LANTERNS EPISODE 8 FINALE REVIEW – DID THEY NAIL THE ENDING?! – DC STUDIOS

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1:00hearty vites and refreshments. In flight stay connected with high-speed Wi-Fi, sponsored by AT&T. Your journey is designed to feel easy from the moment you check in to the moment you arrive. No matter where you're going, American gets you there. But now at AA.com. Citizens of the Reject Nation, it is time to clear my throat. Citizens of the Reject Nation, it is time to watch the finale of lanterns. I am losing my voice again, but I'm very excited to watch how this show ends. We got a lot of information in the last episode, but there is a lot more still to learn. How are you this week Greg? I'm doing good, Koi. I'm so excited for this finale. I'm so excited for the internet's reaction. I'm inevitable joy. It's coming. John? I'm not. I'm excited for a landing stuck. Nothing more, nothing less. What are you excited for, Koi? I'm excited to see if it feels it needs to connect a man of tomorrow and how that sets up or not, because I feel like John's towards pretty fleshed out now.

2:01So that's my only real curiosity. Let's find out together in three, two, one. This week's videos are sponsored by PricePix, the easy to use fantasy sports betting app more on them in just a bit. Well, this concludes our lanterns. That was lanterns, presumably season one. I hope if you want to watch us watch it in its entirety, please sing up with your own copy and tune in to the Patreon. You can also check out a exclusive watch along from these gentlemen as well as discounts on tees like these. So much to say. And I love that this last episode still had some twists and turns. We always finish with Greg, but now they're at the last episode. We're going to start with Greg. Greg. I appreciated how most of this was play like and how it was mainly a lot of scene work. Met with scenes were just characters confiding or telling truths to one another that were

3:02emotional and plot development. It wasn't just solely information to speed up the episode. In fact, this is like kind of antithetical to the way a lot of fanaties and television would especially in this medium go where it feels like a lot of quick wrapping up succession and you got to like get a lot of answers done. And I appreciated the patience and how deliberate everything was. The choice that John Stewart lands on by the end. I appreciated that a lot too. And also the understanding of programming nature versus nurture essentially or programming versus nurturing as well as understanding that not feeling fear, quote unquote, is really just suppressing fear and that suppression of fear in some ways can overtake you and will somehow will overpower or come through in the way you think or feel or act if you do not feel your feelings essentially. So it's like a kind of cool tale that deconstructs with the lantern mantra is in the whole

4:06point of being a lantern is in a very human sense. So I love that they decided to take manhunter's lanterns. This whole thing like Android and then break it down to this whole thing is about human experience and connection and relationships and such. Overall, I feel like it's really good season of television. I do have some gripes that I will go into later. Things that I don't fully just sometimes sometimes I think about some of it, but overall it's pretty soft finale. And for what the show is and what it's aiming to do, it really succeeds in that realm. And I feel like this sticks the landing and like wraps up the the story they wanted to tell in this season. There's other things outside of it that I would like to kind of discuss some things within, but for the most part for the season of the show lanterns, it's all a finale and I really

5:07liked it. John, I would echo all of those sentiments for the most part getting all the personal tie ups here. And like you said, just the way they let so many things breathe, letting some long takes role as you watch. As I think you said, you could just feel people thinking and responding to each other. And yeah, just like a really nice flavor to apply to something like this and to show that you can have your cake and eat it too. I mean, I found this to be a pretty satisfying and a pretty resonant episode. And I liked their philosophical musings and yeah, debates and whatnot, especially between John and Sinestro and John and Noah and John and Carrie and all the different ways that he kind of uses what he, his own training, his own experience and his own knowledge of these people, his heart, all these things to kind of see who's doing what for what motivation and then to make his own choice, you know, beyond that, not to, you know, sit there with this leverage of like, you know, was making this impassioned plea to like, you know, these

6:11these, yeah, he wants something grim for a good purpose and you could even imagine leaving that scene going like, well, yeah, I guess. You know, I don't know. I like the way that it brought all these impossible sort of what do you do into, yeah, like just you have to own the moral choice of it and, you know, follow your best instincts, follow your gut. I liked as Greg was pointing out like how much of how's gut, especially ring how's gut, you know, was sound and true to the end, which I think to given the unique sci-fi-ness of a show like this, you get to have an additional sort of like wise sage quality that's able to like slip on over the sort of rascal-in-ness of a character like how Jordan and either, you know, iteration of him. And I do appreciate that they dangled like, he said the possibility of bringing how back to life exists at all.

