LANTERNS EPISODE 3 BREAKDOWN! 100+ Easter Eggs You Missed!

Here are all the subtle shocking details. that you missed in Lanterns episode 3. Welcome back to New Rockstars. I'm Eric. Voss and this is a breakdown of DC. Studios Lanterns episode 3, Outcast. A. masterpiece of an episode written by. Vanessa Ben showing John Stewart's. origin story answering so many questions. about the Guardians and their plan for. the ring succession. I was lucky to see. this episode a few days early at an. event in Los Angeles. So yes, we could. get this breakdown to you at a normal. time. I have not seen episode 4 yet, so. I have no idea where things are going to. go after this. But for all speculation.

for future events, I'm going to save all. of that for the no theory shall escape. my sight section at the end of this. video. I'm wearing our ring weapon shirt. available exclusively at our merch. store, nerdriot.shop. We actually love. it when our viewers wear our gear out in. the world and post selfies and tag us. like Marvel with SE and your Iron Doom. shirt. I want to tell you about an app. where you can earn money by playing. games on your phone. TesterUp is a. platform that helps people make more. money by testing apps and playing games. TesterUp offers real opportunities to. earn cash through testing new apps and.

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watching it on TV or PC, scan the QR. code. If you're on your phone, use my. link in the description or pinned. comment. Lanterns episode 3 opens with. John Stewart falling midair in this. abandoned mall and landing on a pile of. mattresses that have been laid out. You. can barely make out that he fell out of. this pocket dimension portal in the. ceiling. and instead we're just taken. with the context of what Jon is. experiencing in this moment falling. Literally the opening seconds of every. episode so far this season has been a. moment of fear for Jon Stewart. His. father coming home to punish him, a. threat creeping into his motel room, and.

now the basic human fear of falling. The. opposite of what Jon aspires to do with. all of his interest in birds. We later. will find out that this was another test. by the Guardians to measure the fear of. the interviewees who made it this far. But Jon, who was psychologically. programmed to be fearless, feels numb. here. We also just have to look closely. at the symbolism of a black man falling. in slow motion like this and how. powerful the imagery of the sunken place. in Jordan Peele's Get Out has really. been for all black created media in the. past decade. There is a true paralytic. sensation that people of color feel when.

they're trapped in a white system. designed to exploit them that this. imagery of falling here evokes. perfectly. And the fact that this is an. abandoned suburban shopping mall only. underscores that kind of setting. And. when Jon hits the mattresses, God bless. HBO for making this look better than. whatever the hell Marvel television. tried to pull off with that shot of John. Bernthal and Punisher one last kill. Jon. notices the pigeons couping in its mall. This episode explains the origins of. Jon's fascination with birds. His. parents lied to him, saying that all. birds are spies for the Guardians. At. this point in his life, Jon thinks it to.

be a lie, but it does really seem like. part of him will always wonder if his. mother might have lied to him when she. said that she was lying just to give him. the confidence in that moment. John. Stewart's whole journey with the birds. this episode, from thinking they're. spies for the Guardians to being told by. his mother that that was a complete lie. to still having this unshakable. curiosity in these things. recontextualizes episode 2 in such an. interesting way. Really, go back and. rewatch that episode because it begins. with Jon seeming to accidentally conjure. a bird when he first thinks of flight or. escape. And then this bird never leaves.

his side and has no problem flapping. around Howal Jordan's mansion and into. that pocket dimension. and then at. various moments defends John Stewart and. then at the very end of the episode he. just quashes it like it's nothing like a. lie told to a kid at bedtime. Another. benefit to having a longtime LA resident. breaking down this show for you. I know. all the sad depressing San Frernando. Valley Malls where they could have shot. this and I bullseyed it as the Westfield. Prominade in Woodland Hills. This mall. had the unmistakable skylights in the. dome ceiling that Jon falls through here. and the mall actually began its.

demolition process in January 2026. So, this episode of HBO's Lanterns was one. of the last things ever shot there. Jon. follows these signs with black arrows. guiding him up to the second level. And. in the background, he can see a sign for. Janice Cosmetics. Janice Cosmetics was a. company in the DC universe founded by. Charles Cionus, father to Roman Cionus, who ran his dad's company into the. ground until it was bought out by Wayne. Enterprises, who forced Roman to resign, and Roman thereafter became the villain. Black Mask. A version of this character. was played by Euan McGregor in Birds of. Prey. Jon follows the signs through the. creepy mall back rooms to a manager's.

office where out comes Laura Lenny as a. guardian and some other [ __ ] who. thinks he's going to get this gig before. our man Jon does. We barely see this. other candidate, but I love how he. basically looks like a younger Kyle. Chandler. I think the Guardians might. have had this Howal doppelganger walk. out just before Jon got there to trigger. him. Considering how they know how. Jordan disrupted the lives of the whole. Steuart family in HBO's constructing the. episode featurette, it was revealed that. the guardian that Laura Lenny is playing. is named Lyanna. assuming that they. didn't just pick that name because they. liked it. Lyanna is a name of one of the. youth of the guardian species, the.

