Episode 6 of HBO’s “Lanterns” picks up ten years after the disaster that tore through the fictional town of Rushville — an event most residents still call a catastrophe caused by the Green Lanterns, not the miracle survival John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) believes it was. That history means neither John nor the current ring-bearer, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), is welcome back in town. Both show up anyway.
The episode centers on John Stewart teaming with Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) to investigate the murder of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), Earth’s original Green Lantern. Backstory revealed in the episode: after John turned down the ring, Hal was jailed, and the Guardians handed the ring instead to a gym teacher — Guy Gardner. That’s the same Guy Gardner audiences have seen wielding the ring in “Superman” and “Peacemaker.” John calls in a favor from Guy this episode, and it comes with consequences nobody saw coming.
John and Kerry also attend Hal’s funeral. Reading a eulogy Hal wrote for himself, John learns Hal expected his death to be treated as a major event. Instead, the funeral is small — just John, Kerry, and a woman named Carol Ferris (Amie Mackenzie). The only nod to Hal’s real identity comes when John pressures Guy into slipping off to Oa to retrieve Hal’s old suit and ring so Hal can be buried in them.
Why John robbed the grave
John frames the request as a gesture of respect for Hal. But once the mourners leave, he digs up the grave himself. He isn’t trying to reclaim the ring for himself — he needs Hal’s voice to open Hal’s vault, which is secured by a voice lock that only responds to the real thing, not a recording. That’s why John summons a “Halogram” — a voice-activated hologram of Hal — as the very first use of the ring, rather than flying or calling back Hal’s old pet bird. The Halogram’s first line on being summoned: “God damn it.” Whether this version of Hal will cooperate, or whether it carries the same combative edge as the Hal fans met back in 2016, is left open.
Who is Carol Ferris
Carol Ferris’s appearance at the funeral is a deep-cut nod for comic readers. In the source material, Ferris is Hal Jordan’s original love interest — long before Sheriff Kerry Kane, who serves that role in the HBO series. Before becoming Green Lantern, Hal worked as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft, a company owned by Carol’s father that she later runs herself. Hal initially hides his superhero identity from her, but she eventually gets pulled into the same cosmic storylines — sometimes as a hero, sometimes as a villain.
Carol Ferris has previously been played by Blake Lively in the 2011 “Green Lantern” film starring Ryan Reynolds, and voiced in animation by Kari Wahlgren, Jennifer Hale, and Olivia d’Abo. In “Lanterns,” the role goes to Denver-based actress Amie Mackenzie, who spent decades working in Colorado theater, survived cancer, and landed her first onscreen role — in “Better Call Saul” — at age 53. She’s since appeared in “The Madison” and “Mountainhead.”
Asked about the missed chance to put Carol Ferris and Kerry Kane in a scene together at the funeral, Kelly Macdonald said:
“Would have been lovely, wouldn’t it? I wanted a moment with Guy Gardner as well. Like, who wouldn’t?”
Guy Gardner’s accidental rise
The episode also clears up how Guy Gardner ended up holding the ring in “Superman” and “Peacemaker”: he was never the Guardians’ first choice. He was the backup plan behind both Hal and John — and if John had accepted the ring as the Guardians wanted, Guy never would have gotten it. Cast members had warm words for the character. “That guy is hilarious. That character and that actor and that person,” Kyle Chandler said. “I’ve got a love for that guy. He is fantastic.” Aaron Pierre agreed: “He is fantastic and he is hilarious on and off screen. Yeah, that’s my guy! No pun intended.”
