The moment I finished watching the third episode of Lanterns, I had two thoughts simultaneously: 

1. What a great episode that really delves into social commentary with nuance and deepens the main characters we have met so far. 
2. So many people are not gonna understand the nuances and the depth in writing present in this episode.

There was a third thought regarding the reaction of some types of people to the more racial elements, but I don’t really care to give that much air. Racism is one thing, but media literacy and critical thinking is another altogether. Since Sunday night, I’ve had time to chew on my thoughts and so I’ve decided to throw them down here in somewhat disorganized fashion. Of course, spoilers for the first three episodes of Lanterns ahead! 

Truth and Lies: Two Sides of a Coin

This episode has a lot of misleading and lying going on, but at its core it is based in a truth that the Stewart family has internalized – them being black is what led to John Stewart Sr. not being chosen as Green Lantern, and subsequently ruined his life. 

We know this to be false in one way because he was tested first and had he passed the test, he would have been Green Lantern before Hal Jordan ever got the opportunity. Laura Linney’s Guardian also supports this by acknowledging that they know nothing about the racial difference on Earth. However, it does not mean that for the Stewarts, their version of events is not true. 

Sure, John was picked first, but his upbringing and background is integral to his fear when asked if he was afraid. And when that goes on to ruin his life as he loses himself in this event that no one believes happened, it further deepens the belief that the thing that has always been their biggest obstacle continues to be that as a white man gets the mantle of the Green Lantern.

That same internalized truth, whether objective or not, then leads to the way they raise John Stewart Jr. For him, these become internalized to motivate him to become who is. The perceived injustice leads to his own worldview while also being warped strongly by the way his parents chose to bring him up. 

Meanwhile, we know that Hal himself went through his own rough experience in order to earn the Green Lantern ring, and was not simply handed it due to his skin colour. Does it mean his experience towards becoming and as the Green Lantern is unmarred from the privilege of his skin? Certainly not. 

There is an important distinction to be made in this story of what every character perceives as their truth compared to what the show is trying to convey as a message. Just because John’s parents see things a certain way does not make it the central message or the objective truth. It is an important building block of what drives these characters to do what they do.

Discrimination is a Sword That Cuts Twice

We don’t need to go over all the horrible ways racism has been wielded in the world, and specifically the black experience in the United States. Lanterns dares to go further though, and explore how this experience permanently changes how black people start twisting their own behaviour in self-destructive ways due to the experiences they have gone through. 

Of course racism is directly negative towards the victims of racism. But the scars it leaves can last so much longer, leading to internalized behaviour that perpetuates the impacts from generation to generation. Objectively, the Stewarts raise John in such an oppressive way that he can’t relate to his siblings or grow up as a kid. 

Despite the show taking it to extremes, this phenomenon is ever present for minorities – this oppressive requirement to be better in every way to just hope to get the same treatment as those in power. This stems from a very real place, and I’m sure anyone that is not part of the privileged group in their environment can relate. There is a feeling that to be treated the same way and achieve the same objectives, you must work harder because you have to prove that you deserve it and earn it even though for the privileged, it is almost a given.

This often leads to boom or bust outcomes. More often than not, that result is a bust, but of course in John’s case it’s a boom, but with its own costs. He has no friends, he barely cares about his family (at least in the orthodox way), and his one and only goal has meant that he has never been able to do the one thing he has found that he enjoys: drawing. 

Misery Breeds Tragedy

The Stewarts’ story in the end is one of pure tragedy, some more self-imposed than others, and not a single member of the family escapes it.

The event where John Sr. doesn’t receive the ring mars his life, ruining that of his family as he cannot get over it. When Bernadette finally comes around to it, their goal ends up ruining John’s upbringing as we see him listening to his brothers’ music through his walls and wanting to draw, but not being able to. The brothers too end up receiving less attention from the parents as John becomes their main focus – and I hope we get to see them at some point this season to further deepen their future and relationship with John. 

Meanwhile, John is brought up feeling contempt for Hal his whole life, as if Hal has what is meant to be his. And this is further shown in his interview with the guardian. Every step of his life is peppered with Hal’s influence. His life’s whole direction of course is decided by it, but then his military service ends in disgrace due to Hal’s actions. When you are brought up being told that a white man has deprived your family of their destiny because you are not white, this resentment is impossible to extinguish.

The show I felt in this moment though took an opportunity to pivot from what may have been expected. We finally see Bernadette in the present day (or at least closer to present day), encouraging John to perhaps pursue something that makes him happy. It’s a bittersweet moment where you can feel the tinge of remorse in the way she chose to bring up John with the thought that there would be a payoff and it amounted to nothing. John paid the price of their retributional personality and reaped only the downsides of what came with it. Perhaps that more than anything incites her to push John in a different direction to see him happy for once.

Of course though that’s when it’s also once again taken away. His parents’ actions are vindicated, but is that the better outcome for him? The episode once then bookends John’s origin with Hal’s petulance driving home for him every negative opinion John has had of him. I am sure Hal has his own reasons for being the way he is, and perhaps we will get an episode dedicated to his origin as well, but in this moment and in this episode, we see every piece of pain and sacrifice that leads John to who he is today.

It cleverly also reframes his positive aspects of discipline and drive with the negative sides of being more easily influenced and lacking the built-in skepticism that Hal has grown over his career. 

All that said, I absolutely loved this episode. It’s so rare to see contained stories like this that manage to hit the same topics with layer after layer that contradict and weave together to form a great tapestry for a character who until now has lacked that grounding element. This will no doubt become the definitive origin for this character with a story that is relevant today, was relevant before, and will continue to be relevant anytime in the future. A timeless tragedy builds a timeless character, and I can’t wait to see what awaits John in the rest of the season.