Lanterns Showrunners Reveal How John Stewart Earned His Own Green Lantern Oath in Season 1 Finale

HBO’s Lanterns concluded its eight-episode first season this week with a finale that answered the show’s most pressing questions, revealing exactly how Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart becomes a Green Lantern and confirming that Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan remains dead. Rather than closing on spectacle, the episode doubled down on character, culminating in a bittersweet emotional beat between its two leads and introducing an entirely new oath for Stewart—a creative decision that showrunners Charles Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Vishaal King now explain in detail.

The finale, described by critics as a somber but deeply satisfying capstone to the season, left no question of Hal’s fate. After being murdered earlier in the run, Hal exists only as a “Halogram,” an AI remnant that lingers alongside Stewart throughout the season. In the closing minutes, Stewart charges his new ring and accepts his destiny as a Green Lantern—though he does so strictly on his own terms.

A Lantern Forged on His Own Terms

Stewart wields Hal’s old ring, which has been infused with Yellow fear-light by Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) for the young hero Noah (Shea Pritchard). Operating as a strictly unsanctioned Lantern, Stewart effectively blackmails his way into taking jurisdiction of Earth from Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and to reflect this unique status he activates his ring with an oath of his own making. When asked why the writers chose to introduce a new version of the iconic Green Lantern vow, Mundy pointed back at Stewart’s unconventional journey.

“I think the idea was we sort of were taking a look back at what we had done with the season, and so John’s path was not the normal path,” Mundy told press. “The ring didn’t choose him, he was interviewed, he was kind of raised for it. He was having to choose this thing, then he decided not to do it, and then decided that he needed to do it on his own terms. We wanted it to be true to the original and respectful of the original, but his version is rooted, obviously, in the OG version of it, but we also wanted to tweak it to talk about the themes that we talked about, and fear.”

Charles Mundy, Lanterns showrunner

Lindelof added that Stewart’s refusal to fully align with any institution was central to his character. “For a man who pledged his loyalty to the military, to his parents, [that’s his] idea of saying, ‘I’m kind of beyond doing that for other organizations,'” Lindelof said. King noted that this unsanctioned status justified a distinct vow in its own right.

“What we see at the end is that John is not a hundred percent a Green Lantern anymore, he has a Lantern that has a bit of yellow in it, has a bit of fear in it. It’s an unsanctioned Lantern, as Guy says,” King said. “So, just like a Yellow Lantern says something different, or a Green Lantern says something different, or an Orange Lantern says something, this thing that John is… gets its own unique oath.”

Vishaal King, Lanterns producer

The Emotional Weight of Hal and John’s Bond

Becoming a Green Lantern carries a bittersweet cost: charging the ring purges all traces of Hal from it, erasing the Halogram for good. Just before that final death, the two characters share a poignant moment in which both tell each other they love him—a testament to a bond that persisted despite Hal’s years of pushing his trainee away.

Chandler and Pierre discussed the challenges of filming the pivotal scene and why it served as such an important culmination of their season-long arc. Chandler described the exchange as a rare moment of raw honesty on screen, one he felt older Hollywood would have suppressed.

“The fact of the matter is it’s a human experience, and it was a purely honest, open moment for an actor to express themselves, and it was a joyous thing to be able to do on screen,” Chandler said. “And it was easy to do with Aaron because, although I really don’t like him very much [laughs], I knew I was getting paid.”

Kyle Chandler, who plays Hal Jordan

Pierre echoed the sentiment, noting that the pair’s notoriously combative on-set dynamic made the quiet beat all the more meaningful.

“There are certain moments within the script that, I think for Kyle and I, when we realized that kind of stopped all of that for a moment… that was really quite moving for us,” Pierre said. “And Kyle believes he made me cry on that day, I think I made him cry [laughs], but we’ll have to let the episode bear it and see what the verdict is.”

Aaron Pierre, who plays John Stewart

An Introspective Finale by Design

Lanterns Episode 8 defies expectations in that it sidesteps the action-packed climax audiences might anticipate. The writers clearly expended their spectacle earlier in Episode 5, leaving the finale as a moody, introspective affair focused on capping Stewart’s emotional journey toward embracing the Green Lantern mantle.

The producers confirmed there was never an alternate, more action-heavy version of the ending. Mundy insisted that landing the story emotionally with its two leads was always the priority over spectacle.

“There was never a version of the finale that was more action-oriented,” Mundy said. “This story was about these two guys. And so, we knew that if we landed it emotionally with them, we would have done our job.” King added that an action-centric ending would have betrayed the show’s identity: “Avoid clichés like they’re the plague… It’s not what you expect, and that’s entirely what this show has been.”

Vishaal King, Lanterns producer

The Fate of Earl, and Beyond

The conference concluded with perhaps the most pressing question of all: What happened to Hal’s beloved pet plant Earl? A flashback reveals Hal burned to death in a house fire—mirroring Stewart’s own near-death in 2016—but was saved by Manhunter technology. As for Earl, Mundy insisted the carnivorous houseplant survived.

“That’s an excellent question that I’ve never considered,” Mundy said. “I don’t think Earl needed to be reskinned; I don’t think Earl goes down that easy.” Lindelof concurred: “Earl probably has the thickest skin of anybody on the show, I would imagine.”

Damon Lindelof, Lanterns co-creator

If there is a Season 2—and all signs point to that right now—Earl should remain a vital part of the cast. For more context, see what James Gunn had to say about the criticisms surrounding Hal’s death, and brush up on every DC movie and series in development.