In 2026, the HBO series Lanterns connects directly to the wider DC Universe in Episode 6, titled “Bad Optics.” The installment jumps a decade forward, reuniting a bearded John Stewart with a newly returned Hal Jordan in Rushville while introducing Guy Gardner to the unfolding murder mystery.
The first five episodes of Lanterns kept mostly to its own local lore in the quiet Nebraska disaster zone of Rushville, dealing with the mysterious fall of Hal Jordan. That isolation ends immediately in Episode 6, directed by Stephen Williams and written by Justin Britt-Gibson and Damon Lindelof. The story moves the timeline forward to the year 2026, ten years after a turbulent midseason finale that saw the death of the last Manhunter, the destruction of Rushville, the fall of Hal, and the end of John Stewart’s lifelong dream to become the next Green Lantern.
Metropolis, Starro, and Midway City: How 2026 Connects to the Wider DCU
The opening moments of the episode anchor the narrative firmly within a larger cinematic universe where superheroes and aliens are commonplace. John Stewart opens a pitch meeting in Midway City by pointing to past catastrophes. We all saw what happened in Metropolis, right?
John asks in his pitch, referencing Lex Luthor nearly leveling the city by opening a rift to another universe during the events of 2025’s Superman. He also calls out Starro the Conqueror, the giant starfish-like alien who almost annihilated Corto Maltese in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. But our city doesn’t have a Superman, so it’s understandable that our response to intergalactic threats or whatever giant starfish comes sliding out of the ocean next is firepower. But firepower does not save lives,
John states during the meeting.
Ten years have passed since the disaster zone era of Rushville, and John has moved on to new enterprises. He has started a successful architecture firm with his brother Marcus called Stewart Brothers. The firm specializes in secure panic rooms, and the brothers seek funds to build wide-scale panic rooms that could each provide shelter and security for 20,000 people the next time an apocalyptic event strikes the city.
Hal Jordan’s Return and the Arrival of Guy Gardner
Though John tried to leave his superhero dreams behind for a civilian life, he is lured back to rural Nebraska by his mother under a false pretense: a lie about Hal wanting to apologize for everything that transpired. Hal has returned to the scene of his downfall after spending years in a federal prison, setting the stage for their first reunion in a decade.
Despite his time behind bars, Hal remains a charming presence and quickly resumes roasting the Lantern who took his place instead of John: Guy Gardner, played by Nathan Fillion. You see that gym teacher on TV?
Hal remarks to John, referencing Guy flying those pandas from China to California in that bubble construct. I guess no one told him the construct doesn’t have to be so green. Ripped off that bat guy over in Gotham too. Put a beacon right in the middle of fuckin’ town so people can summon him.
The title “Bad Optics” stems from Guy’s own explanation for not wanting to help John investigate the murder of his infamous predecessor. When John ultimately summons Guy to Rushville using Guy’s knockoff Bat-Signal, he finds himself locked up after beating up a few locals who attacked him for lighting the green beam. Aaron Pierre and Nathan Fillion build an antagonistic dynamic between John and the arriving Green Lantern, with John cutting through Guy’s air of superhero superiority by calling him a gym teacher, to which Guy responds pathetically, I was an athletic director.
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