearly a year and a half ago.
I had to gently wipe away a tear
Kyle Chandler on watching Hal say goodbye to John
That said, they still hadn’t seen the finished product until the “Lanterns” season premiere eight weeks ago. That means that last night was the end of this chapter in the Green Lanterns’ story for them, not just for us. And it seems to have moved Chandler in particular.
“Something that really struck me is the last scene with Aaron and I [Chandler] in the show — it struck me this morning, having to say goodbye,” Chandler explained in his signature Texan/Southern hybrid accent. “I had to gently wipe away a tear,” he admitted, also coming clean that he had to hide the outburst of emotion from his wife.
Still, this isn’t to say Pierre felt nothing. He was effusive in his praise throughout the interview, shouting out writers, cast and crew, etc. But he also reiterated that this is a dream come true for him. “To call this opportunity to play John Stewart a gift would be a massive understatement,” Pierre stated. “If I could choose to play any superhero, it would be John Stewart.”
Our heroes are blissfully ignorant of any backlash
For those of us who are terminally online, there’s no denying there’s been some backlash to this show. Some of it is valid; even I wouldn’t declare this show without fault. But a lot of it, frankly, doesn’t come from a good place, and I don’t even want to give it oxygen by addressing it here.
People from every walk of life have told me that this, that and the third have moved me, and I can’t wait for the next episode.
Aaron Pierre on public feedback on “Lanterns”
The good news is, while we may see some of the hate, Chandler and Pierre miss out on it entirely. Both stars admitted they don’t use social media for the most part, and Chandler doesn’t even have it.
“I hear things,” he told Rubin. “I don’t have social media. I don’t have anything.” He continued to explain, saying that someone once sent him a video of him and Pierre singing together, but that’s about all the online feedback he received. “I haven’t heard anything bad. I don’t know what’s out there; I’m sure there’s fifty percent/fifty percent [50/50].”
One thing he did highlight, though, was people coming up to him to tell him about what the show meant to them, something that was also happening to his co-star. “I’d say for me, most of what I’ve experienced over these eight weeks is people approaching me in public,” Pierre said. “And people from every walk of life have told me that this, that and the third have moved me, and I can’t wait for the next episode.”
Pierre was also asked earlier in the press conference about how “Lanterns” is suited to exploring Black identity, something that I felt tied in nicely with both stars being approached about how the DC show was impacting people.
“‘Lanterns’ is a story; ‘Lanterns’ is a creative team. What they did so beautifully and so masterfully is they create conversation. They create critical conversation, they create necessary conversation, they give insight—they give insight to a number of perspectives.”
At this point, Chandler smartly chimed in, “You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
Chandler’s superhero vision for the Green Lanterns power
After about 40 minutes, the conversation drew to a close. But Rubin had one last question, submitted by Torsten Schmidt, regarding what each “Lanterns” star would do if they had the Green Lantern’s ring for a 24-hour period. It was a question that stumped Pierre, who was unable to come up with an answer on the spot.
For Chandler, the answer was to borrow from a “Twilight Zone” episode and make it so we could tune out those looking to do evil. “I think it’s a construct [referring to what he’d create with the ring] where everyone, everyone who is out to do bad and not be part of the human experience, veering too far off themselves or towards places they shouldn’t be, would sort of fade away in a transparency, so you could barely see them.”
That said, he did want to clarify that these people should still be able to watch HBO, so they can see all of “Lanterns.”
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