Lanterns S1E6 "Bad Optics"

Ah.

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, dignitaries both foreign and alien, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial, Mr.

Slash, Mrs. President and first Lady Slash Gentleman, to the scores gathered in my honor.

I am humbled by the countless lives saved, the battles fought, and the victories achieved in the name of justice, freedom and peace.

To the evildoers who would view my absence as a window of opportunity.

Your shit out of luck.

My ring has no doubt selected a brave son of a bitch ready to continue my fight.

And to that, man.

Or woman.

But woman.

But probably a man.

Not that there would never be a female lantern, but I'm just playing the odds here.

You have my admiration.

For there is no greater honor or privilege.

The weight of the ring is a heavy burden.

One that demands exceptional courage, sacrifice, and willpower.

And sometimes even those won't get the job done.

For even in the blackest of nights, I urge you to carry on.

The world's counting on you.

I'm counting on you.

That said, I can't believe I'm actually dead.

I kind of wrote this as a joke, but if you're reading it, I guess the joke's on me.

I'm truly sorry to any of you that I hurt.

I don't have a good excuse.

Maybe it was just easier to fly than it was to stay on the ground.

I hope I mattered.

Foreign.

Hey, everybody.

Welcome to the podcast.

I'm Jason.

And I'm Kirk.

And I'm Jim.

And this is Cassie.

Light a Lanterns podcast.

Jim's showing us his ring finger.

Oh, no, wait, that's like a ring finger.

Well, it depends.

No, I'm sorry, there's had the wrong hand.

You need to wash those hands in this episode we're covering.

Lantern Season 1, Episode 6 Bad Optics.

Very bad.

Before we get started, I have a quick announcement.

I wanted to talk a little bit about a different show, one that's been getting a lot of buzz recently.

It's called Widow's Bay.

Have you guys heard of that show?

Yeah, and we're struggling through it.

I'm on episode.

We're on episode six.

5.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

It is not tickling my fancy.

Interesting.

Well, first of all, I struggle with horror and comedy mix.

I just.

It does.

It's.

Wow, you are totally killing this announcement.

You're.

You're like.

Before I even have the tire puff discussion.

No, no, no, it's okay.

It's okay.

Everything's not for everybody, but this show recently got.

It's been gotten a lot of buzz and it's so.

Because in my notes here, I'm like, I'm so impressed that a show can be this funny and also at times, be creepy and scary.

They nailed the tone.

It's just a personal preference issue.

Absolutely.

What do you think, Jim?

Have you seen it?

I've not seen it.

So there.

No.

You've got one person who hates it and one who hates it.

One love, one hates.

Well, audience, forget about these guys.

This show is.

You've probably heard about it if you haven't seen it.

It's horror comedy on Apple tv.

It's about this cursed New England island and this mayor trying to bring tourism to the island of horrors.

And it's created by Katie Dippold, who wrote for Parks and Rec.

And it stars Matthew Reese, who I'd actually never seen before, but he's so good in this, I think, and Kate o' Flynn and Steven Root, who's, you know, Office Space Guy.

And what else was he in that?

Talk radio, I think it was called.

Oh, news radio.

Yeah, News radio.

Y. Yeah.

And so I think pretty much everyone who's seen this loves it.

Right, guys?

No, I'm just kidding.

Not everyone.

Almost everyone.

Karen and I decided to cover it,.

And one third does not.

We're going to be recording our first episode in a week and a half on September 30th, and we're going to go episode by episode.

And then the.

The plan is to pick up with season two as it airs whenever that comes out.

So if you are digging this show or if you haven't tried it, definitely, I recommend giving it a shot.

And if you're listening to me right now on Wax Episodic, the Wax Episodic podcast.

It will be in your feed soon.

If not and you want to hear it, please subscribe to Wax Episodic.

Wherever you get podcasts, this is where the podcast where I cover a bunch of different shows like Lanterns and Severance, Pluribus, Alien Earth, whole bunch more podcasts.

But we will also have a standalone podcast called Everything's Fine, a Widow's Bay podcast that doesn't yet exist, but it will as soon as we start doing our recordings.

And I'm super excited for this.

Karen was like, you gotta watch Widow's Bay.

And it was already three or four episodes in, and I finally gave it a chance and I fell in love with it.

But we just, you know, we didn't start podcasting on it because it was already halfway through and I had a bunch of other stuff going on, but it's just been getting so much Buzz and like I said, 14 Emmys recently.

Some kind of a record, so.

Going to jump on it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Two things.

One is I. I don't think you'll probably ask me to do any art for that.

I think I blew that.

Second of all, I will say that the creepy horror parts of that show have been.

Have been spectacular.

They've been very Stephen Kingy and I think really, really well done.

And when that part's going, I feel creeped out.

I think it's just the way I'm wired.

It's hard for me to be creeped out and then all of a sudden, you know, be expected to laugh at something.

Yeah, it's like it just would.

I could understand how that could be an acquired taste.

I was trying to, like.

I've never seen anything in.

In my opinion.

The comedy is funny, though, and it's odd.

You're to have something that's funny at times and genuinely scary at other times.

And I was trying to think if I've ever seen anything like that.

And kind of Ash versus Evil Dead, but that was more of goofy humor.

And this is smart.

And it's.

Well, yeah, and it's also smart horror.

It's very smart horror.

It's not gore, for gore sake.

It's not, you know, traditional slasher kind of stuff.

It's imaginative and creative and each.

Each horrific storyline is completely different.

Yeah.

And I like that.

You know what I mean?

It's not like some.

I mean, there is a slight thread of an overall arching story thing character on the horror side of it, but.

It's also like a monster of the week kind of thing.

Nice standalone.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, you came around.

Sure.

Not everybody loves everything, but I do recommend people at least check out the first episode.

It's on Apple tv.

Um, all right, let's get into Lanterns.

Lanterns, Season one, Episode six, Bad Optics.

Who wants to read the plot summary?

I will.

I'll do it.

Go for it.

In 2026, John has become an architect and works with his brother Marcus.

His mother tells him that Hal, who has been living in Rushville to make amends for the 2016 incident, wants to apologize.

John meets Hal at a restaurant, but they fail to reconcile and John breaks his nose.

After returning home, John learns from Carrie, who began a relationship with Hal, that Hal has died.

John uses a beacon set up by Guy Gardner to summon him to Rushville, where he is met with hostility from Billy and the townspeople.

A fight breaks out, forcing Carrie to arrest John.

The next day, Guy visits John, who asks him to retrieve Hal's suit and ring for his funeral.

Guy also reveals that Sinestro has escaped from prison.

After leaving the station, John encounters Maggie, a waitress from the restaurant, who demands compensation for the damage he caused her family in 2016, where she will tell Carrie that he was the one who broke Hal's nose.

After Hal's funeral, John digs up the grave, takes his ring, and summons the hologram.

The hologram.

The hologram.

Oh, the hologram.

I get it.

So what do you think, guys?

What about this one?

I okay, so I knew we were gonna get a tone shift, which we got.

I mean, I don't know how you can follow up last episode with anything that's gonna be in the same realm.

They, they, they, you know, they brought it to 2026.

And I, I, I spent the day struggling is not the right word, but trying to figure out what the place of this episode was because there were things about it and we'll get into it that I didn't like, but I'm not sure yet, I'm not sure yet if I'm going to end up not liking them.

Well, it's just, it's.

I feel like there's a lot more to this episode than let's on.

It seemed like a pretty straight episode.

We got a lot of answers.

At least, a lot of, at least we were told we got a lot of answers.

And then as, and I'll get into it later when we start talking points, I think as the night sort of settled, I sort of figured out what this episode was about.

I'm not gonna lie and say it was my favorite episode, but I do again think they found a tone for the next three.

And I really like the title.

I, I really was sitting on the title Bad Optics, because I think that that describes this episode in a lot of different levels.

I really enjoyed the episode the more.

I mean, it made me think a lot about where these characters are.

We talked a lot about programming last week about how these characters were programmed, and it felt like at the end of last episode that they were sort of deprogramming themselves.

But where do we end up 10 years later?

We end up with Hal dead.

We end up with John back in Rushville, perhaps blowing billions of dollars in his new job, and we have another mystery afoot.

I just, I, I just, it just keeps kind of pulling us back in.

So, so yeah, I'm, I'm there.

I, I, it was very subtle storytelling compared to what we got the first five episodes, and, and now I'm Seeing for the first time, if you say it's a detective show, I see it.

Even though I don't think that's necessarily where we're going.

I think next week's episode's going to be fucking bonkers.

Sinestro.

I mean, you just don't throw Sinestro escaping from prison without.

Could they have been more subtle?

I mean, I'm not sure.

Oh, in passing.

Sinestro's story is going to be told this season.

I feel like they're seeding things, could be wrong.

Maybe it'll be next week, but that's my guess.

Next season for Sinestro.

It makes sense.

We'll see.

It makes sense.

That would suggest that.

I mean, you can't almost tell the Sinestro story without Hal Jordan now, right?

I don't know.

Yeah, you'd think so.

I mean, they've been through a lot already, so maybe we're not gonna be told that part of the story.

Maybe.

Well, maybe, yeah, maybe you get Jon moving to the movies and you have a Hal story left to be told.

But then Hal would have to be alive, which I don't know, maybe we'll get into later.

Yeah, yeah.

We still don't know for sure if Hal's dead.

I.

If I had to bet, I would bet that he is dead.

But I feel like it's close to 50.

50, You know, 60, 40.

Kirk, what about you?

