Lanterns: Was It Worth It?

In 2007, Kerry Kane arrives in Rushville by accident, on the run from two gangsters who follow her all the way from Gotham. They corner her in Rushville’s diner. Her father was a snitch, and they've been sent to kill her, tying up one final loose end.

Kerry’s situation seems dire until Zoe shows up—a deceptively normal-looking middle-aged woman who swiftly snaps one gangster’s neck, then slams the other face-first onto the diner’s counter. Similar to the way she approached William Macon when he was dying of cancer, Zoe has identified Kerry as a vulnerable target for manipulation. It’s time to make a deal.

Threatening to kill his entire family if he disobeys, Zoe tells the surviving gangster to return to Gotham with proof of Kerry’s “death” (a severed finger), leaving Kerry to start a new life in Rushville. In return for her continued survival, Kerry must promise to protect Zoe when the time comes. Everyone in town has some reason to feel indebted to Zoe, and we now understand that Kerry’s reasons are more urgent than most.

Picking up where episode 4 left off, the 2016 storyline continues with John trapped in a crashed car as Hal stands outside, refusing to help him out. “I need to move you off the game board,” Hal callously explains. Having arranged a meeting with Antaan later that day, Hal plans to pit Antaan’s team against Macon’s militia, using them to distract each other so he can get to Zoe. John points out that the Guardians will surely take Hal’s ring if he chooses to kill Zoe— to which Hal derisively replies that Lanterns don’t kill. He intends to hand Zoe over to the Guardians and, in theory, regain their trust.

Hal used to save people from meteor strikes and natural disasters, but he now seems to have abandoned any lingering idealism. His main goal now is to impress the Guardians, regardless of the collateral damage. It’s hard to claim that Lanterns “don’t kill” when you’re setting up a confrontation where bystanders are guaranteed to get hurt.

Soon enough, sirens are going off across town, telling Rushville’s residents to mobilize against their benefactor’s enemies. Abandoning John in the car, Hal flies to the top of the water tower and activates the Halogram, showing him John’s drawing of Zoe and telling him to locate her as a “hostile E.T.” Once again, we’re reminded of the difference between the Hal of 2016 and the Hal of ten years ago, as the Halogram compliments John’s artwork, and says that he liked John when they last met, unaware that Hal may have left his trainee to die.

Hal’s next stop takes him to a road outside of town, touching down in front of Kerry’s car. He’s angry with her for sending them to investigate a dead end the night before: Hector Hammond, the Manhunter’s decoy. Kerry responds by pulling her gun and shooting at Hal, forcing him to raise a shield. Zoe, she explains, is watching everything from above, so they can only speak if Kerry looks like she’s actively trying to kill him. “I fucking owe her!” she yells. Rushville is her home—a home she only gained thanks to a “miracle” from Zoe.