7:12So like, I'm sure if they ever want to, they can hit the switch. Yeah. But I really like this as a completion of the journey for John. I really liked, I mean, you know, I'm curious to see how this whole like independent contractor thing applies. I feel like that's going to be a thing for people to swallow. Maybe I don't know. I don't know if that applies to the source material so much. Well, it's interesting because there's so many lanterns on our, you know, that there's kind of a running joke about the volume of lanterns in our one sector. Sure. So I feel like it's a more emotionally resonant way to acknowledge it that you're just like, you know, we got a bunch. Sure. So I think it's a, you know, it will be depending on people's level of like to the tea. But that was always going to be a conversation in a show called Lanterns and in the mythology. One thing that I was really impressed by was, you know, they, they really set out to have programming be the theme of this episode and how perfectly that's a good last episode. But looking at every single lead going against their programming in this one episode was amazing.

8:14That was a comic cover. I was like, oh, the profile with them with hell and that I'm fit in the background. Yeah. But the programming element of, I mean, every single character, Noah, his programming as a man hunter would be to kill and his programming as a good kid is to basically do what is right and, you know, try to help others. And then that's obviously what he goes towards. But anyone's programming is to survive. So going against all of his nature in some way. And then John Stewart is just following orders. He is taking a mission and if he's told like we see him and meet him as a man who doesn't want to hear the human element. He literally says, I don't know about the man. I want to know about the mission. And then he does the opposite. He invests in the people and doesn't want to do what the mission would require. He has the conversation. You know, as Sheriff Kane is a lover that wants to save that is always trying to help. And she accidentally kills out of protection that is like very against her programming.

9:17Even Hal Jordan, who, you know, has been someone that didn't know how to love that is so guarded that he has all these walls up says, I love you. So this episode very, very pointedly gave everyone their counter programming. And that ties beautifully into the yellow mixing with the green and the lantern at the end. The programming of what the oath is and modifying that to incorporate fear. The idea that, you know, fear is a necessity. Sinestro is not wrong. And I love that John Stewart is wise enough to understand that just because he's saying it in manipulation doesn't mean it's not still true. So incorporating fear even into the oath and incorporating fear into those concepts. I said it last week, but there's a lot about the lantern lore that I like, but I don't connect emotionally to the characters often, which is ironic because they're so founded in emotion. And one of the things that's always kind of been a struggle for me is, you know, the yellow is fear and avoided at all costs, but there is, and there is certainly some comics that do commentary similar to this, but there is the element of human nature where we need fear to survive.

10:21And I think this show really addressed the yellow in a positive way well, because that is a tricky concept that is addressed in the comics, but not usually in one episode. I would say this episode almost singularly handled yellow as a blend of positive and negative, which is much more like how emotions are. So really impressed the programming elements, really impressed the emotionality, really impressed with the feeling I got when he finally did take the oath. And like, you know, you build up for eight hours that really needs to be a moment. I did feel a profoundness when he took off and flew. It makes sense to me, you know, we save the suit for Man of Tomorrow because, you know, we just took the oath and, unless they want a green lantern, Ryan Reynolds it. And it, I'm excited to see the person designing it that's going to be that going forward. So I'm very intrigued by that. And what I think is really interesting about this is this is probably the best example I can point to of the most polar opposite as its last iteration that exists in comicdom. There is about the furthest distance between the Ryan Reynolds movie and this.