Yeah, I really enjoyed it.

I have yet to experience a bad episode with the show and I look at it as more kind of like you go to like your favorite restaurant that has all your favorite dishes, but you don't, you know, you eat a different one each night and it's still just as good, but it's different.

This was a different episode.

This was not the finale esque episode we got last week.

But I was prepared for that.

You know, how could they, you know, you can't have three.

Three finales.

You know what I mean?

So.

And I, I like the fact that it can hit the brakes and create a slow burn story that gives us more important character development.

Not just random character dialogue and involvement, but actual seeing the fallout from his decisions.

John's with his family and his.

How he's had to set boundaries and new guidelines for dealing with his family and limits and take charge of his own life.

I mean, that to me was the last week's episode was his rebirth, kind of, you know, it was finding out, okay, I've been doing everything for everybody else in the world.

I need to do it for me yeah.

And this doesn't feel right.

So I'm not doing this now.

And you know, what he's done with that and what that's meant in terms of how he deals with his parents.

He's basically isolated them.

Doesn't deal with them.

Well, he deals with them, but he does it with barriers and boundaries and limits.

And then, you know, he still has a relationship with his brothers, but he's.

Living for himself for the first time in his life since that.

For the first time.

Yeah, exactly.

And I. I thought that was cool, and that was really great.

Well, I think when he seemed.

Well, I think going back in some ways.

And, like, we'll say.

We'll.

As we're saying, we'll get to it in the points.

But certainly the going back stirs up everything.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I just think this is where the storytelling get really complex because he's.

He starts this business, but is it for him or is it for his brother?

He is.

His other brother he's not getting along with.

Except we find out he's funding his rap career, which one of the best scenes in the show.

His dad is shooting up.

His dad, mom.

Still.

Mom's now involved with.

I.

It's just.

It's complex.

Right.

I would argue that we may find out that he realizes by the end of this that it is his destiny to be a Green Lantern.

Especially since we know he's a Green Lantern in the comics, you know, but by his choice.

Yeah.

On his own terms.

And on his own terms.

Right.

You want me back?

This is what it's gotta be.

Right?

Yeah.

And I totally identify with that, where I know that I'm probably gonna do something, but if I'm not ready, then it's not gonna work out.

Well, if it's a big thing, you know, but if I am, then, yeah, let's go for it.

For whatever reason.

And I loved how.

How Hal's career choice.

Yes, he's an architect, but what he's building are things that save people and protect people.

Yeah.

Well, wait, we're getting into superhero.

What?

I thought.

I thought I jumped ahead.

I liked that.

I like.

I think this was my favorite episode.

Okay.

Because in part, we've really gotten to know these characters.

And there's so much drama between Jon and Hal and struggle, but also, under the surface, respect in some ways, and admiration, but it's also just violent contempt.

So it's believable, too.

It's just such an interesting relationship.

And then to have this guy who was so big and important and difficult Die and leave this huge vacuum and this other guy's left to deal with it, you know, with.

Left with his feelings and everything.

And he punched him in the face the night before and now he's like, we gotta bury him.

So I just found that all really.

I, I felt like I could connect to the show for the first time because before it was this mystery of this manhunter who I.

It's interesting, I guess, but now about these people, and I feel like it's something more I can sort of connect with emotionally and that's what I like.

So I thought it was interesting too, that, you know, I'm just listening to you talk like he's in the sandwich of dealing with his brothers.

Right.

But he's chosen to be in Rushville.

Yeah.

With Hal.

Right.

The.

I don't have a brother.

I'm an only child and I don't know what it's like to have siblings, but I, I'm a teacher, so I see it all the time and it really, it really feels like they have a brotherhood.

It might be a contemptual brotherhood, but I really.

We've talked a lot about whether or not he respects them.

We talked a lot about whether they respect each other.

And I, I.

Through both of your eyes, like I've seen, you know, there was an episode where Kirk was talking where, where Jason, you were saying something about not seeing them like, like each other very much.

And then I was watching Kirk while you were saying that.

See the complete opposite.

And to me, that's, that's what brothers from the outside looking in feels like to me.

When I watch, you know, my, my, my wife with her siblings and, and even my two kids is, I mean, I mean, they don't have relationship like Hal and John, but I do see like, like threads of, of love and then contempt all within the same breath.

And I think that, yeah, this episode, it, I felt that it was coming together in that same booth where he was sitting with Zoe, just driving to.

Rushville to get an apology.

Means you really want that you, like, you care.

You know, he cares.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And in terms of the relationship with his brothers, the vibe I got was, you know, I was traumatized by our parents.

Yeah.

But so were my brothers.

Yeah.

Who have felt neglected their entire life.

That I was somehow, you know, the golden boy and they just were second class citizens in their own house.

You.

That's you.

I'm just kidding.

Interesting.

No, I was the spoiled one.

A baby.

My twin brother and sister were convinced that I didn't have to do Anything that he had to do.

But anyway.

But yeah, yeah.

And I think that that's why he's still trying to connect with them and still, you know, looking out for them as best as he can and have good relationship with them or have a relationship with them.

Whereas his parents, he's like, he holds them responsible for all of their nightmares.

Yeah.

Do you think they.

Do you think they like Karate Kid and that's why they called him chosen?

Sorry.

That every time they said that, that's what I love.

I loved.

I loved how they.

His reaction to being called that.

Two different times.

He had two different reactions.

Yeah.

You know, and I only remember him.

Saying, don't call me that.

What was the other one prior to that?

Yeah, it was with.

It was with the other brother.

It was with Marcus right at the meeting in the beginning.

And he says, you're chosen.

And he's.

I don't know, he laughs or something like that.

But then when the other brother says it, he's like, you know, it turns in the context.

The context.

You know what I mean?

It's like, hey, you did a great job, Chosen guy.

Haha.

It's kind of a fun nickname.

Right.

And another one is, you know, you're me because you're the chosen one.

Yeah.

It's like, hold on.

It was interesting.

Clearly he has two different relationships with his two different brothers.

And I think there is like you were getting at Jim.

There is a similar sort of dynamic going on there.

Like once the thing you've been sort of groomed for your whole life by your parents, which is really more their purpose than yours, potentially, that's over.

Then you look around, oh, what impact did this have on my brothers?

And one brother wants to enroll you and be by your side in this supportive business that can maybe call you into your better self.

And the other brother is more just like focused on his own thing.

And can you please help bankroll me?

But I don't want to take any responsibility.

So you're kind of annoyed with him, but you still want to help both of them out?

I guess something like.

Course.

And I definitely felt, I thought it was beautiful that in the, in the, in the end, Marcus was like, you know, yeah, you know, you're screwing this up.

Yeah.

But you got to do what you got to do.

You got to take care of yourself.

And you know what?

You think you, you were done with this 10 years ago.

You haven't been done with this at all.

And he's right.

He knows, like, if that was the priority.

John would have been there and his brother knows that and he's like, well get that taken care of because we can't really do this until you're all in it.

And his con, he, he had genuine concern.

I just hope it doesn't take you down like it did.

How.

Yeah, nobody understands the programming of, of his brother more than, more than Marcus.

Like he's watched like them shooting apples off his head.

They sat there.

Well, if you, if you bookend it, if you bookend this episode with that episode where that we could not make hide her hair.

The brothers like sitting there like looking out the window for the parents to drive up while you know, they're watching this How Jordan interview.

It does sort of give that some context all of this relationship that they have.

And I think that you know, the programming of John going back and the understanding.

I mean John's putting everything on the line.

I mean that general's not take think about, you know, what happened to how, how goes to prison from.

I mean I would assume for this the deaths, you know, in Rushville.

Although 10 years is an odd amount of time to be in prison.

It is a lot of killing half a town.

Yeah, obviously that's put a mark on John that perhaps he has distanced himself from because you know, he's created this successful business.

Obviously you don't, you know, he's, he's, they've created this architecture firm and we can assume that it's successful because you know, he's got this meeting for these, these billion dollar.

And he lives in a pretty nice house too.

Yeah, yeah.

He's doing well for himself.

He's doing very well and so is his brother as a result.

But he's talking to the General while standing in a grave digging up Hal.

Yeah, clearly.

Clearly it's a great scene because it's.

Like it is a great.

This is where he is and wants to be.

And he's right half assing this other thing on the phone.

Right.

With it.

You know, he's digging up his other brother.

Right.

To get the ring.

It's important.

It was supposed to be the thing that would set his life up for the next.

Somebody said years.

So it's important.

I, I.

38.

$38 Billion.

Yeah.

Even if he gets one of those right.

This was the first episode of the series that felt like it was part of the dcu.

Does that make sense?

I mean obviously Guy Gardner's in it.

There's lots of other little.

We got a little.

We got a mention of Batman in this episode.

Batman, by the way.

So for people who don't quite understand.

The.

There's a thing called the dcu, the DC Universe.

It's like the mcu and it's new because the Snyderverse is over.

So they brought in James Gunn to restart it.

There's been a Superman movie, a Supergirl movie, Creature Commandos, Cartoon Lanterns.

The Batman movie with Robert Pattinson doesn't count.

Peacemaker.

It's called Peacemaker.

Peacemaker.

The Batman movie with Robert Pattinson doesn't count.

It's called an else World story, so it's not in the same universe.

We know there will be a Batman.

They're planning a movie called Brave and the Bold.

It's Batman and Robin, but it's like a ways out.

They're still working on the script.

So we don't know anything about Batman in this universe except there was a silhouette of Batman in Creature Commandos for a second.

