'Lanterns' Episode 6 Teaser Confirms the Show Is Finally Circling Back to Hal Jordan's Murder

For five episodes, ‘Lanterns‘ has asked its audience to be patient. HBO’s DC Studios drama paired veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan with rookie John Stewart and then spent most of its runtime dwelling in 2016, chasing a slow-burn mystery in the fictional town of Rushville, Nebraska, rather than rushing toward spectacle.

That patience has occasionally tested viewers who signed up expecting a superhero show and instead got something closer to a prestige crime drama with cosmic dressing. The series comes from a trio with serious pedigree behind it, and that pairing has shaped a season more interested in mood and character than in quick cosmic payoffs.

Now the wait appears to be paying off. A newly released teaser for episode 6 confirms ‘Lanterns’ is finally circling back to the case that opened the entire series: who killed Hal Jordan in 2026.

The clip arrived courtesy of entertainment outlet DiscussingFilm, which shared the first look at the upcoming installment alongside a link to its own review. The preview shows John Stewart beginning to investigate his former mentor’s death, a plot thread the show introduced in its premiere and then set aside for nearly the entire season.

First teaser for Episode 6 of ‘LANTERNS’.

Read our review: https://t.co/Q8gD40hnDk pic.twitter.com/7KSusB8jhH
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 14, 2026

Episode 5 wrapped up the long-running Rushville storyline, clearing the runway for the series to jump back to the present day. That earlier episode also explained why Guy Gardner, rather than Hal or John, is the Green Lantern seen protecting Earth during the events of ‘Superman’.

The teaser makes clear the show has moved on from 2016 entirely, with its focus locked on John piecing together what happened to Hal. Rushville itself doesn’t come away from the season unscathed, either, as the town’s Lantern Signal appears defaced with graffiti in the new footage, a small but pointed detail suggesting the community has soured on its Green Lantern visitors.

Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is also set to reappear in the episode, continuing a role he first introduced in this year’s ‘Superman’ before bringing the character into the HBO series full time. Fillion has been candid about how different his live-action take feels from his previous animated work as a Green Lantern.

Fillion has described filming a scene for ‘Lanterns’ where his character comes across as contently smug, noting that it has been interesting to see how different environments affect the character, the actor told Entertainment Weekly. That kind of tonal flexibility fits a show that has leaned heavily on its ensemble, which also includes Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

Titled “Bad Optics,” episode 6 is scheduled to premiere Sunday, September 20, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, with a simultaneous stream on HBO Max. It marks the sixth of eight episodes in the first season, leaving just two installments after it before the show’s two-part finale.

With only two episodes left following this one, ‘Lanterns’ does not have much runway remaining to answer the questions it raised in its opening minutes. The return to the murder investigation suggests the back half of the season intends to tighten rather than widen its focus, pulling every dangling thread from Rushville back toward Hal Jordan’s death.

Whether the show sticks the landing on a mystery it has spent five hours circling is still an open question, but the teaser at least signals momentum. For a series that built its identity on delayed gratification, episode 6 looks like the moment ‘Lanterns’ starts paying its audience back.