11:24And I'm sure there are people that are going to prefer the Ryan Reynolds movie. But there is so much truth. That's the strongest. I have good taste. Guys, the amount of people that are that say Spider-Man 3 is better than anything that's come sense. It's crazy out there. This video is sponsored by Price Fix. Football is officially back. And if daily fantasy is your thing, Price Fix has a lot going on this month. Price Fix is a skilled base fantasy game. You pick anywhere from two to six players choose more or less unprojected stats like past yards, rush yards or fantasy score, filter lineup and follow everything right through the app. Pretty straight forward. I actually got introduced to fantasy sports through my wife and her friends and one of my best friends uses Price Fix. So I've been around people who genuinely enjoy this stuff well before we ever partner with them. And for stacked September, Price Fix is doing a new promo every day with guaranteed picks every Sunday plus profit boosts and daily discounts throughout the month. Now on the up to date news code Rejects are going to $150 insulin in lineups. If you win your first $5 lineup again down the up to date and use code Rejects going $150

12:27insulin in lineups. If you win your first $5 lineup, Price Fix run your game. People love the prequel trilogy. There is no accounting for taste with enough nostalgia. But the the element of truth in the lantern core being that broad of a spectrum is really fascinating to me because there are some truths in that Ryan Reynolds movie. The movie doesn't work and it's crazy because it's the director of like one of the best bond movies, but when you have enough problems, it just falls apart. There's truth in there. And then there's so much truth in this. And this is arguably the most you can make the truth of the core of the lantern core without a lot of lanterning. So I just I think it's really cool as a fan of the comic book medium to see something that is this spectrum of success and failure. We're the thing that has the least amount of lanterning. I think captures the emotion and core more than the thing with the most amount of lanterning. And how some people are going to be drawn to different versions of those things. So I thought that was a cool little thing to just experience at the end of this journey. Did you guys like the flip on the oath? I did because there are flavors to the oath.

13:30I also you know darkest night. It's traditionally blackest night, but there are some people that write it as darkest night. So it's cool to hear that as canon as well. And then obviously the remix after that. But but brightest day darkest night is how it is in my head, but blackest night is technically correct. But then the rest is obviously you know there are elements of those oaths in the comics. So it's cool to hear that take for John Stuart getting to be unique. Yeah. So some of your qualms now that I've monologue. Yeah, yeah. My biggest qualm. And this has nothing to do with even having some familiarity either with cartoons or comics. Is I don't know why anyone want to be a green lantern. This showed is not to do anything to sell the wonder or the heroicness or the privilege or the joy or guy who is the curd was about the most. And for a guy who wants who seemed like he was conditioned in program to be a lantern.

14:34That was the part that kind of missed the arc for me on that point. Was like I mean it seems like it's the responsibility like okay with this power of responsibility. Like I understand all that what they're getting at. I do feel this was the one case this whole experience. I've heard this said about the Superman movie and it hurts that about the superhero movie. Points that I do not feel. I would actually apply it more to hear though. Even though I really really really enjoyed the hell out of this whole season to television. Is people will say like I feel like Superman was a sequel to a movie we never got. I feel like Supergirl was a sequel to a movie we never got. And in a lot of ways I kind of feel that way with a lot of aspects of this show. That is when the being aware of how Jordan does seep into my brain more. Or I'm like fuck man we didn't really like Sinestro's like the bad. We didn't get much of Sinestro's like the Sinestro elements. He's never really a threat or scary and they allude to parts of the past.

15:39And I kind of feel like they threw away a lot of how Jordan and to get to this point here and I'm like oh man. So that's the how Jordan side that we've talked about several times already. But my biggest quam with the whole experience is I've never sold me once. I'm like anyone who want to be seems like it'd be fucking awful. The big green lantern just seems like you're controlled. You got the guardians who've just like it's draconian rule. And then just like a birding you don't want to carry at all. But everything about it just seemed like awful to be a lantern. So I'm like why would you anyone want to be a lantern? It's like even when he's a lantern. How he's barely lantern. So that's like my biggest issue with this show is I think they did have a responsibility in some extent to sell you on. Oh, you know what I kind of get why you would still like you have to present make it look a little cool. There's gotta be a little wonder. A little a little wonder and I understand because that's what I mean by this where I feel that's sequel element that people have sub-supermanager.

