In 1996, a night. A channel covers that ten years ago, nobody on Earth was aware they were already under the protection of someone calling himself Green Lantern. Then, he made himself known, dramatically stopping a meteor from devastating Victoria Falls.
In the house, some kids watch the interview of Green Lantern in Lanterns episode 1. Green Lantern says he’s not nervous. Because it’s a part of his job. He’s excited. He’s Hal Jordan. The kid’s brother Marcus turns off the TV. The kid is furious to blame Marcus. Marcus tells the kid that he’s gonna get them all in trouble. But he’s asked to go to watch the window.
Marcus walks away. The kid turns on the TV. The interview continues. Hal says he’s an Air Force veteran. He’s a former test pilot. He’s just a regular person like people. The reporter points out that he’s also Earth’s first Green Lantern. He doesn’t deny it.
She says in many ways, Hal Jordan was born for the role he would eventually play. His father was a decorated test pilot who died tragically in a crash when Hal was just eight. Marcus watches the window. He sees the the car of the kid’s father. He turns around, and he tells the kid that his father came back. He asks the kid John to turn off the TV.
But John focuses on the TV. Hal says he’s the only one here, but they’re like beat cops. Only each one of them has a chunk of the galaxy. The reporter asks him how is he chosen for this chunk? Is there a test? He says it’s only one question. “Are you afraid?” He said no. Every kid’s worst fear is losing a parent. Once that happens, there’s nothing to fear anymore.
John’s father enters the house. John turns off the TV immediately. His father asks him to tell him the guy’s real name. John says the guy’s name a Hal. John and his father go outside. John puts an apple on his head. He stands against the wall. His father pulls out a gun. He asks John are you afraid? John says no. He shoots the apple on his head. The apple is broken. John walks to his father. His father gives him a hug. He offers to go to eat burger.
Many years later, John grows up. He practices boxing in a gym. It’s 2016. John waits for someone on the street. Hal drives his car to show up. John gets in the car. Hal looks at John. He says he’s late. John is working with his idol now. He doesn’t blame Hal. But Hal wishes the guy says something. John ignores Hal. Hal drives the car.
He asks John if he’s sure that he’s not angry. John says no. Hal mentions he disappeared for two weeks, and he didn’t explain it. He showed up hangover and late. He doesn’t want John to call sir. He guesses he wants to know where he went. He asks him if he heard of Pharon 4. John says they’re training. They haven’t gone off-planet yet. Hal agrees with what John said. He mentions it’s a planet that was on the verge of civil war. The point is, if he’s hangover, it’s only because he was celebrating the new peace.
John asks Hal how’d he manages it? Hal says a little bit of diplomacy, a little punching. He thinks John knows it. But John says he doesn’t know. Hal tells John that he got all the time in the world. John mentions they have been doing it for two months. He hasn’t even worn the ring yet. Hal tells John that he shouldn’t get hung up on the jewelry. He will wear it when it chooses him. John says he thought the point was that the Guardians chose him.
Hal tells John that the big blue bosses may think that he’s not good enough, but he’s just a substitute teacher. He’s not ready to get up in front of the class until the ring says he is. Hal takes off his ring. He hands it over to John. He asks him if he wants to take it. But John thinks it’s a test. Hal puts the ring in the car. He tells John that there’s a taco stand up the road about three miles. He will meet him there. He jumps off the car then.
John has to drive the car because Hal left. The car falls off the cliff. John grabs the ring. He wears it. The car hits the ground. It’s broken.
Hal has been a lantern for a long time. He doesn’t want to do the job anymore. He wants to give the ring to someone else. The candidate is John. He wants to wear the ring and become a new lantern. But the ring doesn’t want to accept John right now. So Hal uses a dangerous way to force the ring to choose John.
John isn’t dead. He survives from the car. He walks along the road. He calls his father. He complains it to him that Hal wanted to kill him when they were on their way to a flying lesson. John’s father tell John that Hal cannot kill him. He’s just trying to put him on tilt. John says he’s not on tilt. His father tells him that Hal is testing him. They’re allowed to have tantrums. They’re not. So breathe in, button down, and bottle up. He need to be cool. John expresses that he wants to ring. His father tells him that he will get the job as long as he doesn’t give up.