Maltusians, who was born when Hal. Jordan's successor in the Jud Winnick. run of the comics, Kyle Rener, relights. the central power battery of OA. following the parallax period. Lyanna. ends up obtaining an adult Maltusian. form and ends up being an enemy to the. Green Lantern Kyle Rener. Lyanna in this. continuity would be coming from a. different era of Guardians when their. order is still intact despite the recent. post 2016 era when Sinestro has killed. one of the 12. So despite some. speculation that she might be one of the. female guardians that's named in the. comics like Seed, it is confirmed she is. playing someone named Lyanna. But she.

wears this incredible dress with light. blue floral print and an ascot that. should clash with it but somehow. doesn't. From these light blue flowers. to the light blue gloves that she wears. later in the scene with Bernardet and. the light blue earrings. I think these. are little fashion flares of her natural. guardian skin tone. She tells Jon to. have a seat and that she'll be back, but. doesn't show back up for it seems like a. day. Jon, an ardent marine, follows. orders exactly and has no problem being. patient for this long because we find. out later in this episode that this man. waited a full nine months in the.

wilderness. A day is nothing to him, which is also just kind of an. interesting thing because the Guardians. indicate that they have a much longer. lifespan than humans do. So already. Jon's relationship with time and. temporal relativism is something that. makes him more godly in the eyes of the. Guardians. But part of what keeps Jon at. attention are these pigeons in the. window. He cannot help but be curious. that these birds might actually be spies. for the guardians watching him this. whole day. While making Jon wait does. seem to be a stress test. The Guardian. still expresses some surprise that Jon. didn't move and stayed there all night. She does seem to have some empathy for. the burdens that these trials place on.

these Terran. She asks Jon what he knows. about the Guardians and he says that. they are the authorities of the cosmos. and the founders of the Green Lantern. Corps and that there were 12 of them but. now there are 11 after one was killed by. Sinestro. In the DC comics, there are. more than 12 guardians, upwards of 36. But their numbers do drop in certain. conflicts, but the fact that Lindelof, Mundy, and King made it 12 draws obvious. parallels to the 12 apostles of Christ. or the 12 members of a jury. John. expressed condolences when he asks why. the Guardians are now bypassing the ring. selection process and interviewing.

candidates. The Guardian calmly. responds, >> "Because of your condolences." I love. this line because on one level she's. saying that she values Jon's empathy, but realistically she's also just. admitting that because the traditional. automatic ring selection process yielded. bad apples like Sinestro and the young. who tried to follow in his footsteps, Hal Jordan and Sinestro killed one of. them, they now really do just have to. try a completely different approach. Remember this scene is in 2016, a few. months before where we start the pilot. And it tells us that Sinestro killed one. of the Guardians very recently when we. saw how talking with him at the end of.

episode 2. My assumption was that. Sinestro had been prisoned for far. longer. Like the years Hannibal Lectar. had been in prison when Clarice Darling. started to talk to him. But no, Sinestro. is basically a fish in that prison. And. the fact that Hal is talking to him just. a few months after that capital offense. that Howal beat his ass for definitely. shows how much Hal still admires his old. teacher. He only waited a few months to. go talk to the guy. I mean, I have. friends who live on the other side of LA. that I go longer without talking to. So, some conclusions to draw here. One, the. recording Hal made in 2006, the. Hallogram, was an era of Hal that was.

still very chill and cool with Thal. Sinestro. And two, the concerns Hal had. about his origin via Aban Sirur and the. Hail and Rushville was the kind of. paranoia that Hal had while he was still. working with Sinestro. In fact, it might. have been a mystery both of them were. investigating together. Now, in this. interview, Jon doesn't need to ask why. me? Because his whole life, his parents. have been conditioning him. And we flash. back to the origin of that. This night. in 1986, baby Jon is in a crib in his. [clears throat] parents' bedroom. J. Alons Nicholson plays John Senior and. Bernardet is played by Jasmine Sephus.

Jones, daughter of the late actor Ron. Sephus Jones and an actress who. originated the role of Peggy Skyler and. Maria Reynolds in Hamilton. And with. Anna writing Supergirl, that's two. Hamilton alums in the mix of the DCU. right now. A green light fills the. bedroom and we stay on baby John as we. hear this voice. >> Are you free? This is exactly how H how. Jordan described it in episode 1. A. voice coming from inside you asking this. question. It's interesting that it seems. like baby Jon can hear the question too, the same way John Senior can. Maybe that.

