Lanterns episodes 1 - 4 review

Episode 1 Pilot The opening episode starts off in understated style, playing with Western tropes aplenty. The incestuous small town, bar room fights, desolate geography – these aspects and more come into play as Lanterns establishes itself as one of those series that tries to make superpowers more down to earth and relatable. The mood is often similar to something like Wonder Man except the humour is more arch, the characters harder to like. This episode is very much about establishing a sense of place and there’s more than enough to sink your teeth into whether not you’ve read the comics. It’s 2016 and Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of renowned abilities is a celebrity wherever he goes and while he wears this well when interacting with the public his demeanour while training up a potential successor is somewhat less chirpy. He’s cynical and prone to leaving his mentee John Stewart to get himself out of difficult training exercises on his own. John, who was trained by his military…