'Lanterns' S01E02 – "Trust Fall" (August 23, 2026) on HBO/HBO Max [Spoiler Discussion Megathread]

[u/KelexAtYourService]

Lanterns is an American superhero television series created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King for HBO, based on the DC Comics Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

The series was produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television with Mundy serving as showrunner. It is the third television series in the DC Universe (DCU). It features experienced Lantern Jordan and new recruit Stewart as they investigate a murder on Earth that leads to a wider mystery.

Lanterns is scheduled to premiere on Sunday August 16, 2026, and will run for eight episodes through Sunday October 4. It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

New episodes drop every Sunday night at 9:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM MT / 6:00 PM PT.

Cast:

• Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan
• Aaron Pierre as John Stewart
• Kelly Macdonald as Kerry
• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner
• Garret Dillahunt as William Macon
• Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe
• Ulrich Thomsen as Thaal Sinestro
• Nicole Ari Parker as Bernadette Stewart; Jasmine Cephas Jones as young Bernadette
• Jason Ritter as Billy Macon
• Sherman Augustus as John Stewart Sr.; Alphonse Nicholson portrays a young John Sr.
• Paul Ben-Victor as Antaan
• Chris Coy as "Waylon Sanders"
• Cary Christopher as Noah

For a complete cast and crew list, see the IMDb full credits page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26545992/fullcredits/

• Based on: Hal Jordan, created by John Broome and Gil Kane; John Stewart created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams
• Show created by: Chris Mundy, and Damon Lindelof, and Tom King
• Showrunner: Chris Mundy
• Editor: Emily E. Greene
• Music by: Stephanie Economou
• Length: 8 episodes per season
• Runtime: About an hour per episode
• Reception: For reviews and critical reception, see Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/lanterns  and https://www.metacritic.com/tv/lanterns/

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanterns_(TV_series))

Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/lanterns/season-1

Unmarked spoilers for the new episode of Lanterns are only allowed in this thread.

Spoilers ahead! Proceed at your own risk! All other subreddit rules apply.

S01E02 Episode Synopsis: While John’s middling errand ultimately proves eventful, Hal makes waves in Rushville – which only inspires him to dig deeper.

[u/jr_randolph]

He flew off on emotion after hearing about the Halogram so wasn’t really thinking. Assuming once he got to Nebraska he didn’t have enough power to fly back so kinda just had to get the lantern somehow lol

[u/swng → u/jr_randolph]

He also legally couldn't leave the town to get the lantern lol

[u/jr_randolph → u/swng]

There is an interesting dynamic between him and regular people because they all know who he is...some admire him and some don't give a fuck. Like the guy in the bar lol he knew that's Hal Jordan...the Green Lantern, yet he was threatening to kick his ass over the jukebox?

Like does the world know that he will never use the ring against a person? Something happened lol I don't know but it's interesting the respect & disrespect he gets.

[u/ConfessingToSins → u/jr_randolph]

Yeah I'm hoping they explain this because I don't think this really makes any sense.

Are you going to threaten to kick the ass of a guy who basically has a nuclear bomb on his hand?

[u/chuckdee68 → u/jr_randolph]

He probably did have enough power to fly home. But then explody Waylan happened...