And this mention.

I think that might be it.

We know that he uses the bat signal.

We, we know he uses the bat because.

Right.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

So I, I love that.

I love.

I, I.

And, and they did it again.

And I don't know.

I haven't read any of the listener feedback.

They did it again in a way that doesn't steal away from the grander story.

But I, I, I felt, it felt bigger to me having Guy Gardner in this and my, you know, they turned Hal into such an.

Watching how Guy Gardner, who is just a raging would.

And, and we get to see, I think we get to see for anybody who saw the original Green Lantern, you know, what, how, what Kyle Chandler has done.

I think for this character in six episodes.

I missed him in this episode, even though he was there and he was present.

But seeing Guy Gardner just be a dick.

He was just such a fucking dick in this episode.

Just.

I, But a pencil.

Like, we got to see sort of why they gave history to his character that I got to go back and watch Superman now because they give history to his character that maybe makes the way he acts a little bit more understandable.

He gets, he gets a ring built for him because, you know, John said no, and, and we start to see the world start to tangle together.

And I just, I love the way that they did it.

It was great storytelling to, to pull the DCU in now and to make it feel bigger without anybody who isn't watching it, watching it for that, feeling that way.

And I just, I just go ahead.

I would just can add to that about Guy that, you know, I agree with you completely and I think that they, they did a great job of giving us just a little bit more depth to him and the, the fact that first he comes when the light goes on, he has that conversation with John.

He shares with him a little bit of important, little important little nugget of information which we'll get to.

And, but then more importantly, he shows up at the funeral with the ring and the suit when he told, you know, John, there's no way I'm going to risk my, my situation going to.

The Phantom Zone, right?

Yeah, but he did.

So there's a, there's some loyalty there, there's some sense of what's the right thing to do in this situation.

Then I do feel like he never.

Thought that would be part of John.

Got him with by saying, you have everything that you have because I gave it up.

And that's really what got Guy to say, all right, I owe you.

I'm going to do you this favor.

And he did it.

And then he goes, we're square, Stewie.

So that was it.

My son watched his family guy all the time.

I'm like, I can't believe he just called him Stewie.

My son.

Someone's laughing his ass off.

Oh, it's funny.

I think, I think that.

Well, yeah, but he doesn't say that when he leaves the, when he leaves the prison or the jail.

No, cuz he hasn't even, he says,.

No, I'm not doing that.

We'll see.

He goes, I'll think about it.

Yeah.

And the r, the ring doesn't work.

The suit doesn't fit.

Yeah, don't play dress up.

That's true.

What is up with that suit, man?

That's a shitty suit.

I think it's the only clothes he has.

Every time we ever see that guy, that's all he wears.

Yeah, I, I, I love, you know, I think we all love Nathan Fillion.

He's, I, I, I love watching him in this character.

And I, I couldn't wait to see him in the show.

And I think my concern was always going to be like, how do you fit?

He's such a cartoon character.

You know, if, if for those of you that saw the Superman movie, he's just such a cartoon character in that.

And I was this, the show, while it has humor, is, is nothing, you know, it to me was nothing like that character at all.

And I didn't know how they were going to bring it in and how they were going to make it fit, but.

Well, he does.

He ends up doing the right thing in The Superman movie, too.

Oh, yeah.

He ends up going in the very end to save the.

You know, stop the war.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think he'll disagree.

He's like that in the comics, too, if I remember right.

He's a douche, but he does.

He has a dick and douche.

But Hal's characterization in this show is closer to Guy Gardner than in the comics because he's acerbic.

But I'd say the difference between Hal and Guy is Hal is at least charming and Guy isn't really.

Yeah, no charm.

They were able to bring that in, but they gave him a little brevity as.

As we sort of understood that, you know, he's.

He's who he is.

Because John gave it up.

Yeah.

And.

And he was.

They gave those two.

Yeah.

And those two characters who, to the best of our knowledge.

And I have a quote written down somewhere that I'll find.

But to the best of our knowledge, just met for the first time.

I mean, obviously they know each other.

They know.

I'm not sure he said, oh, you know, the first time I met Hal, he was in jail too.

But that doesn't mean it's the first time you met John.

It seemed like it might have implied that, but I feel like they may have met before.

Remember, too, Guy had.

Guy doesn't have a lot of fear.

I mean, he's very.

He's cocky and, you know, irritating and annoying and everything else.

But when he steps up to Superman at the near the end of the Superman movie, when he thinks after hearing the.

The.

The parents.

Actual words, you know, about wanting to conquer the.

You know, he's like, yo, let's go, Big blue.

You know what I mean?

I mean, it's Superman.

I mean, ring or no ring, he's going to kick your ass, you know?

Yeah.

And he's like, I'm not afraid of you.

You're an alien.

You're fucking with this planet.

I'm.

I'm Green Lantern.

I'm going to fight you.

Yeah.

I mean, he's the type of guy that would get triggered in a bar and step up to the big musc muscle guy, you know, he would never.

Have been able to sit on the bench when Hal was doing his pool room routine.

And like, John's like, yeah, go, go, knock yourself out.

Yeah, well.

And I think that's what.

What I like the most about this episode is that he was still that douche.

Like, he was still that.

But there was fillion, brought weight to it.

There was weight.

Yeah.

You could tell he Was listening to what John said.

You knew when he flew away that he listened and that he was going to do it.

And he.

He risked.

Well, I mean, who is Guy Garner?

Had to mentor him, right, buddy?

Well, and I think that's super because that's, you know, that's why I went to Hal.

You know, that's why he went there is.

To get that.

And how did.

What.

How does.

You know.

And Al told them, you know, go piss up a rope, I think was the quote.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, there's the show.

There is the show.

A house show with.

With Guy.

Although, I don't know, that might last, like two shows.

And people are just sick of them just being assholes to each other.

Since we're talking about Guy, I have a point on Guy.

He.

So they.

The reason why.

So John said to Carrie, we need to bury Hal.

And I loved that.

Right.

That was the moment where it was super clear to me anyway, that, okay, it's complicated.

It's not.

John doesn't just hate Hal.

He respects Hal.

And he feels Hal's deserving of not just being flushed down a toilet.

He's not a goldfish.

If you're gonna be cynical, you might say, oh, he just did that because he had this whole thing plotted out to get the ring.

I don't think so.

I think he got the idea for that when he saw this electro punch sports drink sponsored by, you know, with Guy Gardner as a spokesman.

And that was after.

Right?

Wasn't that after?

It was, yeah.

Said we should bury him.

And Nathan Fillion, by the way, Just about that.

Nathan Fillion was interviewed by Hollywood Reporter.

They asked him about Guy being a corporate mascot.

He said, Guy Gardner is someone who really embraces the idea that he is special.

He likes the idea that he's been chosen.

So marketing goes hand in hand with that position.

Also, he has his own goals.

He wants to open a bar of his very own.

For that you need money, and for that, you need a corporate sponsorship.

He has his finger on the pulse of both what it is to be a superhero and what it is to be a businessman.

He's one of those guys.

So that's Nathan Fillion's explanation for that,.

Which has to make John and Hal insane.

I just can't.

I can't imagine what the last 10 years have been like.

It must have made Hal so miserable.

It must have.

Because as much as he and John fought and everything else, he clearly had respect for the skills that this guy had and the talents that he had and.

And.

And that he wasn't a coward and that, you know, he was.

He was a badass.

And.

And he.

And more than capable of doing his job.

Probably doing it better than hell.

And now he's got to see this fucking bowl cut.

Redheaded, gold jetsa.

Yeah, yeah.

Gold tooth world.

Former gym teacher who, you know, athletic.

Athletic director.

Sorry, Within.

Within a minute of John showing up.

How is this Shrek, you know, you know, this guy, you know, brings these pandas from China and, you know, he could be a little more creative than put it in a bubble around him.

And we know.

We know, guys.

More creative than that.

We got to see a little bit of it in the movie, but.

Well, for those that have.

You can tell they don't like him.

Yeah, yeah.

All right, so then the beacon, they have this Green Lantern beacon that says, in darkest night, summon Green Lantern to your service.

Which was.

Well, Hollywood Reporter asked Nathan Fillion.

Guy installed his version of the Bat Signal in Rushville as a way to make amends after the mess Hal and John made.

Do you think he did that of his own volition, or did the Guardians and Maxwell Lord insist on it?

And Nathan Fillion said, I think he certainly wanted to, but he also has access to PR teams through Lord Tech.

He probably had damage control people telling him, here's what we need to do.

So that Beacon is certainly the product of a team of people working towards bettering their public Persona.

And that totally makes sense because he's like, you did damage to the brand and bad optics.

That's all coming from Guy, you know?

Yes.

Right.

Yeah, I think so.

But I saw that more as another example of his insecurity.

Kind of like, batman's cool.

I want to be cool, too.

So let me do it.

Let me do a light like he does.

Yeah.

So then John says, you know, how should be buried in his uniform and ring.

And when he said that to Guy, I do think that was completely.

Because he was just planning to get the ring.

That's all that.

That was about.

So.

And I.

My guess is he wants to use the ring to investigate Hal's murder.

That's his motivation.

Right.

He wanted.

I think he wanted the ring so that he could get the Halligram.

Yeah, right.

The construct.

It's all about figuring out what happened to John, though.

I mean, yeah, I want to be the Green Lanterner or something like.

Like that.

Don't forget, he needs Hal's.

I mean, just bare minimum, he needs Hal's voice to get into whatever's in that story.

That's exactly right.

To get into that vault, he's got to have the voice.

