Lanterns Recap: Episode 5 - Lights Out

Ash Walker • 15 Sep 2026 Features

“Was it worth it?”

Speak to the team about Sky Ultimate TV on 0330 165 6733

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Well that was exciting. Despite this being only the fifth episode of an 8-episode run, Lights Out had all the energy and explosions - both real and emotional - of a season finale.

We open in 2007, not with our pair of bickering heroes, but with a young Sheriff Kane (Kelly Macdonald) as she pushes her broken-down car into Rushville, Nebraska. The woman we meet here is a far cry from the stern, confident cop we know and love - she’s clearly frightened and running from something, and sure enough it isn’t long before two shady characters sidle up beside her and tell her to come with them quietly.

Things look dire for young Kerry Kane, until Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan) appears, quickly snaps the neck of one of the gangsters and threatens the other one with a similar fate. Zoe contrives of a plan to get the bad guys off Kane’s back (involving a nasty bit of business with a knife and a pinky finger) and, in return, asks Kane to promise that she’ll protect Zoe ‘when the time comes’.

So, after last week’s revelation, we finally have some concrete confirmation that Zoe is, in fact, the Manhunter that everyone’s been after. And it seems like the entire town is under her thrall - including Kane.

Back in 2016, Hal (Kyle Chandler) leaves John (Aaron Pierre) trapped in the crumpled car and flies off to enact his plan - to pit Antaan’s (Paul Ben-Victor) gang of vengeful, exploding aliens against Macon’s (Garret Dilahunt) militia, and snatch up the Manhunter in the ensuing chaos. Unbeknownst to Hal (or maybe very much knownst), the car is about to burst into flames, burning John to a crisp.

Luckily, John is pulled out of the fire by Zoe, who uses her advanced alien technology to grow him new skin - in exchange for a similar deal to the one she gave Kane. Kill Hal, take the ring and tell the Guardians that she’s off the board for good. It’s a tempting offer, and for a while John seems to have gone for it…

Back in Rushville chaos has indeed ensued, just as Hal wanted. But when Zoe starts using her satellite lasers to blow up the town - and the townsfolk - Hal is forced to protect them. This is the best action sequence in the series so far, showcasing Hal’s powers and delivering some really cool moments.

In fact, I think there’s more Green Lanterning in this episode than there has been in the whole series so far. More of that please!

Zoe gets away and Hal retreats back to the motel to charge his ring… where he’s ambushed by John. The two get into a bruising fight, slamming each other around the motel room like it’s that scene from Kill Bill Vol. 2, which is only ended when another satellite blows up the entire motel around them.

John leaves Hal trapped beneath the rubble, and Zoe turns up to finish the job. Just as John had hoped she would. Too late she realises that she’s been duped, that Hal is bait and John has set up a sniper nest across the highway. He shoots her in the head, cuts out her heart as proof and takes the ring for good measure.

But the episode ends on a very interesting note, as John meets up with the Guardian Lianna (Laura Linney) and instead of claiming his place as Green Lantern of Sector 2814, gives up the ring and walks away.

What an awesome episode! But it does leave me wondering… what comes next? There are still three episodes left, and the meat of the story has seemingly wrapped up. Of course, there’s always that tantalising teaser we got at the end of episode 1, with Hal Jordan dead on the bleachers.

Random Thoughts:

• I wonder who Sheriff Kane was running from. It seemed like some big-time mobster, who had been betrayed by her father. Is Kane even her real name? In the comics, the Kanes are a wealthy and influential Gotham family, just like the Waynes - in fact Kane is Martha Wayne’s maiden name. Could ‘Kerry Kane’ have taken a prominent Gotham name as her own, to hide her identity? I’d love to know more about her.
• John giving up the ring is shocking and unexpected, but it does maybe explain how we have a third Earth-based Lantern - Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner - in the present day.
• If we really are going to be jumping ahead to 2026 for the remaining batch of episodes, will we be seeing more of the young Noah Macon (Cary Christopher), who gets a lot of airtime in this episode? My money’s on a big fat yes. In fact, might he want to get revenge against a certain ex-Lantern for the death of his grandma?
• Speaking of Macons, will poor Billy Macon (Jason Ritter) ever get anything to do?

Verdict: The 2016-set portion of the story reaches an explosive climax in the most thrilling episode yet. But where does the series go from here?

Lanterns is available to stream every Monday from 2am on HBO MAX, available now as part of Sky Ultimate TV.