After a shocking series premiere, Lanterns returns Sunday night with Season 1 Episode 2, “Trust Fall,” as Hal Jordan and John Stewart dig deeper into the mystery at the center of HBO’s new DCU series.
The newly released photos from the episode put Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart back in the middle of the investigation, with the unlikely partners continuing to search for answers surrounding the deadly shooting in Rushville, Nebraska.
HBO’s official synopsis for “Trust Fall” reads:
Green Lantern Hal Jordan and new recruit John Stewart investigate a deadly shooting to prove an alien force was involved.
The deceptively simple description comes after the premiere dramatically complicated the case. Lanterns revealed that its story is unfolding across multiple timelines, transforming what initially appeared to be an investigation shared by Hal and John into a much larger mystery surrounding Hal himself. The Episode 2 photos offer another look at the earlier investigation while the series begins filling in the enormous gaps left by that premiere ending.
Hal Jordan And John Stewart Continue The Investigation
“Trust Fall” finds Hal and John still learning how to operate as partners.
Kyle Chandler stars as veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan, while Aaron Pierre plays John Stewart, the newer recruit being brought into a world that extends far beyond the terrestrial crimes he knows how to investigate.
Their relationship was one of the strongest elements of the premiere, with Hal’s experience repeatedly colliding with John’s instincts and skepticism. Episode 2 appears ready to push that dynamic further as the two attempt to establish that something extraterrestrial was responsible for the violence in Rushville.
The episode also features Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry, whose involvement in the investigation puts her squarely between the two Lanterns and the Nebraska community they’re attempting to understand.
The photos provide another glimpse at Lanterns’ deliberately grounded approach to the DC Universe. Rather than immediately sending its heroes into enormous cosmic battles, the HBO drama is treating Hal and John as investigators first, gradually revealing the much stranger forces surrounding the case.
What Happened In The Lanterns Premiere?
Need a full refresher before “Trust Fall”? Read our Lanterns series premiere review and recap for our complete breakdown of Hal Jordan and John Stewart’s first episode.
The final moments of the premiere completely changed the nature of the series.
After spending much of the episode following Hal and John during the 2016 Rushville investigation, Lanterns jumped forward ten years. John returned to Rushville and discovered Hal’s frozen body, apparently dead — and his Green Lantern ring was missing.
That revelation means the audience enters “Trust Fall” knowing considerably more about Hal’s eventual fate than the characters do during the earlier investigation.
It also turns virtually everything Hal does into a potential clue.
Executive producers Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy and Tom King have explained that the dramatic choice was intended to immediately raise the stakes of the mystery and place greater emotional weight on John’s investigation.
Exactly how the shooting in Rushville connects to Hal’s fate a decade later remains one of the biggest questions heading into Episode 2.
When Does Lanterns Episode 2 Air?
Lanterns Season 1 Episode 2, “Trust Fall,” premieres Sunday, August 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
The first season consists of eight episodes, with new installments airing Sunday nights through the October 4 season finale.
Check out the newly released photos from Lanterns Season 1 Episode 2 “Trust Fall” below.
Thomas Miller is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Seat42F, covering television, movies and streaming entertainment. He launched Seat42F in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades covering the entertainment industry.