And I think.

I don't know for sure, but I was just thinking, okay, maybe the hologram will help him get into the vault, and then the battery might be in there.

The battery?

I don't know.

The lantern.

Yeah, yeah, the lantern, for sure.

And Guy says he gets the ring for him.

And he says, Guardians ever catch wind, I'm on the first beam to the Phantom Zone, which is a huge risk.

And if people remember from the Christopher Reeve Superman movie, the Phantom Zone, it's an extra dimensional prison.

And that's where General Zod and his two Kryptonian criminal partners were floating around in that pane of glass in space, going, let us out.

Like that.

Like mimes.

So then John.

So this part I had a little problem with, as I sometimes do.

John tells Guy that he presumed Hal's ring was decommissioned, which just is a military term for like a ship that's withdrawn from service, like an old ship.

I felt like it was a stretch that a Green Lantern ring would be decommissioned, especially one that looks like it's ancient and has been around for millennia.

And.

But they just wanted an explanation for why a guy had a different ring and also a way to get.

For John to get this ring back.

But I really had to spend my disbelief that Guy, under threat of going to the Phantom Zone potentially forever, could just go to O and just pluck it and pick it up.

Rabbit, I agree.

And I have a theory for that.

Okay?

I have a theory for that.

What is it?

And, well, the Guardian.

Decommissioned.

Like it still fucking works.

Like, right, The Guardians have been waiting for John to come back around.

No way was that ring decommissioned.

Definitely.

You know, I think they allowed that ring to go.

No way did they not know that it got taken.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, well, yeah, they allowed that ring to come back.

They allowed that uniform to come back.

They want John still to be on the team.

And I think they're allowing things to unfold that will bring him back into the fold.

So that was my take on that.

That's better.

I like that better.

I mean, I thought that even if that wasn't the case, that he will do something to prove that he is worthy.

And so they'll say, all right, you can keep it.

I think that somehow I know that he concocted getting this ring back to himself, but I think in some way this ring's going to choose him.

I think that's the most important part of it.

They keep calling Him Chosen.

They keep calling him Chosen.

They keep calling him Chosen.

And I just, the whole time I.

Was watching this, I was just, I.

Was just thinking, okay, I like that maybe this ring is decommissioned.

Maybe this ring doesn't he guy told him the ring doesn't work if you,.

If you, if it was decommissioned he wouldn't be able to tap it and get the additional five correct.

There'd be no.

I'm so decommissioned just means it's not in use, that's all.

But Guy, but Guy said the ring, but Guy told me flat out said.

But when we saw how yeah earlier do that trick.

I think Kirk said that's going to come back.

And I don't think any of us would have guessed this is how it's going to come back.

But this is where it came back.

I just, Yeah.

I mean at the end of the day I think that now we have this like beautiful understanding that Hal had such an intimate knowledge of this ring.

Like he, he chipped a piece of it off.

We still don't maybe know but like.

No, we never did.

And that was a big.

Yeah, we missed that.

To bring forth the, this hologram.

Right?

That's when he chipped it off.

Yes.

Yeah.

Well we either don't know yet what he did that for or I suspect he did it so that the hologram could be be away from the ring.

Right.

Because he had to send him to go find Zoe while he was busy in the town.

And that would normally.

The impression you got was that that would normally work.

Whatever it is he did something that jailbreaking you don't.

Yeah.

I mean it just feels like he has all of these tricks, you know,.

Han Solo with the Millennium Falcon.

He knows right where to how to soup it up.

Yeah.

He's like 30 years he's at the ring.

Right.

30 Some odd years since 86.

Right.

Yeah, yeah, 30 years.

So I think that the story of the ring is yet to be told.

I, I don't know what it's going to take for John to keep it.

I don't think that's his intention right now.

I think his intention is to, to use the ring to figure out who killed how.

But as you know, the bad optics, I, I, I just don't know what we saw.

I don't know what we saw in this episode because I think there's more to it.

It felt like a straightforward episode but I just think there's more to this ring that meets the eye than him just putting it on his finger.

Now it's not charged.

Yeah.

So it's got to get charged.

And for him to charge it, he's got to say the oath.

But I can't imagine we're going to get a series about lanterns without now John having an opportunity to have a suit.

But maybe I'm wrong.

I bet you're right.

Yeah.

If he.

If he gets a suit, it'll be at the very end.

Yeah, that'll be at the very, very end.

And I think he will.

So Guy told John that someone busted Sinestro out of space jail.

Is this a good time to talk about that?

Because I don't really have any thoughts about it, but I feel like you guys did.

Right.

I definitely think that there's.

I think that, you know, you have Hal, there's a couple of.

There's.

It could go in so many different directions, I think, because immediately I thought season.

This is your season two story, Sinestro.

I.

You can't.

If they do it in one episode, it's gonna really piss me off.

I do like that, Sinestro.

I just think there's more to.

How if Hal's dead.

There's more to it.

There's more to it.

And people are looking at people in the town who could possibly be involved, but I just think there's more at play than meets the eye.

We know that Hal didn't do anything, and I Sinestra being out.

I just think there's so many options with Hal, dad, that are comic book related that we just made quotes.

So are you saying that you think Hal broke Sinestro out of jail?

I. I don't.

I don't.

Because I asked you about Sinestro and you're talking about Hal.

So I'm like, where's the connection?

Well, yeah, I just.

I think that.

I think that this.

There's a story between Hal and Sinestro to be told.

Hal gets out of jail, Sinestro breaks out of jail.

There's a symmetry to that.

I don't know what the symmetry is.

It's one of the things that's been bugging the shit out of me all day.

It just feels like, you know, I don't understand why Hal's still seated.

He got shot with a handgun and he's.

He's sit.

He's seated there and supposedly frozen.

I don't understand that.

You know, we're supposed to, I think, think that if somebody in town killed him, I think the potential.

That's a good point.

I think he froze and then someone shot him.

That's what happened.

No, I just.

I don't.

Well, I just don't know.

I don't.

There's.

Yeah.

That is weird.

Sinestro and Hal.

Why would he be sitting straight up like that?

Everything about it's weird.

So.

Sinestro and Hal are such interconnected characters.

I just can't fathom that.

We don't.

That the only piece of their relationship we get is the.

The five minutes at the beginning of episode four, I think it was.

Or episode five, I. I just.

There.

There's more to tell there.

It might be next week.

Might be a season two.

Might not even be with Hal.

I don't know.

But I. I just feel like the Sinestro piece.

To throw that in, I just think that's more.

Sinestro is, like, the biggest Green Lantern villain.

Yeah.

That's why I think they're not gonna have a little story at the end of season one.

You know, they're gonna.

I think he's good.

I think he's gotten out, and I think John will end up putting him back in.

And the story of Sinestro making the.

The Yellow Lantern Corps will be another story to be told either in a film or in a full season or whatever.

But I don't think this is his.

I don't think he's going to.

I don't think he's going to escape John.

That's.

That's just my gut.

Yep.

I think it's going to be a.

Season two story, and that'll be his huge, huge redemption.

It'll be confirmation for him that he's good at this and this is what he really wants to do.

And it'll be confirmation for the, you know, that the Guardians, that they need to accept John on whatever terms he says, because they need him.

I don't know.

That's my hope.

Yeah.

All right, what's next, Kirk?

But I.

Well, I have two crazy theories.

Two crazy theories.

One dark, one positive.

So the dart there is.

Hal somehow either finds out or knows that he's going to get assassinated or has worked out with somebody to pull this off, and they create a clone of him using the Manhunter technology, which recreated John's skin.

And then he gets killed, and Hal takes off to go release Sinestro like you suggested, Jim.

You know, Sinestro is really the only one that Hal has ever felt kind of was in his camp.

And of course he wasn't.

He's just being used by him.

But that's how he felt because, you know, I think we're gonna learn.

And next I think next episode is a flashback that's similar to John's story.

It's gonna be Hal's story.

And then we're gonna see that, you know, the father issues there are really pretty complicated as well.

And that, you know, he's been vulnerable to this kind of manipulation, this particular kind of mentor, father figure type manipulation.

So that was my dark theory.

My, my upbeat theory is that the John and the consciousness from the ring use Zoe's machine to recreate Hal, but then.

And they use the constructs mind to rebuild his mind.

So then when he comes out, he will not have been through the Sinestro trauma.

He won't have been fearing of losing his ring.

He'll be the John from 2000, the how from 2006.

And that way we could continue to have them, you know, be friends.

And it's like the story and situation almost.

Yeah.

Kind of a low key situation, right?

Yeah.

So I have this hope that Kyle Chandler remains in the series and that we get to see Hal Jordan.

I also feel like, I don't know, like this is going to sound.

I'm going to start off in kind of a wild place here, but in the wrestling, you know, I, I watch wrestling a lot and, and a lot of time to get a star over, to become a superstar.

An older star puts over the younger star.

Yeah.

And I don't, I don't think that Hal Jordan.

I don't know where Hal Jordan became a part of this story, but I do feel like they knew a long time ago.

Maybe it was after the Ryan Reynolds movie.

And I'm, I'm being serious.

Maybe, maybe James Gunn just knew.

Like, we're going, we're going with Jon Stewart.

Here's Jon Stewart.

You have free reign with any of the other Green Lanterns that you want.

We're going to be using Guy Gardner in the Superman movie and they decided to use Hal Jordan to put over Jon Stewart.

I don't, I think that's what I've.

Always thought about this series.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't think.

That doesn't mean Hal can't be in it though.

