‘Lanterns’ Writer Reveals What Makes Hal Jordan and John Stewart’s First Meeting So Devastating

HBO Max’s ‘Lanterns‘ has spent its first two episodes establishing Hal Jordan and John Stewart as reluctant partners investigating a murder mystery in the American heartland, but it’s the show’s willingness to dig into their shared history that’s turning heads this week. Rather than treating John Stewart as simply Hal’s newer, less experienced counterpart, the series has been quietly building toward a much deeper and more painful connection between the two Green Lanterns.

That connection came fully into focus with the show’s third episode, “OutKast,” which pulled back the curtain on John Stewart’s origin story in ways longtime comic fans likely didn’t expect. Rather than sticking to familiar comic book lore, where John’s backstory has traditionally been thinner than Hal’s, the episode dedicates itself almost entirely to tracing how John was shaped from infancy into becoming Earth’s second Green Lantern.

That deep dive set the stage for what episode 3 writer Vanessa Baden Kelly says is the true emotional core of the installment, Hal Jordan and John Stewart’s first-ever meeting. Speaking with Screen Rant, Baden Kelly explained that writing Hal required understanding a character so self-assured that he has no idea how much damage his presence has quietly caused the Stewart family.

According to Baden Kelly, Hal remains completely unaware that he wasn’t actually the first person chosen to receive Abin Sur’s ring, nor does he realize that John’s entire military career was derailed specifically because of Hal’s own recklessness. That imbalance becomes especially devastating in a moment that should represent the culmination of nearly thirty years of training for John, only for Hal, without even understanding what he’s doing, to rob him of that moment all over again.

Baden Kelly described wanting to explore what it would actually look like if John and the rest of the Stewart family finally had the chance to confront Hal directly, given how thoroughly Hal’s presence has altered the trajectory of their lives. She framed the challenge as figuring out what the family would even say to him, and how they would handle finally being face to face with the person responsible for so much of their pain.

The episode reveals that John wasn’t merely being trained as Hal’s backup, but was explicitly being groomed to replace him entirely, a detail that reframes much of the tension simmering beneath the surface of their partnership. Adding another layer to that history, John’s father, John Sr., was actually the first Stewart family member to be tested by the ring, only to be passed over after failing, a rejection that set off a chain of trauma that eventually led John’s mother, Bernadette, to personally take control of her son’s training in his father’s place.

By grounding John Stewart’s origin in generational sacrifice and unresolved resentment rather than simple superhero mythology, ‘Lanterns’ positions the eventual meeting between Hal and John as something far heavier than a typical mentor-recruit dynamic. It’s a choice that reframes everything viewers thought they understood about the show’s central partnership up to this point.

With Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart and Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan now carrying the weight of this newly revealed history between them, the rest of the season has plenty of emotional ground to explore as their partnership continues to develop.

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