16:40Prokeral was like we're kind of what you've said with like Batman v Superman and stuff of oh this is but the point where we need like a deconstruction. And it's like we're this feels like a deconstruction. We have no like construction when we don't know but there's like barely any construction. Like I could see why you might do that for Man of Steel or Batman v Superman because we've had so much of them in my action. And when in this show I'm like we've only had that one Brian Reynolds movie that everyone hates and that was a long time ago. So then to immediately swing into we're going to skip over so much of Hal Jordan where like the Hector Hammond is not even part of his past really at the Sinestro elements and then we're not even going to sell you on why I be like need to be a lantern. It just seems like awful. So yeah, those are my qualms of the thing. I got things one thing I just thought of I don't want to forget I'm so sorry. Did Hector Hammond that was how young 10 years ago program ring how right? So there's a chance that Hector Hammond met him after that right? No, no, no, he stood didn't know who he was but he was.

17:42No, he confronted that's when him and John Stewart where they first was living how? Well, yeah, I was living how and then and he didn't even recognize that guy wasn't real Hector Hammond. No, I caught that but I was wondering I was hoping that it was the program how but it wasn't erect because I was trying to piece together because there's so much chronology. And the other thing I was thinking was I did not put that together at all. I completely understand where you're coming from but I'm wondering if it's my comic look, like comic book like we'd be fun to be a like I wonder if my programming is of course it would be great to have powers. So I didn't feel the lack of it because of how much I've read. Do you know what I mean? Like I don't I never considered that the show itself did not give us the joy of it because I'm so aware of like why I've felt it in the but I think that that was like public office too. Like I can't as I get older there's not a single thing that would get me to want to be an elected official or a cop or a fireman or an EMT like a lot of my family is in EMT and firefighting and it's like so heroic but like I cannot imagine what would call to me.

18:45Do you know what I mean? Like I think it's pure responsibility like like there's nothing firefighters get the glamour being like this is this space sci-fi comic book, yeah this is not. No, no, no. No, no. It's I mean like I'm I'm wondering I'm trying to dissect I'm doing a deconstruction. But like I imagine if it was my really. But like that's the the show suppose to be like if it was. Yeah, I understand. So I'm like, that's what you do later, though, is my point. I'm trying to figure out if I feel like this because of the eight episodes or if I feel like this because the comics gave me the fun or if I feel like this because I don't understand why you want to be a regular cop, much less a space cop. Like, I don't get why anyone would be like, I'd like to do that in the terrestrial version. So it's a very interesting thing to, eight hours that I considered this. I had so many of that. I think they could have patched that whole. Like, you can't patch certain characters or certain important arcs of the past. But I feel like if they had done some stuff in the past when John's a kid, they have them on TV. So why not end to it? That's a way to hide, Barry, some of your effects,

19:45and striations, and quality stuff. Like, you show some green lanterning from afar in that way when John's a kid may be a little bit more to give us that sense of like, oh, wow, cool, the potential, the possibility. And they bother to be like, oh, he wants to be an artist. He wants to like leave his vocation as a, you know, as a, you know, elite agent of sorts, and become, you know, the kind of opposite of that. And so I feel like they could have thematically just, yeah, harped that there. Like, they had an opportunity that they could have used. But I don't know. Yeah, I hadn't considered that. That's really interesting. Yeah, that's what I mean. No, it's a fairly fair, it's just open to hold the whole door in my mind. But that's what I mean. But like, the execution of this episode was the season itself is like a great season to television. Like I, I can definitely plant myself in the perspective of what the show wants me to watch it as. And I enjoyed it. I feel like the writing in this episode in particular was interesting, because it was probably the most on the nose they've been,

