‘Lanterns’: A Compromise Between Dirt and Stars (needs proof)

Being a comic book fan, watching a live adaptation feels like a repeat of Christmas morning. You know you aren’t going to get what you asked for entirely, but you hope you get something you like. Lanterns’ season finale, “Dirt and Stars,” makes it clear that this season wasn’t an adaptation of Green Lantern lore; instead, we got an interpretation of Green Lantern. The comic fan in you knows this going in, but still hopes you can rock with what comes out on the other side. For the past 8 weeks, I’ve been enjoying watching Lanterns. We got a grounded look at the space crusaders that patrol the universe. There’s been worry that it’s been too grounded and that liberties have been taken a bit too far into new territory. I’d say they were all pretty valid analyses. Look, I ain’t going to talk around it. I liked Lanterns, but the ending and the payoff — the how of John Stewart getting the ring — felt off. He is Not One of Us

I remember a writer on the show saying John Stewart doesn’t really have an origin. Throughout this season, it feels like what’s meant to be said is that John doesn’t have a lot of trauma in his early years of getting the ring. Lanterns “Dirt and Stars” takes the culmination of all John Stewart has been through, and delivers us with the Marine finally breaking the chain of command. He was breaking it when he went to find out what happened to Hal Jordan, and he is breaking it by telling Guy Gardner how it’s going to be. John informs Guy Gardner that he is allowi…