John gets angry after Hal almost killed him. He wants to quit. Fortunately, he has a good father. John’s father helps John analyze the situation. He reminds him that he needs Hal if he wants the job. John endures it in the end. But it doesn’t mean that he will forgive Hal.
John takes a look at the ring. The ring glows. Hal shows up. He asks John is he dead? He reminds him that he’s wearing his ring. John asks Hal is he kidding? He walks forward. Hal follows John. He asks him did he do something to make him angry? If he did, he apologizes. John is surprised that Hal apologizes. He thinks he must have a concussion.
Hal stops John. He asks him who is he and why is he wearing his ring? John says he’s John Stewart. He’s Hal’s trainee. Hal mentions Lanterns don’t have trainees from their own sector. John says they do now. It’s 2016. John asks Hal what happened. Hal says he’s a backup of Hal Jordan’s consciousness, combined with the sentience of the ring, he’s here to give himself a message. So he’s Hal mostly.
It’s like when he stores himself in the cloud, only every once in a while, when he’s needed in the real world. Lanterns, they’re required to be uploaded weekly, for posterity’s sake, in case something happens to them. Hal thinks he should have taught it to John since he was training him. But he didn’t. John asks Hal when was his last backed up? Hal says ten years ago. He tells John that he needs to find himself. He wonders where he is. John tells Hal that he’s three miles up the street eating tacos.
Hal asks John to fly them there. He realizes that he didn’t teach it to him. John wants to help Hal tell the words to another Hal. But Hal asks John if he trusts him. He means if they get along. John tells Hal that they get along great. Hal says there’s hail in Rushville, Nebraska. He disappears.
At the taco store, Hal is signing for his fans. The guy shows up. He offers to let Hal take a break. The mother and daughter take a photo with Hal. The daughter mentions her mother misses Hal’s suit. The mother says she didn’t say that. Hal asks the daughter to tell her mother that he still wears it on special occasions.
John arrives at the store when Hal sits at the table to drink beer. Hal applauds. John tells Hal that he could have died. Hal says he’s training John. He asks John how would he save himself? What would he make with that ring? John says bubble wrap. Hal thinks John is a genius. The waiter puts the dessert on the table. He asks Hal why he only wears it on special occasions. Hal says it’s like when he’s young and eager and he likes to prove himself, so he wears a tie so people will take him seriously. But when he gets older and wiser, he realizes ties are a pain.
The waiter leaves. John returns the ring to Hal. He tells him that he sent himself a message. The ring, his backup consciousness. He was a lot nicer ten years ago. Hal asks John what did he say? John tells it to Hal. Hal stands up after he received the message. He asks John to pay the check. He flies away.
In the evening, John drives in the town. But he’s blocked by the cop. John tells the cop that he’s Hal’s partner. The cop brings that there’s only one lantern in the world. John explains it to the cop that he’s in training. The cop learns that John is a sidekick. He contacts his boss. He tells John that he cannot approach the field.
As a reserve lantern, John isn’t accepted by people. Even the cop looks down on John. Hal isn’t much better off either. He’s treated as a troublemaker. John finds Hal on the sidelines. He blames him for abandoning him. Hal tells John that he was testing him, seeing if he had it in him to get himself here on his own. John mentions Hal has been here six hours, why are they still processing the scene? Hal explains it to John that emergency services from two different counties. They’re interviewing witnesses, escorting them out ten at a time. It’s a decidedly small-town pace.
John asks Hal if he flew all the way here just to ride the bench. Hal tells John that the answer to that mystery is heading right to him. The Sheriff Kane shows up. Hal introduces John to Kane. Kane shakes hands with John. She asks him to call her Kerry. He says he feels honored to be trained by Hal. But she sneers. She says it was certainly an honor to meet Hal when he arrived.
She tells John and Hal that they don’t have jurisdiction. She knows Hal is a big shot, but his jurisdiction only covers extraterrestrial events. This is pretty much the definition of terrestrial. He says these victims are going to end up being aliens. Based on his feeling. He has a very strong feeling. She tells him that the scene is his. He says it seems kind of mellow for a mass shooting. He asks her if she thinks so. She says people are in shock. He says or nobody knows the victims. He asks her does anybody seem extra upset to her down there? She sees anybody standing with the bodies? He asks her to say it with him, Aliens.
