The Cast of HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ Breaks Down That Shocking Villain Twist

Both Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) finally figured out who the Manhunter is at the end of the fourth episode of HBO’s Lanterns, and episode 5, “Lights Out,” deals with the consequences of that revelation. The slow burn mystery gets far more action-packed as chaos descends on Rushville, Nebraska. But the episode still has numerous quieter moments that contextualize the Manhunter’s true motivations. Polygon spoke virtually with the show’s stars to better understand what makes the shapeshifting alien tick.

Hal meets with Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor), the alien trying to kill the Manhunter for committing genocide on his species. When Hal explains John was compromised by the Manhunter, Antaan asks if they slept together since the Manhunter seduces the strongest member of a given community to bend them to their will. Poorna Jagannathan explains that is exactly why Zoe Macon hooked up with John in the series premiere.

“She sees John as the more powerful Lantern,” Jagannathan says. “The ring is rightfully his. She assesses him to be more dangerous, more of a threat than Hal. Hal she can just take care of.”

Photo: John Johnson/HBO Max

Given that Manhunters can look like anyone, John asks Zoe in episode 5 how she picked her appearance. She delivers a dramatic monologue about how she made herself a woman of color because being an outsider gives her the power to better understand a civilization — and then conquer it. “Adversity makes you stronger in ways comfort never could,” Zoe explains. Jagannathan says she deeply relates to that sentiment. Her father was an Indian diplomat, and while she was born in Tunisia, his job also took them to Pakistan, Ireland, and Brazil, where she had to quickly learn new languages and figure out how to fit in.

“Even though I have a family, and a home, and I’ve lived in L.A. for 10 years, the core of me is still an outsider,” Jagannathan says. “I have always grown up with a lot of obstacles, and now as an adult I really appreciate it.”

“It’s a wild relationship”

Image: HBO

While Hal knows Zoe is the Manhunter, he sends Antaan after her husband, William Macon (Garret Dillahunt). That’s an outcome the Macons had prepared for. When Zoe landed in Rushville as the Green Lantern Abin Sur’s captive, William was the strongest protector she could find. Zoe taught William her language and parts of her intimate history with Antaan so he can try to dupe her former lover. William fully accepts that he’s likely going to die to protect Zoe, but he thanks her for the extra time she gave him nonetheless.

“She saved me from cancer, and I’m fitter, happier, and healthier than I’ve ever been,” Dillahunt says. “I think she expands his mind. I’m clearly the first mate in this relationship, and she’s captain. I think that’s something he never thought he would have been comfortable with. He’s used to being the big fish in the little pond, but it’s a wild relationship they have. He’s clearly not totally cool with everything because he likes to give John so much shit about sleeping with Zoe. He’s clearly a little jealous.”

Antaan knows the Manhunter’s tactics from experience. When the Guardians of the Universe decided that their peacekeepers were too brutal, they flipped a switch and exterminated all of the artificial beings. For some reason, Zoe wasn’t affected, so she sought refuge on Antaan’s planet. The two fell in love and even tried to have children together before Zoe wiped out his species.

“She had emotions, wanted to be with him, and wanted to live a life that was beautiful and peaceful,” Jagannathan says. “She’s programmed in a very certain way, and she had to fight against her programming, but her programming won. She had to bring her form of justice to this chaos, which resulted in a genocide. Antaan didn’t understand that. He didn’t understand my core and who I am. He thought I had changed, and I can’t change.”

Resisting programming

Photo: John Johnson/HBO Max

While Zoe’s seduction always starts as a tactical move, she also really loves John. He understands her better than Antaan did, which John proves when he points out she must have killed Abin Sur because she was too afraid the Green Lantern would eventually tell the Guardians where she was hiding. Zoe expresses her affection for John after admitting to the murder, saying, “You really see me.” It’s also written on her face in her last moments as she looks back at John before he pulls the trigger and shoots her in the head.

“The thing that will hurt you, you bring the closest to your heart,” Jagannathan says. “She didn’t expect to fall in love with John and see herself in him at all. That last moment when John Stewart actually kills her, she is absolutely blindsided. She assumes everyone works through their programming like she does, and she is blindsided that John doesn’t.”

Zoe understood immediately that John was the more dangerous Green Lantern, but didn’t fully realize why. He proves over and over again that he can resist his “programming.” He consistently ignores orders from both Hal and the Guardians, and then goes on to defy the destiny he’s spent his whole life working toward by turning down the role of Hal Jordan’s replacement. The Guardians couldn’t control the Manhunters, and they couldn’t control John either.

The first five episodes of Lanterns are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes release Sunday through Oct. 4.