speaks to the certain genetics that the. Guardian later tells Bernardet both. father and son share. John Jr. seems to. match John Senior's panic here. Overall, this is just a very upsetting experience. in the home of a black man in 1986. It. was this refusal of the call that. allowed Abinser's ring to go next to. Howal Jordan wherever he was. Based on. genetics alone, the ring was more. interested in John Stewart Senior than. it was in how Jordan. So yes, on the. same night, Abanur crashed near. Rushville, Nebraska while on a mission. to execute that manhunter from Anton's.

planet who got away and assimilated into. the town of Rushville. We move on to. sometime after this, and the news. reports that a mystery Green Lantern. saved another town from destruction, and. we see how Jordan's 1986 era Green. Lantern suit and green mask. So, this. tells us that for the first 10 years of. his time as a superhero, Howal concealed. his identity. And then in 1996, the. opening scene of the pilot with the. 60-minute special, that was the moment. of his unmasking. The anchor quotes how. saying, "Though you can't see my face, my commitment to fighting evil will. never waver." And the quote reveals to.

the public the question he was asked on. the night he received the ring, and he. claims that he remains fearless. And on. that, John Senior shoots the TV with the. two young sons feet away. Bernardet. doesn't believe her husband that he was. originally tested with this experience. And when he hands her the pistol, she. proves her understanding of firearms by. unloading it and remembering to remove. the one round in the chamber. That. night, Bernardet takes out the garbage. And as she passes the frame, we already. see Laura Lenny as the guardian out of. focus in the background. But now, the. Guardian steps forward asking for. Sergeant Stewart and apologizes for the.

trauma that their visit might have. caused, offering compensation in the. form of this massive diamond. Now, something like a diamond, which is just. pure crystalline carbon, is something. that extraterrestrials could probably. find in countless places in the universe. if they couldn't just manufacture it. themselves. But with this line, the. Guardian indicates that other candidates. also suffered emotional turmoil, making. us wonder how many other candidates said. yes to are you afraid before John Senior. or after Jon Senior before that ring. ended up going to Hal Jordan. Bernardet. insists on seeing the Guardians natural.

form, saying, >> "I don't get upset.". >> Yeah, she's the fearless parent. So, right away we wonder why didn't the ring. choose Bernardet instead of John Senior? Well, because she doesn't have the. genetic profile, but it really should. have chosen her. The Guardian. shape-shifts in front of Bernardet with. her coat and hair folding back in layers. as she rises in height and her pale blue. head emerges with short white stubble. for hair. In addition to their blue. skin, the Guardians in the comics are. known for white hair, but it is usually. longer. We never see this guardian's. face. Almost as soon as she takes her.

true form, she reverts back to Laura. Lenny. I appreciate this choice. Seeing. Laura Lenny's face rotoscoped on a giant. blue head would a probably up the budget. a significant amount and b open up the. show to inevitable criticism that the. VFX just was not good enough. Even if it. was really really good. I also think. it's just kind of fun to keep some. mysteries for now, like the exact. glimpse of a divine extraterrestrial's. face, a secret to the witness in the. scene. This way we stay on Bernardet's. reaction as she realizes that her. husband was telling the truth all this. time. Inside of her coffee, the guardian.

learns that Bernardet is a teacher of. other young Terran. And there's a look. of respect that she gives. This might be. the first time a guardian has recognized. that these junkyard dogs bother teaching. each other. She notes that here in 1986, it's the first time the ring has chosen. a human of Earth and that the ring's. selection process for Earthlings is. unusual. Yeah, she's quietly admitting. that even a few months in, the Guardians. aren't crazy about how Jordan, him. giving statements to the media probably. doesn't help. Bernardet lectures this. guardian about how the humans of Earth. are separated into different races that. live completely different experiences.

>> Do you understand how unfair it is to. ask a black man in America if he's. afraid? >> By black, you mean. brown skin? >> I love how Laura Lenny plays his. guardian as kind of a naive alien trying. so hard to be sensitive and. understanding. It is important to. consider that in 1986, this was 5 years. before the Rodney King beating. revolutionized the public understanding. and media coverage of police brutality. that was happening for decades and. decades before white America was forced. to recognize it. And what changed was.

the advent of camcorders that could just. record this stuff and relay it to local. media and national media and things like. CNN picking it up and broadcasting it. through the 24-hour news cycle. And. then, of course, it took a dramatic leap. forward with the arrival of smartphone. cameras in the 2010s. But back in the. mid80s, much of these daily persecutions. just went completely unrecorded and. sadly unwitnessed and experienced only. by black people in America. So Bernardet. sums it up by saying, >> "Even in space, y'all don't consider. us.". >> The Guardian proposes a way of fixing. things. >> Whatever the ring saw in your husband is.

in his genetic makeup, >> and she says, "Since Bernardet is a. formidable woman, the baby in her arms. could make a good candidate if he were. made to be fearless." This whole idea of. the ring choosing Jon Senior based on. his genetic makeup is a new rule for the. DCU that does not exist in the comics. In the comics, the ring chooses the next. wearer based on willpower and proximity. Those also seem to be factors here. But. the genetic component tells us that how. Jordan, John Stewart senior, John. Stewart Jr., all those other mystery. candidates who freaked out on the night. of 1986 and every lantern who has gotten.

