Lanterns “Dirt and Stars⁩” Review

Season 1 Episode 8 – As John and Hal draw closer to the truth, John comes to an unexpected understanding with Sheriff Kane… just as a chilling new discovery emerges.

Please note that our reviews are based on likes and dislikes. These contain significant spoilers. If you haven’t already watched the episode, we recommend that you click off the article and come back once you have watched the episode. Enjoy!

Highlights

1. John interrogates Sinestro after we learn that Noah is a Manhunter. We also discover that Sinestro built Noah a Lantern, which John now takes control of. Noah wants the Lantern but needs a ring to use it, eventually leading to Guy’s name being brought into the conversation. There’s a lot of information revealed during this scene, but perhaps the funniest part comes at the end. John and Halogram simply leave Sinestro tied to a chair, trapped on that tiny island, seemingly without a care in the world.

2. Noah ambushes John when he returns through the portal, and the pair eventually go on a drive together. The conversation initially feels like a heart-to-heart, with John finally telling Noah the truth about what happened to Zoe. They eventually pull up at the football game, where Noah admits that he was the one who killed Hal Jordan. He explains that he did it because he didn’t want Kerry discovering the portal or finding out about everything he had been doing. After an entire season of wondering exactly what happened to Hal, I was so glad to finally get an answer… or so we think.

3. Noah then drops an absolute bombshell on John. He asks John to kill him, as long as he doesn’t see it coming, essentially asking for it as an act of mercy. I wasn’t expecting this at all, especially when Noah even places the ring on the dashboard of the car. John emotionally calls out for Hal, knowing that Halogram is listening, but Halogram refuses to answer him. It was one of those completely unexpected moments where I genuinely had no idea where the episode was about to go next.

What Didn’t Work

1. I really thought we were onto something when Noah admitted to killing Hal. Unfortunately, we all knew Kerry was involved somehow, and ultimately, it turns out that she was. The reveal felt predictable and, after everything the series had built up around this mystery, I was honestly hoping for more. It also felt against so much of what Kerry seemingly stood for throughout the season. Considering Hal’s death has been one of the biggest mysteries driving the entire story, the eventual payoff just felt incredibly underwhelming.

2. John calls for Guy using the Lantern beacon before standing up to him and demanding that he will take responsibility for Earth. Guy fires back that once the Guardians find out, they’ll send an army to take John down, but John couldn’t care less. I understand what the scene is trying to do for John, but I just can’t say I’m a fan of it. I actually really like Guy as Earth’s Green Lantern, so seeing John essentially push him aside didn’t land for me in the way I think the episode intended.

3. There was a lot of talking and very little action. I’m glad that plenty of questions were finally answered, but it continuously falls into one of my biggest complaints about the series: it simply doesn’t feel like it has a big enough budget. This is the season finale of a Green Lantern series, and I expected it to feel significantly bigger than what we ultimately got.

4. The lack of a proper moment when John finally becomes a Green Lantern was also a huge letdown. I really wanted that moment of crisis where we hear John recite the oath before finally watching him suit up. After an entire season building towards John becoming the Green Lantern we know, it deserved to feel monumental. Instead, the series once again held back from giving us that big superhero moment, and I think the finale suffered because of it.

5. For a show about the Green Lanterns, the lack of constructs in the full-blown season finale is perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects of the entire series for me. The ring and its constructs are such an iconic part of what makes Green Lantern visually unique, yet even in the finale, we barely get to see that potential realised. After eight episodes, I expected the show to finally let loose, but it never really did.

6. Noah wins the game, his parents hug him, he takes the hat from the scout as though he’s going to sign for them… and then nothing really comes from it. This happens shortly after Noah literally asks John to kill him, which makes the sudden change in direction feel incredibly strange. That scene in the car felt like it was setting up something huge for Noah, only for the episode to seemingly move past it. It left me wondering what the entire point of that conversation was.

Standout Character

I would like to give this to Hal. Not Halogram. Hal. It all comes down to that opening scene for me. In less than 10 minutes, Hal managed to take me from hating him just a few episodes ago to genuinely feeling awful for him. The moment he desperately tries to save Earl immediately brought me back to when John found Earl alone in Hal’s apartment, and suddenly that scene felt even more heartbreaking. Hal genuinely wanted to do right and become a better person, but he simply wasn’t given enough time to do it. It almost feels like Red Dead Redemption 2, except Arthur Morgan never got his chance at redemption.

Favourite Moment

I like how the opening sequence shows us what Hal was doing with Kerry after he got out of prison. They’ve done such a good job of making us feel sorry for Hal after everything he’s done. I’ve really enjoyed seeing this side of him, where he’s simply trying to be better every single day, even despite the fact there are people trying to kill him. When his house is on fire and his only goal is to protect Earl, I couldn’t help but feel awful for him. I just wanted to see Hal get the ring back and become the hero he was trying so desperately to be again.