She tells him that she knows he thinks he’s helping. But he needs to trust her. These people are her friends. They’re her neighbors. They understand her job. They know they’re not alone. There’s a difference between hearing that on CNN and seeing it up close. If it ends up being the case, they will deal with it. But until then, she’s trying to keep the scene calm. So if he could do her a favor, keep away from the news vans. She asks Hal and John to stay out of her way. She walks away.
Kerry is the sheriff who’s in charge of the field. She doesn’t like John and Hal at all. Because Hal insists on thinking those people are aliens. But she doesn’t believe his words. She thinks those people are humans. She refuses to use his method to deal with the case. She shows her tough side to the two men. Hal is stubborn as well. But he cannot do anything even if he knows the aliens hide in the people. He supports Hal. He’s a superhero, and he’s professional. But it creates a potential hazard since he lets the woman do the job. The aliens will hurt people, it’s not Kerry can control, even if she’s confident.
Hal tells John that Kerry is something incredible. John thinks the woman hates them very much. Hal says the point is how she expresses her disgust. The two stand up and watch the field. John asks his teacher what happened here. But Hal asks John to tell it to him. John says look to him like Rushville scored a game-winning field goal. Kicking block is still out there. Fence is broken. His guess is home fans rushed the field. This being a rivalry, a few visitor fans wander onto the field. This being Nebraska, more than a few are carrying. They got four dead, all in visitor sweatshirts. And still none of this explains why he thinks it has anything to do with aliens.
Hal tells John that he has been doing this job since he was a baby. He’s the only person on this whole planet that’s ever done this job. He says he got a feeling. John knows Hal has been monitoring the exact spot. “Hail” obviously means aliens. They even sound the same. So they both know this is more than just a feeling. Hal tells John that here’s all he needs to know. He claims that this is his job. As long as he’s alive, that aren’t changing. He doesn’t plan on dying anytime soon. He asks John to take a nice long, deep breath.
John sees the guy in the field. He thinks he’s one of the aliens. Hal says the one in the short-sleeved shirt. He has been clocking him since he got here, trying to figure out why he didn’t bolt, and what he still wants here. He didn’t tell it to Kerry. John says it’s Kerry’s crime scene. Hal asks John if he would do it if he had the ring. John admits it. Because he respects the chain of command. Hal asks John to go to show his respect.
John walks to the field. Kerry scolds him. Because she asked him not to approach the field. She asks him if he doesn’t understand what she said. He tells her that she needs to see something. She says if he’s about to tell her about the redneck in the short sleeves who ditched his only warm clothes so they wouldn’t put him with the other victims, she’s trying to make sure he doesn’t get spooked and start shooting the place up like his dead friends. She thinks he did something wrong.
The guy runs into the building. John and Kerry chase the guy. The guy runs out of the building. John beats the guy down. Kerry arrests the guy. He’s taken away by two cops then. Hal shows up. He tells Kerry that he needs to interrogate the guy. She rejects it, and she walks away. Hal asks John is he thirsty?
At the bar, Hal uses the ring to counterfeit a bill. He spends the money to buy everyone a drink. He denies it when John asks him about it. He claims that he manifested money with the power of his will. But John points out that Hal couldn’t manifest something for the guy he was chasing. Hal tells John that the ring is a dangerous weapon. When and if to use it, that’s the whole ball game. John wants to know how Hal got the ring.
Hal points out that John knows how he got it. But John thinks what he knows cannot be true. Hal says he got it the old-fashioned way. He sure as hell didn’t interview for it. But John tells Hal that maybe he should have. Power like that, shouldn’t he have to work for it, excel, prove himself, instead of just getting randomly selected? He thinks they came to Nebraska to figure out how Hal got the ring. Hal says he was a couple years into being a test pilot. He’s sleeping off about nine too many, still had his boots and jeans on. All of a sudden, his room starts to vibrate. He opens his eyes, and he’s in a big green bubble. The green bubble floats him up out of bed. Next thing he knows, there’s a voice running through his entire body, bones, teeth, heart, the whole deal. It says to him, “Are you afraid?” He says no. Yanks him out the window across the sky like a fish getting reeled in. Couple hundred miles in about ten seconds. He flies fighter jets. He has an excellent sense of airspeed and bearing. That’s how he knows exactly where that green bubble set him down.