20:46but I think what they're writing, like they really like laid out every thought and feeling and theme. Yeah. It's going on here. And I'm like, that's final episode. Fuck, I just put it all out there. So I know when Mrs. The Point here, so that was one part. And I'd like the reveal of the kid, but I wasn't super connected to the kid prior to this episode. So it was like, it's like weird. I really like the scene in the car with him and everything and the choice he makes and what he stands for. I like all that, but I wasn't as perhaps connected to the moment as I hope to be. I feel like they didn't want to do that too much because the movie would have guessed, but I'm definitely aware that I don't feel like we spent enough time with him other than that one thing. Yeah, I feel like I can character like that would be more interesting if this show took place on one timeline. Yeah. Or if you watched it chronologically. Yeah. Well, but even still like the totality, like you have one episode from before where I really remember being like, yes, Noah is a character and then this. So like so many hours of past. Yes, that he would be involved in this somehow

21:48as a joke early on just because I was like, well, he's important enough that he's got to amount to something but he's not come back yet. So like somehow, you know, but I still thought I was Chris Deez and television. Overall, still things were really great. Is this what the fourth DC studios release Creature Commandos Superman? You should know. I know. That's why I'm trying to say to like, Creature Commandos Superman Supergirl this. Am I missing in the Oh, peace maker? Peace maker season two. Okay. Technically season one, I guess, but yes, season two. So this is like the fifth, the fifth. I think that's my second favorite. Second only Superman. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Ah, I think Creature Commandos is a close third for me. Oh, yeah, Creature Commandos. Here's your second. It's inside of my first or second. Wow, we've much I like Creature Commandos way more than everyone else. Awesome. I love Creature Commandos more than like the average individual. It is a close third, but I, all right, I respect you for a second. All right, dude, it's a blast. It's so much fun. And then you love the music. There's like a weird Northern, Northeast block,

22:49Skull. It's got like a flavor to it. For sure, peace maker season two is four. And for sure, supergirls. Alas. That's for sure. The three though, I really enjoy a lot of this stuff. Three. I mean, I really enjoy it. It's squeaking. I feel like, you know, at three out of five, I'm very confident in and then the other two. I'm like, we're figuring it out. Yeah. But I had a great time at that. I really, really, I was so impressed that they landed it because that's always the concern with a long form show. The ending will try to set up too much or it'll just be like, and the twist doesn't really resonate. So I'm very happy at the finale. Would love to know what you lovely think in the comments below. Did you like lanterns as a season? Did you like lanterns the finale? Are you excited to see John Stewart in Man of Tomorrow? Do you think Hal Jordan is coming back because Sinestro left a hanging shed? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Please like this video if you haven't already. Please subscribe if you're somehow watching 15 minutes in.

23:51Clearly you like some of what we have to say. We appreciate you very much, Reject Nation. We'll see you for the next thing. Very, very soon. Bye. At ZockDock, we know you care about your health. You wouldn't do that early morning cardio if you didn't. So the fact that your annual physical is overdue just shows how hard it can be to get seen by a doctor. Sorry, that doctor's not a network. Press one for more options. You've reached us outside normal business hours. The next availability is in three months. But ZockDock makes finding the right doctor easy. Download the app and search by special team, insurance and availability. Read real patient reviews, then book instantly. ZockDock, ready to be seen. Espolont dequila. It arrives in a cloud of feathers with a cry to wake the dead. Espolont dequila balanced, delicious, perfect for nights out, nights in, and people who like to drink dequila. Just add ice, lime, and your mouth, then whole-own time. 100% agave, 0% ego.

24:52Espolont dequila for a real margarita. Ride the rooster. Espolont dequila, 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof copyright, 2026, Compoundri America, New York, New York, drink responsibly. Star Wars. The Mandalorian and Grogu is now streaming on Disney Plus. What are you waiting for? Hop on. The must-see galactic adventure comes home on Disney Plus. This is the way. Our only chance is to work together. I'm the life this game. Always wear your seatbelt. Star Wars. The Mandalorian and Grogu, now streaming on Disney Plus. Wait PG 13.