Hal Jordan's Lanterns Episode 7 Backstory Sheds A Disturbing Light On His Fate

This article contains spoilers for "Lanterns" Episode 7, "The Jordan Boys Legacy."

The latter third of "Lanterns" is turning into a fully-fledged "Who shot J.R." affair as Aaron Pierre's John Stewart sets out to solve the case of Hal Jordan's (Kyle Chandler) murder. But Episode 7 reveals much about Hal's backstory, ultimately suggesting there may not even be a murderer to catch.

Hal Jordan hasn't had an easy go of it in "Lanterns." When we first meet the former test pilot-turned-guardian of Sector 2814 in 2016, he's jaded and cynical, no longer wearing his Green Lantern suit after seemingly become disillusioned with the idea of being a beacon of hope to the masses. Then, "Lanterns" Episode 1 hit us with a shocking twist, flashing forward to 2026 when John Stewart and Kelly Macdonald's Sheriff Kerry Kane discover Hal's body. You can see why fans of the character might have felt a little put out by the show's treatment of a hero that defined the Silver Age of Green Lantern comics.

"Lanterns" also made big changes to John Stewart's backstory, making clear its lack of fear when it comes to diverging from long-established comic book lore. By Episode 6, Hal had become a complete burnout, taking the fall for the cataclysmic events that razed Rushville, Nebraska, in Episode 5 and spending a decade in jail as a result. After returning to Rushville upon his release, he struck up a relationship with Kerry and, according to the sheriff, did his best to make amends with the townspeople by offering to carry out chores and run errands. Then, he was gone — shot in the head by an unknown assailant who remains a mystery even after Episode 7. But the latest episode also hints at an even more disturbing fate for Hal Jordan ... one he might literally have brought upon himself.

"Lanterns" has been clarifying the DCU timeline since Episode 1's flashbacks confirmed when Hal Jordan became Earth's Green Lantern. Now, the show is using flashbacks to get more personal. Episode 7 begins in 1975, where a young Hal Jordan (Henry Samiri) is being reprimanded by his baseball coach for refusing to hand over the game ball to another player. After Hal's dad, Martin Jordan (Jake B. Miller), shows up and starts a fight, the source of Hal's stubbornness is revealed. The pair then sit in front of an aircraft hanger and Martin encourages his boy to finally throw the baseball across the tarmac. He reluctantly obliges.

Later, this scene takes on a powerful emotional resonance. In 2026, John Stewart and the Halogram (a copy of Hal Jordan's consciousness) row across a lake on Antaan's (Paul Ben-Victor) home world. During the trip, the Halogram tells John how his father ended his own life in a plane crash that was thought to be an accident. "My old man, he was convinced we'd be better off without him," explains the Halogram, before revealing that he found a note in his late father's safe after the accident. "He said he had that pain his whole life. Said it was getting worse. He couldn't hide it. He couldn't bear to let us see it. Couldn't bear to let us see him."

But it wasn't just Martin who struggled with this darkness. According to the Halogram, Hal's grandad was tortured by the same feelings of inadequacy before he too ended his own life. "The same pain passed down generation to generation, father to son," reflects the Halogram. "They called it the Jordan boys legacy. I'm not fearless because I'm brave. I'm fearless because I'm broken."

It's unlikely that Hal Jordan was able to avoid the horrific "Jordan boys legacy," which brings an equally horrific possibility into view: Perhaps Hal ended his own life. After telling John Stewart about the "legacy," the Halogram brings up Hal's safe. "I'm wondering if there was anything in there that would lead me to my own note," he says. After John suggests that Hal ended his own life, the Halogram seems to agree, suggesting that maybe Sheriff Kerry found his body and tossed the gun to protect him.

For now, nothing is confirmed, and Shea Pritchard's Noah Macon feels like a pretty solid suspect in the death of Hal. But the theory that Hal ended his own life makes sense given Hal's warning to John not to let anyone know he came to Rushville the night of Hal's death, the point-blank range at which Hal was shot, the fact that John found a pistol in Hal's safe, and now the revelation that the previous two generations of Jordan boys ended their own lives. It's starting to look increasingly as though Hal couldn't endure the same pain with which his father and grandfather struggled.

If that's the case, it brings tragic new meaning to Hal's self-written eulogy from Episode 6, which ended with the line "Maybe it was just easier to fly than it was to stay on the ground." Was he referring to ending his life rather than suffering? A final scene in which an adolescent Hal picks up his baseball from the test facility tarmac suggests that he, like his father, could never let go of anything, including the tragic Jordan boys legacy. With that, "Lanterns" has gone from a risky "True Detective"/"Watchmen" mashup to a deeply affecting interrogation of grief and depression.