John realizes that it’s in Nebraska. Hal says not more than 20 miles from where they sit right now. Thus, an excellent place to crash a spaceship. The pilot was right in front of him. Bonafide alien. Pink and bald, coughing up glow-in-the-dark blood. So Pinko stars talking. And it comes out all clicks and gurgles. He’s dying. And he gives him his ring. When he puts it on, he can understand every word he says. His name is Abin Sur, responsible for maintaining the peace and sovereignty of Sector 2814. This responsibility is Hal’s now, as the ring has chosen him to be his successor.
Hal thinks he was lucky to get the ring. The big, blue bosses, they’d never wanted any Lantern coming near our little planet. This is why his gut always told him that crash wasn’t accident. When it says something is coming, he makes sure there’s a lookout to tell it to him. John guesses it’s the Hologram.
The guy is furious to tell Hal that he will put him into the jukebox if the song plays once again. John tells Hal that the guy is talking to him. Hal heard it. John asks Hal if he wants to fight. He knows he wants to go to jail so that he can talk to the guy. Because Kerry doesn’t want him to talk to the guy. Hal says the guy is an alien. John thinks the plan is very stupid. Hal says he has had stupider. John doesn’t doubt.
Hal puts the ring on the table. He knows those guys are going to beat him. He asks John not to help him when he’s beaten. John agrees. Hal walks away. John takes a look at the ring. The woman shows up. She asks John if he’s going to say yes. She mentions Hal didn’t get down on one knee, but a ring is a ring. He says he doesn’t think Hal wants him to have this ring. She points out that Hal gave it to him. He guesses Hal is testing him. He tells her that he’s drinking Coke. She thinks he’s a teetotaler.
He denies it. He says he’s just on the job. She says being a space cop. He asks her who told her he was a space cop? She points out that his partner is a space cop. So she thinks he is. Hal is beaten. John looks at Hal. He tells the woman that he’s Hal’s trainee. He’s the only trainee. He didn’t pick him. Their bosses did. She laughs after knowing space cops have bosses. She thinks he will be an official cop once the training ends. But he says there’s only one cop on Earth. So he’s just being trained in case anything happens to Hal. She learns that he’s the backup quarterback.
He says he’s patient. But she doesn’t think so. Hal is arrested by the cops. He smiles at John. John tells his name to the woman. She asks him to walk her to her truck. In the truck outside the bar. John sleeps with the woman. She thinks he’s going to give her a lesson. But he gives her a light with the ring.
The next day at the police station, John walks into the office. Kelly knows he came to bail out Hal. She wants to give him some coffee. He rejects it. She says Hal isn’t happy because she locked him in the broom closet. It’s almost as if he wanted to get arrested so she’d throw him in jail next to the suspect she told him he couldn’t talk to.
John tells Kelly that he told Hal that it was a stupid plan. He wants to take his stupid friend home. She says not until he’s arraigned. Eight counts of aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
In the courtroom, Hal tells the judge that he’s just trying to question a suspect in the course of a very serious investigation. She asks him is he a law enforcement official? And if so, could he kindly state for the record which agency he represents? He says he’s Green Lantern. She tells him that she asked which bureau he’s an agent of. He says he’s an agent of the Green Lantern. He points at Kerry. He says he introduced himself to Lady Justice. When he got to the crime scene, and he deferred to her jurisdiction.
The judge asks Kerry is that accurate? Kerry says yes. But the deference was pretty cheeky. The judge asks Hal was he cheeky? Hal tries to answer the question. But the lawyer stops Hal. The lawyer is William Macon. The judge tells Macon that the defendant has chosen to represent himself. He says that’s only because he doesn’t understand he’s being make an example of. It’s absurd given Hal is a hero. Granted, he hasn’t formally retained his. Hal tells Macon that he’s hired. Macon tells the judge that the defense enters a plea of not guilty and asks to set reasonable bail, even understanding Hal is technically a flight risk. Because he can fly.