Yeah.

Even if Hal survives.

Oh, no, no.

But see, that's.

I.

If this isn't.

This is not gonna have a ring.

I don't think.

This isn't a CW show.

This isn't.

This is an HBO show.

Right.

I'm telling.

This is not a show.

Who.

Where you at, you?

The whole season is built around creating John into this, into the, into this full hero that I don't know that Green, according to everything that we've seen, we haven't seen since Hal took a turn, for whatever reason, the Sinestro turn or whatever, I think it cheapens it if he lives.

I just, I.

If you clone him or you have him come back, I do think it cheapens the story.

I don't.

I. Geez.

I just convinced myself we're not getting Kyle Chandler and Season.

Well, I think it's more real.

I think it's more realistic that if they.

If he did do a clone, it was so that he could be killed, so that he could get away and help release Sinestro, which still makes him pretty dark.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Maybe still have the hologram.

Would that cheapen it?

Well, if that could stick.

Comic talk.

All right, but without any comic talk, because I don't know anything about the comics related to that.

But when I saw the hologram at the end and he came out and he had this kind of annoyed look on his face, but then he looked down and saw himself dead in the grave and just goes, God damn it.

God damn it.

Oh, I can't wait to see them interact.

Well, remember, this is again, beautiful, beautiful writing.

This is again from episode one.

He shows up the first time he meets the construct.

What's he say to him?

He says, am I dead?

Yeah, that's the first thing he says.

And now he's like, damn, I am dead.

Good, that's.

I forgot about that.

But so I was like, this is fun because we're going to get to see some interaction.

And it's a different version of how.

Of how.

When he was, like, nicer.

So that'll be interesting.

And so he can actually stick around that way and it won't cheapen it, you know?

Yeah, well, you mentioned that to Kirk.

We get to see now John interact with the.

The superhero version.

Correct, correct.

And you mentioned it in the last episode.

And, and this, this.

In this develop.

If you.

I.

This is going to be one of those shows, you get to episode eight, and then you have to go back and rewatch it from episode one.

Because you can see Jon Stewart getting built like.

Yeah, exactly.

And the real programming and Jason, you just.

Well, right, but.

But the.

I mean, maybe it wasn't.

I don't know where I heard this, but the.

If you think about life in and of itself, your parents, like, take you to a certain place and then you go off on your own.

And now he's finally off on his own, and now he's getting the training first from the asshole version of Hal Jordan, where he learned what not to be.

And now from the superhero version, so he.

So we get this guy who has, to the best of our knowledge, aside from the fact that he's, you know, is complicit in Rushville getting, you know, imploded upon, but we do have.

I think the one true potential hero of this entire story is.

Is John Stewart.

That leads into one of my points about.

Wait, wait.

I want to make one more thing about Hal because.

Okay, the other two other little things that happen in this episode that make you.

Make you say what?

First, when they meet at the restaurant, he calls him John.

He's never called him John the whole series.

Junior, Junior, always Junior.

Something's.

Something's off about that.

Why all of a sudden is he calling him John?

And then he's very concerned that John not tell anybody that he saw.

He was scared.

He was.

He didn't want John to get pin pinned for killing.

Yeah, that was weird.

I think the reason why I didn't call him Junior is because Junior means less.

Like you're trying to replace me.

But you're not as good as me.

You're just my Junior.

But now that dynamic doesn't exist anymore because Hal doesn't have the ring.

But I was curious why he told him not to tell anyone that they were together.

You think he knew he was gonna.

Yeah, I think he knew what was coming.

Whether he planned it or didn't plan it.

He knew it was coming.

Yeah.

Either I'm gonna die tonight or everyone's gonna think I'm dead, Right?

Then they're gonna blame you if you're here.

Maybe don't meet in public.

Yeah, well, plus the way he was killed, I mean, he's killed the exact same way Zoe was killed.

So if John's in there, people, I would think as a detective or a cop, you'd be like, wait a minute.

That's exactly how he killed the other.

I mean, I haven't totally ruled out John.

Probably not, but you never know.

So let me talk about John a little bit because it's really interesting to see what John has done with himself in the 10 years since deciding not to become a Green Lantern.

And he's still trying to save lives, but as an architect and building these heavy duty, impenetrable panic rooms and then pitching a giant panic room that can hold 20,000 people in the event of a disaster.

And I like.

He's like, oh, giant starfishes that come sliding out of the ocean.

Because this is a Superhero world and, you know, aliens could come, whatever.

So it was interesting, though, that he spent his life learning to be fearless, and now he makes safe rooms for people who are afraid, but he wants them to have those so they won't be afraid.

That's what he was trying to tell.

Yeah, he's trying to protect people.

Yeah, yeah, he's trying to protect people.

Like, that's.

That's good.

Like, that's why I wanted him to want to be a Green Lantern, to protect people.

And now I really feel that's what he's focused on.

Right.

Then Hal tells Jon he thinks he turned down the ring because he was afraid.

And.

And I think there is some truth to that because John thinks that Hal was so set on keeping the ring that he made him.

He made that more important than protecting people and got reckless just to hold on to the ring.

And John didn't want to risk becoming that.

Maybe.

So he was kind of afraid of what it would do to him.

You could say that.

I don't know.

But I mean, you mean at that.

You mean at the end in last episode where he gives the ring back?

It's be.

You're saying you think it's because he's afraid what it might do to him?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I. I didn't get that.

I got that it wasn't what he thought it was going to be.

He didn't like how it really.

How it worked.

And when he put it on, he said he felt empty.

It wasn't what he thought at all.

And he doesn't even remember now why he wanted to do this.

You can definitely tie those two together, though.

Like, he's watched this.

This man that he watched as a kid.

I think it was.

I don't want to become that.

I don't.

I don't want to help people is my point.

But, yeah, but he's.

Yeah, he's run back.

He's run back home.

You know, he's.

He's back with his brothers, to the best of our knowledge.

He's interacting with his dad, who he's put into a home.

He's still interacting with his mom.

He's back with his family.

I think that.

That in a lot of ways that's interplayed with this.

I'm.

I'm not.

I'm not trying to take away the inner, like, you know, you know, he obviously has morals and he obviously gives them back the ring because he doesn't want what the Guardians see as the ring bearer at this point.

But I think he's he just watched the man that he maybe worshiped growing up turn into this asshole.

Don't meet your heroes.

Right.

And he doesn't want to become that.

So I think.

I think it's both.

I really.

I really.

But maybe he can decide to do it on his own terms, like we were saying before.

Another thing, he's no longer a vegetarian.

And I think that's about.

It reflects that he was this younger man who had these really strong, almost rigid convictions, and he was idealistic, and now he's not as idealistic.

He can.

He's let go of some of his convictions about the world and things aren't so black and white.

I think it kind of fits into that a little bit.

You know, he's a little looser, which was more enjoyable.

Like, I was a little bit worried when, in that first episode that if this did become just a series about John, that it might not be as much fun.

But I think he's more fun right now.

Aaron Pierre is doing a good job of showing his development, you know.

Yeah, absolutely.

Then it was interesting that there was all that stuff with his mom and dad and it was all off screen.

And I think that was to emphasize the disconnection that he has with his parents, that he's estranged from them.

And he.

In their eyes, he let them down and he.

His mother is still really whacked out.

Yeah.

I didn't understand why she was in touch with Hal still, because Hal can't do anything for them anymore.

I didn't really.

Was it.

She said she feels bad for him?

I don't know.

She probably.

Was it her?

Yeah.

Was it her?

And was it Leanna or.

Or was.

Or was Hal lying that he didn't have a conversation with her?

Yeah, I. I just thought that he truly looked like he had no idea what the fuck he was talking about.

But he did say that he talks to his mother.

So, Yeah, I. I thought that was great storytelling, Jason.

And I don't.

There might be more to it than meets the eye.

I just.

They use the phone so much in this episode in a way that I'd never seen before in a show like this.

I think you're right.

It was the disconnect.

And I kept thinking, is there more to this?

We don't get to see who he's actually talking to.

So are parts of these phone calls mom or perhaps.

Well, I'm sorry, not mom, but what was her name?

Can't remember her name, but was there more to it?

Was.

Was.

Was Leanna a part of Those calls.

Was she trying to manipulate a little bit as well?

I just thought it was great the way they told that story between his family.

Just, they were completely.

I, I, I think, I see, I see, like you're saying, or suggesting Jason, that they felt like it was really important that they show how he's set barriers and distance from the family and how he was doing that.

And by not showing.

Showing them.

By not showing.

You really felt it.

Yeah, yeah.

With the exception of the brother that he worked with.

Yeah.

And they, he has a closer bond with them, which he didn't have this, that was cool.

And then, you know, his father is not doing well.

And, and that I feel like his parents.

Well, I think was it Guy or it was Hal?

Somebody said you broke your mother's heart.

That was how.

And you know, that was just.

Their whole lives were built.

Somebody, I think, compared John to like Serena Williams and what's her sister's name?

Venus.

Venus Williams.

Like that.

You just.

As a parent, your whole life is about getting your kid ready for the big leagues.

And what if they as like a 14 year old said, oh, I'm not doing this anymore, Then it would just totally disrupt everything in their family.

You know, it was kind of like that.

And I think his father, I guess the point is that it just wrecked him.

Well, and I think is when you tie it together with race, you know, the Williams are a great comparison because the parents were very much looking at this as a way to, they were frustrated that, that Hal Jordan, a white man, got it.

They, I think the, you know, if you watch interviews with the writers of these particular scripts, I think the race plays a big part of it.