selected from Kilawog to Abanur to. Sinestro to Chip to Guygardner to Bogo. all shared this mystery genetic trait. And I'm going to share one theory in the. theory section, but the Guardian gives. Bernardet her word that when the time. comes, if Jon Jr. is fearless, he would. have a fair shot. I mean, watching this. scene, doesn't it feel like kind of a. cruel fate to doom a baby, too? And it. feels like a very rushed solution to the. trauma that this guardian and their ring. selection process caused this poor. family. Like, they treat fear as this. kind of evil rather than just a natural. reaction to something. And that the only.

solution to it is lifelong psychological. programming to rid the fear out of a. non-conenting child. So now we return to. John with the Guardian in the office in. 2016 and he says the police question. Bernardet after she tried cashing in. that diamond. Yeah, just a mark of good. writing is when the writers recognize. these weird little things that have. characters question it and call it out. and justify how it would have played out. logically in the world. I love how. writer Vanessa Ben structured this whole. episode within this circular ring of. Jon's interview process with the office. interview as really the framing device. and then the bplot and the cplot being.

the flashbacks to different eras of. Jon's life, his childhood and the way. how Jordan really screwed up his. father's life and then Jon's adulthood. as a marine and how Jordan screwed up. his military career. Lanterns being a. Damon Lindelof co-produced series. It. really did remind me of the Hooded. Justice origin episode in Watchmen, this. extraordinary being co-written by. Lindelof and Cord Jefferson in the way. that that episode wo its way through. time to tell the story of a superhero. while also telling the story of race in. America. Uh not coincidentally, both. this episode and that episode of. Watchmen were directed by Steven.

Williams. So instead of telling Jon's. life story chronologically via. flashbacks, before we complete his. childhood, we jump to Jon's mission as a. Marine. He shows up in his full Marine. uniform despite meeting at this discreet. location of an Outback steakhouse for. this off-the-books assignment. Just by. all of his service ribbons, we see how. accomplished this sergeant major is. But. now Jon's target is a Russian. moneyaunderer and terrorist cenamed Grey. Wolf. We learn that the Grey Wolf comes. and goes to a remote retreat at. unpredictable increments. And I love the. detail that Jon asks how many were sent.

before him, considering his intel. contained a detailed map of the area. that some predecessor would have needed. to scout and chart. Jon is used to being. not the first choice, but the choice. superiors ultimately have to go to to. get the job done after the other first. choices fail. Now, we flash back to the. stormy night Bernardet and Jon Senior. form their plan. Just on the sight of. the beer cans and bottles on the coffee. table, we know that Jon Senior hasn't. really improved from his low point of. shooting the freaking TV. Bernardet now. believes her husband's alien encounter. Bernardet says that the other two sons, Aaron and Marcus, are too old and.

already no fear. But she says that if. these two parents can both focus on. psychologically programming Jon Jr. to. be fearless to be ready for the lantern. call, that insane mission can really. save their whole marriage. While this is. a completely bizarre, extreme plan for. two parents of three sons, I do like how. this episode shows just how dangerous. and scary things were getting for John. Senior. And it does make sense that the. only way he can get over his own. failures is by focusing so hard on his. son and making sure that his son doesn't. make the same mistakes as he sees it. It. is kind of an insane thing that you can.

imagine two parents just putting aside. whatever issues they're having in their. marriage to just focus on so much to. just get through the next years. Now, the storm from this night transitions. into the storm of the night of Jon's. parachute jump into his mission. He's. given a panic button, but he never wants. to use it. And he jumps right into the. storm despite all this lightning zapping. all the clouds around him and crashes. through trees and nearly drowns in a. raging flash flooded river. But we think. at first it was Jon's arrogance and. jumping into a storm that led to his. dishonorable discharge because we cut. back from this to Jon and the Guardian. where he's reluctant to share what.

happened on that mission. So now the. Guardian shifts to what Jon knows about. Sinestro and Jon reports that he knows. Sinestro went rogue and killed one of. the Guardians and that how Jordan beat. his ass. But when asked about how. Jordan, Jon curtly says that he doesn't. think about Hal at all, which we know. from Madmen means [ __ ] you. And when it. comes to how his dad feels about Howal, he says through grit of teeth that his. dad served his country honorably and. respects anyone who protects lives. But. now, the Guardian shifts back to the. subject of Sinestro, explaining that. Sinestro is Howal's teacher and even a. father figure to him. And on that, the. Guardian winces at how troubling she.