John asks Kerry who is the guy? She says the guy is her husband. The judge sets bail at 100,000 dollars. She asks Hal not to leave the town. After the trail, Hal thanks Macon for saving him. He says he tends to find that strangers who give him a couple hundred thousand dollars, no strings attached, usually turn out to be bad guys. But Macon tells Hal that there’re strings attached. His father wants to have dinner with Hal. He’s a huge fan. Macon believes that Hal and his father will be friends.
Kerry asks her husband what he’s doing. He explains it to her that he was inviting Hal to the ranch tonight. She’s not happy.
John and Hal go to the ranch. They see the militia in the car. Macon welcomes the two space cops. He introduces his son Noah to them. Macon and Noah leave. Hal hands over the beer to Kerry. He helps her open the beer with his ring. She mentions her father-in-law’s got paper on him and he hasn’t even met him yet. He’s not a man he wants to owe. He thinks she’s not a woman in debt. She tells him that it’s not too late. He can just fly on home, spare himself the moment not too long from now when he wishes he’d never come to this place. He rejects it, and he walks away.
Hal and John enter the kitchen. Macon’s father Will is busy in the kitchen. Will is very happy after he found out that Hal brought a bag of beer to him. He wants to shake hands with John. But his hands are all gunky with meat. He hears that he doesn’t eat meat. So he prepared some tofu steaks for him. He hopes he will like it. John thanks Will. But Will thanks John instead. He mentions he was a Marine sniper. Color him impressed. John can tells that Will looked into him. Will asks John did he look him up? He says walking into unknown territory, even with a weapon of mass destruction on his finger, that’s either trust or arrogance.
Hal tells Will that John is trust. But John says he doesn’t trust anyone. Hal thinks Will’s place is pretty nice. Will says he’s just a caretaker. Hal asks Will who he caretakes it for? Will says his NDA restricts him from discussing of IDing his employer. Hal guesses the government is watching Will’s boss, biding their time before they raid the compound, take his guns and rights away. Will tells Hal that he didn’t bail him to let him take part in a war with the feds. He did it because of the aliens.
Outside, Will is barbecuing. He tells Hal that the whole world flipped out when he first came on the scene. Makes sense, seeing what he can do. But it kind of buried the lede. There’re thousands of planets out there with intelligent life. And here they sit, low-hanging fruit of the galaxy, just waiting to get gobbled up. This land they’re on right now, it was Kiowa, then Sioux, but across the ocean boats were coming.
Hal tells Will that as someone who’s spent time in the galaxy, it’s a pretty peaceful place out there. Will asks Hal what do they need space cops for? He’s not some isolationist crackpot with his head in the sand, but he’s a student of history. Colonization is ugly from any angle, but it’s particularly bleak if he’s the one getting colonized. This all, call it an ounce of prevention. He believes the gentleman cooling his heels in the sheriff’s pokey, he’s part of an advanced team.
Hal wants to ask Will the reason. But he thinks it’s covered by his NDA. Will mentions his daughter-in-law says Hal isn’t smart. Hal tells Will that his daughter-in-law was the one who stopped him from talking to the alien. Will tells Hal that he can help him resolve the problem.
John sees Noah not being able to throw the ball into the goal. He teaches the kid that he shouldn’t aim. Just imagine it going through. Noah gives it a try. He makes it. Noah asks John how did he know that? John says his father used to shoot apples off his head. Noah’s grandma shows up. Noah is happy to tell it to her. John sees the grandma. He finds out that she was the woman he slept with. She admits it to him that she lives here. She tells him that her name is Zoe Macon. She shakes hands with him.
In the evening, Will gives Hal some leftovers because they drank all his beer. Will talked to Kerry. Since they have common interests, Kerry is willing to let Hal chat with the suspect first thing in the morning. Hal puts the leftovers in his car. He worries about it. Because he doesn’t know what Will’s interests are. Will says two of his boys almost got killed lat night in a shootout with men no one’s ever seen before. He offers to protect the planet from anybody not born on it.
He turns around. He tells John that he hopes he didn’t mess up his tofu. John says it was delicious. Will says nothing better than eating off another man’s grill. He walks away. Hal asks John what happened. John confesses it to his teacher that he slept with Will’s wife, and Will knows it. Hal is impressed after knowing what John did.