Exactly what you're saying with the Williams, where they have to, they're gonna make.

A mark, show exceptionalism, to be exceptional.

Yeah, for sure.

And I just think that's a big part of this.

But now, so then the last thing about John is he's, so.

He's made his own way.

He's figured out how to help people on his own terms.

But this whole episode is him.

Like, you see, he has this deal in the palm of his hand, and instead he's digging, digging up Hal's grave and blowing it.

And I think that says that his heart is here.

And I think on some level, maybe subconsciously, he feels like I should have been a Green Lantern or something on my own terms.

Yeah, there will always be another deal.

Yeah.

There will not always be.

I don't know about a $38 billion deal, but yeah, you're Right.

Yeah.

So, yeah.

Yeah, I liked that.

The.

Just seeing him.

I liked him more, actually.

Now I like John more.

You didn't mention.

I think the.

The teetering scene, to me, was when he read the eulogy.

And we got to watch him read through that eulogy, which was.

Was.

And we don't know when Hal wrote it, which I. I think is important.

We don't know when he wrote it because, you know, it started off well.

You know, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, they pan back and there's three of us.

Presidents, dignitaries, both foreign and alien.

See, I think he.

He even said that I wrote this as a joke, but I don't think he realized how big of a joke it was going to be.

You know, I. Yeah, I just.

It starts off with that grandiose, you know, Persona that.

That we can.

That kind of part of it, but.

He gets choked up through part of it.

I.

Well, and I. I want to know when he wrote this, because he says at one point that said, I can't believe I'm actually dead.

I kind of wrote this as a joke, but if you're reading it, I guess that joke's on me.

I'm truly sorry to any of you that I hurt.

I don't have a good excuse.

Maybe it was just easier to fly than it was to stay on the ground.

And I.

That.

That when he read that part of it,.

The.

The Aaron Pierre's reaction to that, John's reaction to that phrase was.

I mean, you could see the complete understanding of who Hal Jordan was through.

Through the.

The potential new Green Lantern's eyes.

He also says in there, my ring has no doubt selected a brave son of a.

Ready to continue my fight into that man.

Or woman, but probably a man.

Not that there would never be a female Lantern, but I'm just playing the odds here.

You have my admiration, and I love that it's a Hal Jordan joke.

But the.

The bigger statement is that Jon Stewart is literally reading Hal, saying, look, I don't know who the new Green Lantern's gonna be.

So it makes me think it was before he knew who John was.

But you have my admiration, for there is no greater honor or privilege.

The weight of the ring is a heavy burden, one that demands exceptional courage, sacrifice, and willpower.

And sometimes even those won't get the job done.

He's blueprinting, you know, the person who should be that.

That person.

And I think in that moment, I think we all can see that it's fucking Jon Stewart, right?

And Jon Stewart sees, at whatever point that he wrote this.

This is, this is how much that ring meant to him.

This is how much being Green Lantern meant to him.

Yeah, I don't know, it was just a transformational scene for me.

That phrase you just read where he said the weight of the ring is a heavy burden, one that demands exceptional courage, sacrifice and willpower.

And sometimes even those won't get the job done.

For even in the blackest nights, I urge you to carry on.

The world's counting on you.

I'm counting on you.

I wasn't sure sure exact John was impacted by that.

And I'm not sure exactly how, but it, to me it seemed like it moved him and spoke to him as if those were being spoken right to him, you know?

Yeah.

I think it's what he's been waiting for from Hal through this whole experience was him to say I see you.

I see you.

And, and I mean this was the first taste of it.

Now I, I like how you tied.

That back to last episode.

That was nice.

Yeah, I just, I, I, yeah, it's good.

I think that he, he, he knows that it was a, a how before he possibly knew John.

But I, I think that's now what we're waiting for is we're waiting.

We don't know moment.

No, we don't.

I, but I, I do think we're gonna find out.

I just, oh, I want that moment.

I love that that eulogy ended with I hope I mattered.

Oh, I hope I.

Such an impactful phrase.

The first, the first like, the first like moments he's, he's like talking to presidents and dignitaries and then it ends with I hope I mattered.

I mean it just, ah, especially given.

How everyone hates him now.

You know, I think it's pretty that town hates him, but.

Yeah.

Why isn't the world still right.

I mean, come on.

I mean since 86, saving the planet.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

I mean I'm sure there's, there's probably people outside Nebraska that are like, yeah, Rushville.

But, but I, I, yeah, I don't, I, this was part of my problem, My part of my problem with the episode is I find it intensely hard to believe that Hal Jordan would die in this manner.

And just three people show up, you know, and, and we, we, it's some, maybe we wait to the notes or maybe we, you know, that one of the people there, we hadn't met before who brought the note and she is,.

Yeah, that's, that's a bone of contention I have with this episode.

It's one of the Only one.

And that is what the hell with Carol Ferris?

Like, out of nowhere.

Yeah.

She's a major player in the comic.

Yeah, well.

Yeah, well, let's talk about her in Comic Talk, because I have a.

A few things to say.

But it was clear that she and Hal had a history.

Yeah.

Yeah, but from.

Clear from what she said, we had a history.

Yeah, anybody could say that.

You know what I mean?

Well, if we're gonna get backstory on how, my guess is we're gonna find out.

And that's.

And that's.

That'd be cool.

Like, I told you, I was.

I was.

You're right.

I was struggling with that because I.

Was like, that's why they introduced her.

That's why they introduced her.

Miss something.

Like, did we miss that?

Was she in this show before?

And.

And I.

Well, all day long.

We met Hal at the end of his career, so we didn't see a lot.

Right.

Like.

Yeah, so.

Right.

Yeah.

That's very consistent with how the show has been written so far.

I agree.

You're right.

I. I think that they're still doing something later.

Yeah, they're still telling the show the same way.

They just.

Now, instead of 2016, we're at 20, 26, and we still have to go back and forth.

I just.

When they.

But it took me a while to get there because of the way they told this story.

And.

And, yeah, I think that we're going to find out some history.

We can talk about it during comic book talk because obviously, in this timeline, for those of you listening, she knows them.

There's history there.

What that history ends up being on this show, we don't know.

But we'll tell you some comic book history in a few.

Yeah.

I have another thing to talk about, but it's not my turn.

Does anybody else have something?

I want to.

I want to talk about why Hal came back a little bit, because they kind of walk us through it.

Hal kind of walks us through it.

Carrie kind of walks us through it.

You know, he's.

He's been in jail for the past 10 years.

Mom tells us that he wants to make good.

He's back in Rushville.

He's eating at the diner every night.

We find out that the town hates him.

But Kerry tells us that he goes door to door asking if people need his help.

And he's doing that because he wants to make amends.

And mostly everybody kicks him out because they hate his guts.

But he's there to make good.

He's there for Carrie.

He's there because he fell in love with her.

So we're told this beautiful story, and we're asked to believe that he's there to make amends.

And I'm not saying that that's not part of why he's there, but when we see him in the diner, he doesn't feel a whole lot different than.

Yeah.

The how.

That we've known.

He's defending himself.

Yeah.

And accusing John.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What we know about Hal and we know about Rushville is that he got the ring based on the other Green Lantern dying in Rushville.

He has constantly gone back looking for the Manhunter over the course of time, and he spent 10 years in jail.

And we're asked to believe that the version that we saw sitting at the diner is there to make amends.

Maybe a little bit.

But I think there's more to it.

I think if you're going door to door, you might be looking for somebody.

And I think his job.

Plus, he was so paranoid.

He's got a shotgun rigged up to his front door.

Yeah.

I mean, he's, I mean, obviously you're not wanted there.

Well, why would you stay?

Is it paranoia if it's true?

I mean, everybody hated him.

You know, I just, I, I, I'm paranoid.

That doesn't mean people aren't following.

That's right.

But I think that the how that we know has always been that, you know, a lot more thoughtful than he ever wants us to see.

He's there looking for something.

He's sorry to keep it, but Carol Faris said something like, he may have liked you, but he probably never told you that because she knows him well enough to know that he doesn't tell people when he admires them.

Right.

So I, without really diving too much into the weeds, and I said this last week, I mean, I, I definitely think that there's.

Whether or not there's another Manhunter, there's definitely something there that he's looking for.

It's not, it's, well, bad optics.

Right?

I mean, I think it is, but that's so.

It's so obvious.

So then we have to ask ourselves who Noah is?

Is he a Manhunter?

Or is there something more complicated about him?

We.

Is.

Is his father.

Who's.

Is.

Is there a father?

Did she make him?

Is there more to it?

I just think there's more to the story than just, oh, here's another Manhunter.

Well, and I, I wasn't clear exactly why you guys were pointing at Noah before on this podcast, but this episode, it came Together a little bit more.

Because first of all, Anton the alien said he and Zoe, or the Manhunter, in whatever form she was in with him, couldn't have a child.

But we know that Noah is supposed to be her child here, right?

With Billy?

No, not Billy.

With Macon.

Wait, no, I'm totally wrong about that.

No, Noah is the Sheriff and Billy's Carrie.

Yeah.

So fuck what I just said.

Forget all that.

But, but, but she implied that the Sheriff.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

You're still onto something there.

The Sheriff implies, when she has the confrontation with Hal last episode, that the reason she's doing all this is because of Zoe has given her a mirror.

Given her.

Yeah, right.

Which everybody kind of.

I mean, I think we've kind of deduced that that's the son.

That's about the pink.

Not the pinky.

Right.

