HBO and HBO Max's "Lanterns" served up its big cliffhanger finale on Oct. 4, 2026, and we’ve been slowly digesting thoughts on what the creative direction and ultimate legacy of this debut season were.

While by no means a perfect experiment in trying to shake up the aging superhero genre, there are enough worthy elements to consider this sci-fi mystery show an evolutionary step towards the next generation of comic-based storytelling.

After the emerald-tinted dust has settled, there are many lingering questions about where this acclaimed series from creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King might be headed and where the twists and turns might lead for a sophomore season should it be greenlit (get it?) for a triumphant return.

One of "Lanterns"' standout achievements is revealing the true costs of superheroism by deconstructing its DNA and examining the ugly guts of it all.

It dives into the fear, trauma, and seduction that drive humans to take up the serious business of protecting the universe and doling out justice against both Earth-bound evil and intergalactic threats. "Lanterns" also explores mental health issues and PTSD that are the inevitable byproducts of a life of unimaginable violence. The compelling series achieves a provocative dissection of it all with rare confidence without the overindulgence of distracting CGI tossed in for sheer spectacle.

It might not have been exactly the Green Lantern TV series fans wanted, but it was the show we got, and kinda the show we needed. Sure, for a series about a noble order of intergalactic space cops, we were treated to very little cosmic action, and instead we're given a grounded slow-burn police procedural à la "True Detective."

As I said before, it's not perfect, but we shouldn’t dismiss "Lanterns" for its mild shortcomings when it gets so much right. We're willing a second season into existence, and with an average of 20 million global viewers and solid reviews, HBO/HBO Max would be very wise to bring it back.

Whether a second season shifts into the heavens to rocket off on an outer space trajectory for a follow-up season is yet to be seen. For now, though, the Lanterns season one finale has left us with plenty of questions to ponder.

"Lanterns"' season finale revealed that Kerry, in an unhinged moment of maternal panic trying to protect her mutant son, Noah, had put a bullet in Hal's head. RIP to the original Green Lantern... or is it?

Kyle Chandler was a fantastic choice to play Hal Jordan, and he brought a charismatic gravitas and twisted sense of humor to the storied comic character. His sudden death in Rushville, frozen in the bleachers of the high school football stadium, certainly looked final, but this is the wild topsy-turvy universe of superheroes, so anything is possible.

And don’t forget that the newly-freed Thaal Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) told the AI “Halogram” and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart on Antaan's dead planet that the magical green ring could be used to restore Hal’s life. But Sinestro is a sly, slippery foe and is never to be trusted!

Online speculation has proposed that Hal Jordan might be revived and enter the series as Parallax, the living embodiment of fear, but that’s not likely according to the series creators. What’s more probable is that we either see Chandler's Hal Jordan revived, or he'll just turn up in occasional flashbacks or Halogram pop-in scenes.

With his unsanctioned lantern battery now in hand to power his ring, Stewart has become an independent contractor protecting Earth for Guy Gardner’s (Nathan Fillion) Sector 2814.

Fortified with the Sinestro-forged yellow charging unit deemed illegal by the Guardians and the broader members of the Green Lantern Corps., this unattached Lantern is now free to make sure Noah doesn’t turn to the dark side and lean into his evil Manhunter programming.

Will Stewart be seduced into the path of corruption by using Sinestro’s emotionally tainted battery, or steel himself against ill influences and continue to blaze his own trail as Earth's sole protector for the time being?

As a gold-toothed Gardner tells Stewart, "When I take this bull**** up back to Oa, they’re gonna send an army to put you down." This sounds like the perfect setup for an eventful "Lanterns" season 2 where the Lantern Corps come to take Jordan in, dead or alive. It’ll be interesting to see which of the infamous space cops they eventually send. This ain't over!

Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) and the dorky Billy Macon’s (Jason Ritter) immaculately conceived son, Noah, is outed as a Human-Manhunter hybrid that came into being after Kerry’s initial encounter with Manhunter Zoe years ago.

He might be one helluva gunslinging high school quarterback now, but that pales in comparison to what he could become using his frightful shapeshifting Manhunter genes inherited from his grandmother.

With his new Nebraska collegiate ball cap and now headed off to university, the sleeper agent has some vital decisions to make way beyond declaring a major. His desire will be to wipe out the Green Lanterns and the Guardians, but Earthly domination might come first unless he pledges to subdue his instincts and lead a normal life. And is Noah really the last Manhunter, or are there legions more ready to activate?

Spazkaban (or Space Azkaban), the notorious cosmic penitentiary controlled by the Guardians, lost one of its most lethal inhabitants in the crimson-skinned Sinestro when Noah (Shea Pritchard), the nascent Manhunter, broke him out of jail to craft him a yellow fear-based lantern.

This persuasive villain was last seen wrapped in chains in the season finale, "Dirt and Stars," being dunked in the waters of madness by Stewart on the poison planet after a portal hop, before trying to coerce Halogram to deliver the prized ring for Jordan's resurrection.

Avid comic fans know Sinestro once commanded his own intergalactic corp that fed upon the addictive yellow glare of fear instead of the emerald light’s will-imposed power.

Will he unite with Noah to take down the manipulative Guardians of the Universe and their legion of space-bound enforcers, the Green Lanterns? Will Noah break bad or go good? And is it possible for Sinestro to forge another yellow lantern and a custom companion ring to escape captivity? As Sinestro explains, "If harnessed correctly, fear can be the most powerful force in the universe."

Shards of "Lanterns" will invariably bleed over into James Gunn's "Superman" sequel, "Man of Tomorrow," which soars to theaters on July 9, 2027, so there’s still a lot of life left in DC Studios' DCU.

All 8 episodes of "Lanterns" season 1 are available on HBO and HBO Max.

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.