The next day, John and Hall arrive at the police station. Kerry takes them to talk to the suspect. The suspect’s name is Waylon Sanders. He’s a commercial-licensed truck driver. Kerry called the guy’s boss. The boss says he’s worked for him almost five years now. Hal says aliens are good at getting IDs and paying people to lie for them. She thinks he’s just an idiot from Kimball. They took X-rays at the hospital for his busted nose. All organs accounted for. No hidden antennas. Hal says the plural for antenna is antennae.
He asks John to tell Kerry how many species currently have the technology to pass as human. John says fourteen. MRis, X-rays, blood work. Nothing down here can tell the difference. Kerry thinks Hal cannot prove it. He says he can make the guy confess. She reminds him that if he touches the guy, he will be back in front of the judge. That includes whacking him with giant green phone books or whatever he magics up from his conjuring ring. He says he wouldn’t do that. She gives him ten minutes. But he only needs five. He disallows John to come with him.
Hal walks into the interrogation room to interrogate the guy. He guesses he wants to go home. The guy says yes. Hal asks the guy is his home Kimball? The guy says he’s on the road most of the year, but Kimball’s where he hangs his hat. Hal thinks it’s a delightful human expression. He asks the guy if he’s in town for the big game. The guy says he likes football very much and it’s the home team. Hal asks the guy when did Nebraska win its first national championship?
Huskers’ first championship, when was that? The guy says it was 1970, Bob Devaney. Hal asks the guy how about their first 200-yard rusher? The guy says Frank Solich. First Heisman winner. Hal laughs. He asks the guy where did Harry Potter go to school? The guy doesn’t know. Hal thinks it’s the problem. The guy learns all the specifics, but he doesn’t learn what everyone else knows.
The guy asks Hal who he is. Hal says Green Lantern. Charged by the Guardians of the Universe to protect Sector 2814 from all extra-planetary threats. And the guy Waylon is one of them. Kerry watches Hal. She thinks he’s full of himself. It’s not easy to learn from someone John doesn’t respect. But John says he respects Hal. Because Hal is fearless. Kerry mentions if he cares about people, then he’s scared of losing them. First time Hal strutted up to her, she could tell he doesn’t care about anybody. And nobody cares about him. He’s lonely.
Hal asks Waylon what was he looking for? He gets once he showed up, he couldn’t run. He had to blend in. But before that. Waylon claims that he just went to a high school football game. Hal points out that with the other Kimball fans who are all dead now. Waylon says he doesn’t know them. He drives a truck. Hal believes that the guy can tell him a lot about that truck, but he cannot tell him about the Boston Tea Party, Kelly Clarkson, Barack Obama.
Waylon says Barack Obama is the president of the United States. He’s the 44th president. He followed George Bush. There’s some controversy surrounding his birth certificate. Hal realizes that Waylon is an alien. Waylon tells Hal that he came to the place for a very important purpose. A purpose that required great discretion and secrecy. A purpose that would need to be kept from the likes of a galactic peacekeeping organization because it concerns the exact opposite of peace. That being war. And as such, if he was to fall into the hands of such an organization, he would be forced to take drastic measures to ensure that his purpose wasn’t revealed.
Hal asks the alien how he’s going to keep his mouth shut. He thinks it’s a cyanide pill. The alien tells Hal that he’s thinking very small. He says he’d have a biometric neutron device woven into his skeleton. He’d be able to activate it with a thought.
Kerry asks John is the alien bluffing? Hal tells the alien that if he does blow himself up, he’s just gonna bubble up and contain all that sunshine with his ring and walk out of here without a scratch. The alien asks Hal did he bring the lantern to recharge his ring? Hal claims he has plenty of power. But for how much longer? The alien can tell that Hal wants to die. He asks him does that break his precious oath?
Hal takes down the alien. He asks him why he came to the planet. The alien says vengeance. Hal throws the alien on the floor. He uses his ring to make a green barrier when the alien kills himself. He protects the town.
In 2026, John drives his car to the town in the evening. The ranch was ruined. Kerry is waiting for him. She says he has barely aged. He thinks she’s a liar. He hugs her. He asks her about her son Noah. She says Noah is tall. He’s on the team now. Quarterback. He asks her anyone else know? She says just the groundskeeper. He finds Hal in her help. Hal is dead. John wipes the snow off Hal’s hand. He doesn’t find the ring.