considers Howal's ongoing admiration to. be for Sinestro. Remember how Jordan. lost his test pilot father in a crash. when Howal was a kid, which is what led. to him making this comment to 60 Minutes. in 1996. Every kid's worst fear is. losing a parent. Once that happens, there is nothing to fear anymore. >> So for Howal, he does fear something. He's afraid of not having a dad, a fear. that Sinestro prays upon as he continues. to manipulate Howal with fear stemming. from parallax. But John Stewart doesn't.

judge a child's innate love of a parent, even if that parent is crazy. And we cut. to the moment of Jon's fifth birthday. party when it was first revealed to him. why his parents were raising him. differently from his brothers, making. him sleep in another room. Notice that. the birthday cake has a bird on it. These parents recognizing and. [clears throat] nurturing Jon's interest. in birds. Maybe it's just me, but I love. the detail of the 2 L jug of Dr. Pepper. on the side table already open. A staple. of every '90s suburban household. Jon. unwrapped his present, a Green Lantern. shirt. He wanted crayons. We later. realized that Jon's natural talent is as.

an artist and a future architect. The. writer of this episode said that they. researched the upbringings of famous. athletes like the Williams sisters and. their parents Richard Williams explored. in the Will Smith King Richard movie and. his wife Orene Price. Both parents. coaching their daughters and raising. them with the expectation of greatness. despite there being a lot of other. siblings in that family. And she also. referenced Sonia Curry, mother to Steph. Curry and Seth Curry. These families. made a lot of sacrifices to foster the. talents of their children into the goat. status they have and specifically to. overcome racial prejudice teaching their.

children that if they can't find an. opportunity they have to make one. So it. is a little sad here to see John Senior. and Bernardet give this whole speech to. John Jr. with Aaron and Marcus standing. right there essentially being told that. they're not special with no hesitation. from Bernardet when her firstborn storms. out of the room. And Bernardet adds in. this lie. She says that all birds are. watching and reporting on behalf of the. guardians. And that's why Jon likes. birds so much. In reality, she was. instilling her son with a kind of. paranoia that creatures that he's going. to see outside his windows and walk into. school every day are going to snitch on.

him if he ever feels any kind of fear. The real gift for Jon was this rifle, which we now transition back on to see. Jon in a sniper position. He sets up a. shelter overlooking the mansion and just. waits. I love this montage how he. replaces limbs on his shelter, eats bugs. and berries, grows out a beard, and does. push-ups every day to stay fit. But. notice during these push-ups, he never. takes his eyes off the target. During. this, the Guardians ask if Jon resents. his family for the rigors of his. training, and he asks if she is a. family. >> We come into existence alone, and we die.

the same. >> That's sad, >> is it? >> H yes, I do think she might have had a. connection to that guardian who was. murdered. We cut back to John's target. practice as a child. Bernardet urges. John Senior to finish the satellite. dish. Aha. In my breakdown of the first. episode, I wondered if there was any. significance to the first shot of the. series being the family satellite dish. on the roof. And that is why you always. have to pay special attention to the. very first thing we see in an episode, at least in shows crafted as well as. this one is. Bernardet used most of the. diamond money to build the satellite,

hoping to communicate with the Guardians. so that she could stop this rigorous. training with her son as soon as. possible. This William Tellt Tell Apple. ritual we learned was John Jr.'s own. idea and Bernardet urges her husband to. do it to force her son to stay unafraid. But this is also a pretty cruel thing to. do to the husband. >> This is what it takes. for the both of you. >> This episode is also teaching us. something important about fear. Something Sinestro is going to build on. this season. Being fearless is not a. good thing. To condition fear out of. kids is actually cruel. We need fear. And it's just so tragic that this.

initial contact with the Guardians in. the green bubble was so traumatic for. John Senior and ruinous for the family. that this whole lifestyle was really. chosen for them. And we already see how. John Jr. is eerily fearless for a kid. this age. >> It's applesauce. Can I eat some? >> Now we jump ahead to 1996 where the. family is in the car listening to. ATLians by Outcast, a 1996 track from. Outcast's second album. ATL being a. reference to their southern roots from. Atlanta. John's brothers in the car talk. about how they can't say [ __ ] on the. radio. Indeed, Andre 3000 and big boy's.

lyric of and if you like fish and grits. and all that pimp did have that internal. edit on [ __ ] when he heard it on the. radio. Choosing at aliens as the needle. drop for this episode also keeps with. the tradition of embracing the word. alien and the way how Jordan used the. term hail in Rushville as code for. alien. Even Whan sounds like alien. Outcast's lyrics in the song touch on. extraterrestrial themes, making this. really the perfect track for someone. like John Stewart, who's trying to. balance his blackness with his cosmic. ambitions. His brothers challenge John. on knowing the lyrics and he wraps the.

chorus. >> I said, "Throw your hands in the aar and. wave [music] them like you just don't. care." And if you like fish and grits. and all that pimp [ __ ] everybody say, "Oh yeah." [music]. Now, the brothers laugh, and I am. definitely not an authority on this at. all, but Andre 3000 and Big Boy did. deliberately put the oayer sound at the. end of it as an iconic reflection of. their southern rap style. They were. really removed from the east versus west. rift that dominated the '90s. I think. Young John nails it, but the fact that I.