And so, so what part did she play now for creating skin and duplication and stuff, of repairing bodies, fingers, everything else.

Maybe she was able to make a child for them.

Maybe there was a reason they couldn't have a child.

The question is, did she supplant in that technology or aspects of Manhunterism?

Or technology.

Especially since we got that quick scene of her coaching Noah and saying, you know, are you going to remember everything I've taught you?

Are you, you know, how are you spying?

You know, she said, being seen.

Well, that's important.

Yeah.

Because I'm trying to think, okay, who maybe killed Hal?

I mean, we think maybe Hal set that up himself.

But if it's a murder mystery, Noah's my number one suspect.

Because.

Because on the day everything went to shit, Noah was upset that his dad was angry and also worried that Zoe was going to die.

Something bad's going to happen, right?

Are people going to die?

Going to die.

And she did die.

And everyone blames Hal from that, so why not Noah?

But he seems so chill right now.

I think that's misdirection.

And then when she got down and told him, no matter what happens, don't forget everything I've told you.

And she also said, what I tell you about spying?

See without being seen, without being seen.

So it seems like that could suggest that he's a murderer hiding in plain sight right now.

And then I think they're just trying to throw us off by having him seem so low key.

Be friendly at dinner, thoughtfully bringing John a suit for the funeral.

And they give him story elements to make it seem interesting.

He wrote to FEMA to have them repair the school and wants to get into politics.

I think they're trying to give him characteristics to not make us question why he's in this story and start thinking too hard about it and also be president.

President.

President.

Well, I mean, I think that's interesting, right?

Because what a Man Hunters do, they.

They insert themselves into a community and a culture, and then they slowly take over that community, and then they take over the.

The planet eventually.

And what better platform to do that from?

I agree with you 100%, Jason.

I think he's definitely my number one suspect.

And I think he's, you know, either a Manhunter or a Manhunter hybrid.

Yeah.

The other aspect is.

Is those things you describ.

It was.

It was so obvious, but it was also obvious.

It was stylistically like the Manhunter.

In other words, he kind of.

He kind of identifies John as kind of a.

An Alpha, and now he's going around kind of manipulation himself.

Ingratiating himself.

Exactly, Exactly.

Yeah.

Which was a very Manhuntery kind of style.

Good point.

Yeah.

And I think they want us to think Billy did it because before, Billy, who's played by Jason Ritter and just seemed so harmless, now they have him acting all angry and tough and, you know, stepping up to John and everything,.

And we don't like Green Lanterns in.

This town, and Hal slept with his ex wife, you know, so.

Yeah, he has motivation.

That'll do it.

Well, here's.

Here's again.

You know, we know.

We know Billy's not the Manhunter because John just kicks the.

Out of him.

Like, it's like three seconds and he's kicked.

That's true.

So we know.

We know he's not the Manhunter.

That's number one.

Number two, we know he didn't kill.

There's no way Hal's going to sit there and let Billy kill him, because he.

They.

The.

The coroner said it.

It was point blank.

He let.

Whoever.

Whoever did it.

He let him.

You know, there was no.

There was no struggle.

So again, if he's in a relationship with Carrie, Noah makes sense.

He also says something interesting to John.

They're having a conversation.

He brings a suit to John, and he asks John how he's doing.

I.

It was a weird conversation, and it made me think, like, perhaps, because, listen, if he's pissed off at Hal.

Hal's not the only one he's pissed off at.

Yeah.

So.

Right.

They have this really interesting conversation where, you know, he talks about asking John how he's doing, and John's like, I'm doing fine.

And I was like, okay, that might not Be that might not be good.

So perhaps we find out with, with Noah coming after John and, and, you know, he doesn't go to the funeral and, you know, he asks about, you know, you had a stressful week and, you know, you know, are you mad at me because I kicked the.

Out of your dad?

And he kind of turns around and looks at him and he said, I probably deserved it.

There just was more to that conversation than I thought.

I thought that scene was really.

Was really good.

And I think when things play out, we're going to be able to look back at that scene and, and see more.

Yeah, I think he's playing a role so as not to draw suspicion to himself, but we could just be totally.

Wrong, you know, I mean, we are definitely being led away from Kerry.

Yeah.

You know, we really are.

Because the one person who, if, if in this whole entire town we're led to believe if there's one person aside from John who he would let shoot him in the head, which sounds ridiculous to say, it would be Carrie.

Right.

And her in the restaurant saying, all right, you're going to, you just accuse me, right?

You're going to ask me if I killed him, and then I brought you here as a way to throw you off my trail.

That could have been her throwing up.

She is, as far as actors go in this series, I mean, if you've ever seen her in anything she's been in before, you do not bring her in just to be sort of the good guy cop.

So there could be more to her than meets the eye.

Well, there's very.

There's always the possibility that this is a long game plan of Hal's and she's helping him, so.

Well, listen, they made.

Let's go back.

So we keep talking about all this, like, DNA.

Hey, they made her a new finger.

Could they not mess.

Mess around with her entire body remaking that finger?

I mean, we're being.

We're being kind of coy there, but they, they did repair her body.

There could be more to carry than meets the eye.

All right, I think it's her now.

Yeah.

But they also put her blood and, and, and whatever the microbes or whatever those are, the little tiny machines that.

They can put in your body, nano something.

Nano?

Yeah, nano stuff in, in her blood.

They put it in John's eye.

Yeah, I don't.

I just.

I. I don't know.

I mean, I just, I.

We still have a lot of play.

I just, to me, Kyle's obvious, but maybe, you know, we were talking about him last week.

And I, I, I, I still think it's him.

I still think it's him.

That's the Manhunter hybrid.

I don't necessarily think it's him.

No.

I keep saying Kyle.

Yeah, Noah.

Yes.

That doesn't necessarily mean he's the one that killed.

Well, they said that this is going to be a mystery that's solved this season.

Right.

That this is a one season story with sort of hooks to future storylines.

But I'm just bringing that up because I don't think we're going to have to wait two years to find out which.

This season has been brilliant.

I mean, this season has been brilliant at handing us questions and giving us answers.

And handing us questions and giving us answers.

I still think that there's parts of Damon Lindelof that are broken, but that for this series, is not one of them.

No.

He's learned his lesson, I think.

Yeah.

I want to talk about something else, and I feel like this might be an area where we disagree, so it could get interesting.

Let's go.

The bad optics aside, the real truth of what happened in Rushville in 2016, because everyone hates Hal because in their view, they had this great thing going with this benevolent creature that would make them all healthy and bring them good fortune and whatever else, give them tech, and he came in and fucked it all up and caused their town to be decimated and people to die.

And now they hate him and any Green Lanterns because they should associate them with him, with Hal.

It's fucking nuts.

Damaged the brand, but Hal was after this alien who he knew caused genocide.

And I don't think we necessarily know that that wasn't Zoe's goal here.

In fact, when Zoe was explaining to John in 2016 why she chose to look just like that, she said, how do you conquer a planet?

So it sounds like she was still planning that.

And even if not, even if she had decided to lay low, you should still be brought to justice for your crimes.

But.

So I guess the reason why sort of John's like, hey, you did this.

Don't bring me into it, is because I think, Kirk, you've spoken to this before.

The way he did it, he just did it.

Recklessly straightforward approach.

But really, I mean, she's the one who killed everyone.

You'd think the townspeople would be like, okay, her response to the Green Lantern trying to get her was to kill a bunch of us.

It's at least something that worth considering.

You would think.

I don't disagree that she had to.

She had to be Taken in, she had to be brought down.

That she was going to be a threat forever and also needed justice for what she had done.

Yeah, I think.

And I don't think John disagreed with that at all, either.

I think it was just how you go about it.

And it's like when John said to him, I shirt.

When they were going into the weapons depot.

You know, I'm sure you just want to just fly off and smash big fists and big green fists or whatever.

Yeah.

But, you know, you got to.

And it's like, if you.

If your goal here is to not kill people, then that was not the way to do it.

That's true.

I mean, I wonder what Jon would have thought was the right way to do it, because I don't think we really got that.

But also, I still think that if I was in the town and I saw, okay, the Green Lantern attacked, this being that we thought was our friend, and then she started to kill all of us, that you might.

At least it wouldn't be so simple as to say, okay, I hate Green Lanterns now.

It'd be more like, oh, I guess she wasn't.

Yeah, as good as we thought she was.

The step.

So the step back, and I think you've seen it in history.

And I.

You know, I don't want to mention World War II, but we've seen a whole country step back, look at their leader, and go, yeah, we really up.

Yeah, we really up.

And.

And let's be clear.

And again, I'm not making excuses for the town of Rushville.

It is a fictional show, but at the beginning of last week's episode, they were.

The Macons were rounding them up.

Not rounding them up.

Were sounding off alarms to.

To have them batten down the hatches.

Were going to war.

They were complicit.

And I'm not saying they needed to die for it.

And I think that the how.

That we know didn't know any way around it.

I think maybe it.

But maybe John plays it different.

I don't know.

But what's the right way to do it?

It.

I don't.

I don't know.

Well.

Well, first of all, you.

First of all, you go to the Guardians.

They created the Manhunters.

I don't think they even necessarily knew that this was going on.

I. I'm not convinced yet that Lilian.

Liliana, whatever her name is.

What's the.

The Guardian's name?

It's Lillian.

Or.

We'll say Linda.

No, I'm just kidding.

I don't know.

Liana.

Something like that Liana.

That's it, Leanna.

That's it.

So, I'm sorry, her name's Laura Linney.

And I always get it all mixed up in my head.