think he nails it probably would not. help Jon's case here. The parents pull. over in an alley, but it's not to punish. him for rapping the song. It's just. random training time. Actually, looking. back at episode one, it was not watching. the 60 Minutes program that Jon Senior. was punishing young Jon for. And it's. really why Jon Jr. was not afraid of his. dad coming home. The apple shooting. exercise wasn't punishment for anything. It was just their nightly routine. They. make John Jr. walk home from a rough. part of town. He passes by graffiti on. the wall reading Midway City Panthers. Aha. So, Midway City in the DC Comics is. a major city in Michigan. It's kind of.

like a larger Detroit, but it's in. Northern Michigan. It's home to Hawkman, Hawk Girl, and Doom Patrol. And the. events of the 2016 Suicide Squad movie. in the DC EU take place in Midway City. In the comics, John Stewart and his. family come from Detroit. The Guardian. asks Jon why he never hit his panic. button while he was on his mission. And. he says that he had a mission to do and. he never felt any panic just by waiting. She asks him whether all the isolation. he felt from his programming was. contrary to the social instincts of. human nature. And he pushes back that. humans are not programmed. They are. raised. Her response is interesting. >> I do not understand the distinction. H.

similar to Anton struggling with human. English translations for things like. stamping or enlightening. The Guardians. consider raising and programming to be. the same synonymous thing when for us. they are not. This just tells us that. there are rogue elements to human nature. that they cannot understand. It's. probably why they dislike Hal Jordan. He's someone who's impossible to. program, but he was raised with certain. instincts and values. John Junior finds. Bernardet trying to communicate with the. Guardians via the radio and the. satellite, but no response from them. He. says that the birds are liars and to.

prove that he's ready, they do this. other Williamtell exercise. And this. blew my mind. We see a height chart of. bullet holes on the wall behind him. Such a brutal and incredible detail. The. way other families mark their kid's. height on the doorpost. This family. measures Jon's early life and how many. abusive gunshots they've taken an inch. above his head. Bernardet suggests that. a real test would be Jon Jr. shooting. the apple off the head of his father, trusting his own marksmanship. Both. father and son are kind of paralyzed. here. And right in this moment, a bird. shows up. Bernardet knows the whole bird. thing was a lie. So, it probably breaks. her heart here that this bird.

coincidentally shows up and she has to. turn it into a teaching moment. Bernardet sees Jon's bird sketches and. said it comes natural to him like loving. his father. >> You know how many little boys don't even. get a daddy to love. >> Ah, this is exactly the vulnerability of. how Jordan losing his father at a young. age made him vulnerable to another. paternal influence from Sinestro. Bernardet says here that she made up the. whole bird's thing. And while she keeps. talking, we see a look of heartbreak on. her son's face because this is what Jon. was referring to last episode when he. told this to Anton. >> Have you ever been deceived by someone. you love?

>> Yeah. >> Bernardet tells Jon that the Guardians. know him better than they know Hal. Jordan and that the only reason the ring. went to Hal Jordan is that he was. privileged to not ever feel fear. And. she says, >> "Sometimes. a black man has to raise his own hand.". >> John Jr. accepts that wisdom but makes. Bernardet pay for the lie by choosing to. complete his William Tell training. But. not with a dad. >> No, not dad. You. >> So, this scene was very tense for me. I. know John had hinted in the 2016 scenes. that he was still in a kind of. communication with his mother, but right. here in this moment with the apple on.

her head, I was suddenly very worried. for the character because the first two. episodes never showed us Bernardet still. alive in the 2016 era. We heard Jon. talking to his father on the phone, but. not his mother. I think it was a smart. editing choice because we don't really. know if she's going to survive in this. moment or if she's going to be seriously. injured. But after successfully. completing the task, Jon reveals that he. never liked cheeseburgers. Such an. emotionally honest thing that a young. son would admit to a mother, but not to. a father. This seems to be the origin of. Jon's veganism that was referenced in. episode 1 with the tofu steaks in. episode 2 when he was feeding Earl the.

raw meat. Jon finally gets over his. discomfort from his dishonorable. discharge and reveals to the Guardian. what happened there. 9 months in with. the Greywolf having gone inside the. night before and giving the narrowest of. windows at the front door and at his. bedroom now comes back outside. But. before Jon could get a shot off, Green. Bubble and [ __ ] Howal Jordan rockets. in to extract the grey wolf. 9 months. wasted. Afterwards, back at the Outback. Steakhouse, we learn that how Jordan was. drinking at a strip club with a deputy. defense secretary who let it slip that. this high-profile target was at the. retreat in Russia. And how flew right.

over and extracted him back to. Guantanamo. So now instead of a. terrorist cleanly assassinated in a. covert mission, it's a public incident. that blew up several acres of Russian. territory creating an international. scandal that someone has to take the. fall for. Meaning that Sergeant Major. John Stewart, the highly decorated. Marine, will have to be dishonorably. discharged, which is a huge distinction. An honorable discharge means you leave. the military while having met. performance and conduct standards, and. you're entitled to federal and state. veteran benefits, including health care, and you can even reinlist if you want. A.

dishonorable discharge is kind of like a. felony equivalent stigma. Meaning that. you completely lose all benefits, all of. your healthcare. All the things that you. sacrifice for, you no longer get. And a. lot of vets need that healthcare to. cover the trauma that they endured by. serving our country. Adult Jon returns. to his house cursing how Jordan. >> [ __ ] Hal, Jordan. >> [ __ ] Hal, Jordan. >> And we learn that Bernardet applied Jon. to art school to achieve his dreams of. being an architect. She tells him that. he has to be brave enough to still try. >> Courage is fear that said its prayers, son. At college, Jon undergoes a trial.

for an assignment for which he was. recommended. This bearded professor. challenges them to sketch the building. they're sitting in. And I like how now. we as viewers think back to 30 seconds. earlier to the establishing shot that. preceded this. Do we remember what that. looked like? John, of course, nails it. And then in the next challenge, he has. to sketch his father's watch from. memory. But now the professor hands him. a green lantern ring and manifest his. father's watch from the components up. By the way, does this mean Jon had to. manifest the bird from Hollow Bones and. Guts up? I bet he does. Is this. professor a guardian in disguise as. well? Or do the guardians just have.

representatives scattered around the. cosmos? I think it's the latter because. otherwise the interview could just. happen here. This dude drops a mound of. sludge on the floor that becomes a. pocket universe portal. Now, we don't. know what exactly this technology is, but in trailers for upcoming episodes, we do see Hal and Jon finding a similar. portal in some kind of shower or. slaughterhouse killing floor. I actually. have more on this in the theory section. Jon fearlessly steps through this portal. not knowing where it's going to take him. and drops down into the shopping mall. where he started this episode as True. Detective coined in time is a flat.

circle. It's also a ring. And now we get. to the brass tax of the interview. The. reason John Stewart was reluctant to. share why he was dishonorably discharged. is that he didn't want to look overly. antagonistic or motivated by revenge. against Hal Jordan for ruining his. career and his father's life. But that. spite also seems to be what the. Guardians value in John Stewart because. she says that they had repeatedly. admonished Hal Jordan not to get. involved in terrestrial disputes. And. she asks, >> "Would you be comfortable replacing Hell. Jordan?". >> Jon responds that if those are his. orders, it doesn't really matter if he's.

comfortable with it or not. And that. gets him a handshake offer. And in a. heartbreaking twist, Jon's excitement to. go run tell his parents that all their. lifelong sacrifices had finally finally. paid off was scooped again by Howal. Jordan himself. Now, I could not stop. staring at Bernardet and John Senior in. this scene. They both look so tense and. terrified. This is a guy who had brought. all kinds of pain to their lives. Remember, John Senior shot at TV to get. this [ __ ] off of his screen, out of. his house. But up until now, in episode. 1 and two, we've only ever seen Howal as. kind of a gruff but likable charmer. But.

now, through the eyes of the Steuart. family and the lifetime of sacrifice we. have seen them go through, he comes off. as a total prick. >> Nice to meet you. >> It is, isn't it? I just had to meet my. new protege. I don't know how in the. world the big blue bosses chose him, but. >> and then this cringe backhanded. compliment. You all too are salt of the. earth like the Midwest hostables. >> Ah no, this scene is in 2016. Bill. Cosby's behavior was an open secret in. Hollywood for years at this point with.

one of his accusers civil lawsuits in. 2005 and then in November 2014, Hannibal. Burrus's infamous standup set exposed. Cosby further and led to dozens of women. in the months afterward to come forward. leading to Cosby's arrest in December. 2015. So right here in 2016, calling a. black family the Huxables is an. unambiguous insult. And someone as. well-versed in pop culture, attending. movie premieres as Hal Jordan would. certainly know that. He is certainly. trying to insult them and insult their. son. Outside, Hal says,

>> "You coming, Junior?". >> Yeah. All this time, Hal has been. calling John Junior. And now we know. it's really because he met his father, John Senior. >> I was just calling John. Junior Hal. Jordan. >> Every time he was calling Jon Junior, he. was insulting the father who suffered so. much due to Howal. Hal offers a mock. apology for stealing Jon's good news to. his parents and then reveals his true. colors. >> I don't give a flying [ __ ] what you're. hoping for. >> He ends with this. >> The only way you're going to get this. ring is over my dead [ __ ] body. >> I mean, when Hal does die, Jon's not.