So, you know, I'm not convinced that she's a true Guardian or a Guardian in good standing.

So, you know, that begs the questions, did the Guardians know that this was the case and how.

But Hal didn't trust them for whatever reason.

We don't know why.

And I think that's why that was a problem.

That's the beauty of the story, is that there was probably lots of ways that this could be resolved in a much better way, but because you had this dysfunctional relationship between these two guys and you had the manipulation that was going on by Sinestro on one side, and the Powers.

Yeah, the Powers that be.

And everybody's kind of playing chess, and it's all of a sudden they realize the way they've played, all the pawns are getting killed.

And.

You know what I mean?

And.

But so I just think, you know, they.

They needed to step back, get the Guardians involved and formulate a plan, because maybe they needed the Green Lantern Corps to come and take care of this Manhunter, as opposed to just one Green Lantern who's freaking out because he thinks he's getting replaced this week.

You know what I mean?

So.

Right.

He wasn't in a good place to be doing something like that.

But then I also wonder why he went to federal prison and for 10 years.

That does seem like a weird.

I guess in some way, he was held legally responsible for all this destruction.

But if he was fully held responsible, he would be put away for life.

Well, there was nothing.

There was no first degree of damage.

There was no first degree murder.

Yeah, it was.

It was her machines that were doing all the damage.

Yeah, yeah, but even if you're doing, like, manslaughter or whatever, I mean, there'd be a whole lot of counts.

Maybe he voluntarily took some responsibility, because he does say, I took the fall.

But the fact also that he refused to apologize to John.

He goes, I took the fall.

I did the time.

We're square.

No, you didn't take the fall.

You fell and people got killed.

And we're a long fucking way from the square.

It's great writing.

Great writing.

I'm not the only killer here.

And I think he was talking about him killing Zoe.

Right.

Which I think he said that because he was like, you know, that needed to happen, and you're the one that actually killed her, so stop saying that this was all my thing or something like that.

Well, she's not human.

And she was the villain, and she was a murderer and she was a conqueror, and she.

You know what I mean?

Killing her is different than killing innocent bystanders and women and children and men and dismembering them in the streets and.

You know what I mean?

Traumatizing the survivors, like we find out from the girl at the restaurant.

You know what I mean?

It's like it's two different.

Totally different things.

Yeah.

And I, I just wonder.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's what it is.

Like he just should have planned it better or something.

I mean, it seems like you could sneak up on her, you know, or something.

I just think that she hangs out in bars.

Yeah.

But I just think that she.

I, I think that Hal.

There's a part of Hal that really thought he could do it.

That he could do it.

Yeah.

I really watch.

If you watch the way that Hal's moving around that town, that look on his face of this is happening the way everybody said it was gonna happen.

Right.

And I don't think he.

And again, that's his flaw.

His flaw is overconfidence.

Correct.

Well, again, I think it's coupled that overconfidence, perhaps, but also he's distracted.

He's completely distracted and preoccupied with the whole situation with John, with the Guardians, with Sinestro with the ring, with losing his power.

Well, he went into Macon's ranch, remember, and he didn't even have his ring.

And he's like, yeah, you guys.

And then he got shot.

And it's like, yeah.

What are you doing?

Yeah.

Not, not wise.

Yeah, no, I, I, I agree with you, Jason.

I think, I think that, you know, that is.

There's so much to that part of it, the town being a part of it, the, you know, her being so ingrained.

I just, I just struggle with, you know, we're 10 years out and the town can't look around and see what happened and not go, yeah, maybe she was a little part of it.

Maybe she was the ones shooting lasers down at us, you know?

I mean, they realize that she was going to try to conquer the planet, and they sh.

I think one of the listeners says it in the feedback section, but they should be educated on that.

And also, these aliens were going to come in and destroy the whole town if Hal didn't do something.

Well, that.

48 Hours, we don't know what the trial was like.

And that could have been the defense.

It could have been.

Look, here's the history of the Manhunters and what they've done and what they're capable of.

And so, yes, it was not the right way to do this.

And yes, people got hurt, but this had to happen or we might lose the entire planet.

So 10 years instead of life.

Yeah, exactly.

Right.

Yeah, that's a good point.

All right.

I think it makes sense now.

It does.

It makes more sense to me.

And, you know, by the way, I always like this show more after I podcast about it with you guys.

Guys, That's a good sign.

Me too.

We get.

We got.

We gotta.

We gotta give a high props to.

To Earl.

Man, having Earl back is the best.

And he was even more.

He was even more satisfying this episode.

Now that we know he's, like, sentient and communicates and emotional.

Who did he.

Was he on the phone with?

Was his mom?

I'm not sure.

Brother or something.

And Hal died, and you hear the plant go.

That was really sad.

And as much as everyone hated Hal, I mean, I love that him and Carrie were dating.

And he called her Buttercup.

And, you know, she called in John because she wanted someone around to care.

And you think, well, John doesn't like him.

But Harry knows that John, on some level, their relationship is complicated.

And then there's Earl, and that John wanted to bury Hal.

And then Carol Farah showed up.

So there were at least some people who cared.

There's such a depth and that they didn't have to put any of that in there.

And they did that whole, like.

And maybe it comes back into play, but that whole Buttercup that.

It was such a.

How moment.

It wasn't a surprise.

And it was a surprise at the same time.

Like, of course he's going to say something stupid like that.

And of course she's going to save it.

And the fact that they're playing it to try to open this cube.

Yeah, like, they're.

They're playing it the whole time.

And I'm like, well, of course.

John's like, do you have something saved on your phone?

And you know, it's going to be something she doesn't necessarily want to share,.

But go back and watch her face while it's playing, though.

It's.

It's.

It's hilarious.

It is absolutely hilarious.

And John's just sort of sitting there like, what the.

I can't believe how long he lets him play.

I mean, it's like I was watching.

I'm watching and I'm thinking, is he waiting in the hopes that he's going to say a particular word that might.

Might trigger this.

What the heck?

And then I love how the thing said, you know, I forget the words, but we need a live person and this is your warning not to try that again.

And you get the idea that you don't want to try it again.

Yeah.

Yeah, that was great.

Yeah.

But I hope that if.

If Hal is.

Is gone and deceased or not in the show anymore, that John takes Earl back and keeps him.

Yeah, that would be awesome.

Yeah.

Well.

Or gives him.

Gives him as a present to guy.

Or his brother first.

Mom and dad.

Yeah.

You don't get an alien son, but you get an alien.

Well, you know, his.

Maybe.

Maybe he'll give it to dad in the old folks home.

Oh, he's gone.

He can't go.

They pulled a weapon on people there.

He shot the window out.

I'm down to a note.

I have one note left.

Okay.

I got a couple more points.

Okay.

About the investigation.

We get to finally see a little bit more around that scene we saw in the first season when Carrie called the skip to 2026.

Carrie called Jon and we thought, oh, they're friends by then, but not really.

I mean, no.

Not friendly, at least we cal.

John punched him in the nose the night before.

And did you get the impression, Jason, that that was the first time they'd seen each other since he walked away from him?

Yeah, that was the impression I got.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Carrie says whoever broke his nose probably killed him.

I love that because it's like not unless John killed him and then.

But let's see.

The coroner says that they looked for blood that's not Hal's type and should get results back in four months which could implicate John.

And there's this whole thread through this.

Episode I thought it was.

Didn't turn out to be like that.

Like a week then or something.

They.

She said she would do there was something that timeline isn't going to be.

Did she.

I thought she said something else about she would stop the press from learning about it because that would draw a lot of people in.

But she could hold that off.

I think the blood thing won't be for four months according to her.

But I mean, there's a thread.

John didn't tell anyone that he was with Hal the night before, but also didn't tell anyone that he beat up Billy and his friends.

And you know, your first thought might be, well, you should tell people that or else you're going to look guilty if it comes out and he even gets blackmailed we could talk about this girl Maggie.

But he said a couple of times, hey, you're naive and, like, I'm a black man in rural Nebraska, and that's where us whities need to think.

Oh, yeah.

That's what black people have to deal with.

If you say something like that, that could implicate you, like, oh, yeah, Hal and I were in a fight last night, or I just beat up Billy, then you might just not be given the benefit of the doubt at all and just be convicted.

I think you can take the word.

I mean.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So that was, that was, you know, that was in there.

It was good.

He beats Billy up, he doesn't say anything.

The minute he, the minute he admits to it, where does he end up?

Up in jail.

Jail.

She's, he's, he, she's like, I'm doing.

This to protect you.

I would have been in here anyway.

And she's like, oh, not necessarily.

And he's like, come on.

Because I, I, I struggled a little bit.

Like, why doesn't he trust her to, to tell her, you know, I, I punched him.

You know, I was here.

Yeah, but listen, we're also both, all three of us sitting here saying, you know, she said some things that maybe she's the suspect.

You know what I mean?

Right.

Oh, yeah.

No, yeah, we know that.

Well, right, right.

And that plays a part in it for sure.

Making sure he keeps all of the ducks in a row while he's trying to figure out which duck has got, Got the prize under it.

Yeah, yeah.

And then just about Maggie, this.

Yeah.

The girl at the cafe.

Waitress who is blackmailing him for what she calls reparations.

And it was interesting that.

That word.

Yeah.

Because, you know, it's.

She says it's all the damages that have, Were caused by that, everything in 2016, with interest.

So maybe there's some, Something to that.

But using the word reparations.

Right after she told him, I'm not a race.

There's my note.

Yeah, exactly.

I'm not a racist.