even going to get the ring then. And. notice the little face that Cal Chandler. makes when he turns away. >> Looking forward to it, Junior. >> I've seen that. That's fear. This is a. guy who just recently lost his father. mentor figure of Sinestro. And that. scandal has led his superiors who never. liked him to begin with to overrule the. ring selection process to pick a. replacement whom he knows worked 10. times as hard as he did to be worthy of. what fell in his lap. Replacement is a. very scary paranoia that really started.

to be on some people's minds in a very. public way in 2016. And as we saw in. that year in America, it was a very. powerful and a very dangerous fear. Howal takes off and we hear another. Outcast needle drop, Gasoline Dreams. This blue bird lands on the mailbox. >> I think he likes me. >> Titling the episode Outcast wasn't just. a nod to the two samples of the duo's. music. It was also how Jon feels as an. outcast to the Green Lantern core and. the cosmic culture he's trying to be a. part of and to his own family. Now, it. would have been years, and birds don't. normally have that long of a lifespan,

but I am choosing to believe that this. is the same blue bird that landed on the. garage roof when John Jr. failed to. shoot the apple off of his father's. head. Blue is the color of the. Guardians. And maybe Bernardet Stewart. was lying when she said that she. completely made up the bird part of it. Or maybe I just rewatched Steen. Spielberg's Disclosure Day and birds. equal aliens has just been on my mind. Let's end this episode in our. speculation corner of No Theory Shall. Escape My Sight. While I was lucky to. see episode 3 last Wednesday, I swear I. have not seen episode 4 or anything. beyond that as of this taping. Theory.

one, all Lantern candidates share a. genetic heritage. This seems to be a new. rule for the DCU. There's something. about John Senior's genetics that caused. the ring to at least ask him if he was. afraid. In yesterday's after show, I. speculated that that could have been. some ancient genetic experimentation. done by the Guardians or maybe by the. elders of the Kryptonian race in the. early days of evolution of various. sentient species across the galaxy. If. Sinestro knows about Jon Stewart, for. him to ask about him at the end of. episode 2 tells us that he must know. about whatever meddling or program that.

the Guardians were doing. And in fact, it might have been Sinestro's disgust. that the Guardians caused a very. powerful fear in a family in Midway City. making this deal to psychologically. program the fear out of a baby that he. was so disgusted with. And that's what. caused Sinestro to break ranks with the. Guardians. And theory two, what's going. on at Min Ranch in episode 4? The. slaughterhouse killing floor location. that I mentioned earlier with the portal. technology. Well, the promo for episode. 4 shows a cow coming in through one of. those portals. So, piecing some other. promo shots together here. Looks like. we're going to catch back up with the.

2016 timeline and show Howal and Jon. using a ring manifested drill to burrow. into the Min Ranch. And there they will. find a whole bunch of alien weaponry and. some portal technology that William Min. uses to herd his livestock that he. slaughters to grill his shitty. overcooked ribs. All of this makes me. wonder if his mysterious benefactor. isn't necessarily Bruce Wayne or Lionol. Luther, but might just be the local. alien manhunter whom he's harboring, whether or not he knows it. I still. think though it's his wife Zoe. Comment. down below with your thoughts on this. episode. And a special thanks to one of. our NR Underground subscribers, Michael.

Horurwitz, for supporting us at the. executive producer level. Every week on. the NR Underground audio feed, subscribers can listen to our Monday. mailbag podcast where we answer your. questions. Here's a clip of me answering. a question from today's Monday Mailbag. episode. Derek Stark 28, uh, writing in. saying, "Christopher Nolan said he. teases his next movie in some way in the. last movie he makes. What do you think. he'll make next that he might have. teased in the Odyssey?" I think he's. going to take like a hard left. He's. going to do like, you know, when uh. George Miller did Happy Feet. [laughter].

>> Yeah. Does Nolan do animation? A lot of. people were saying a Nolan horror film. >> because they saw the the scene with uh. Polyphimas in the cave and how scary. that was. Nolan's never really done true. horror. >> and the scene with uh uh who's this. semis. Uh the one James Remar plays. >> Oh, Theresius in. >> Um yeah, he uh like there's been scary. elements in a lot of Nolan's films. Like. there was a jump scare in The Dark. Knight. Um, there was really creepy. elements in Momento. Um, >> and what's scarier than getting a tattoo.

you forget about? [laughter]. >> That's there forever. >> Yeah. So, don't be surprised if like he. goes back into the world of like noir. and horror. You can get the whole. episode and join this exclusive dialogue. with me by clicking the link in the. description below. We're going to nr. underground.supcast.com. Big thanks to Studio Tech Brian Kim, New. Rockstars editors Joshua Steven Hurd and. Abby Freel and all the supporting. editors for their work on this video. Follow me at EA Voss. Hit the subscribe. button. Thanks for watching and I'll see. you next week, probably on Tuesday. Bye.

>> [music].