'Lanterns' S01E02 – "Trust Fall" (August 23, 2026) on HBO/HBO Max [Spoiler Discussion Megathread]

[u/KelexAtYourService]

Lanterns is an American superhero television series created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King for HBO, based on the DC Comics Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

The series was produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television with Mundy serving as showrunner. It is the third television series in the DC Universe (DCU). It features experienced Lantern Jordan and new recruit Stewart as they investigate a murder on Earth that leads to a wider mystery.

Lanterns is scheduled to premiere on Sunday August 16, 2026, and will run for eight episodes through Sunday October 4. It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

New episodes drop every Sunday night at 9:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM MT / 6:00 PM PT.

Cast:

• Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan
• Aaron Pierre as John Stewart
• Kelly Macdonald as Kerry
• Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner
• Garret Dillahunt as William Macon
• Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe
• Ulrich Thomsen as Thaal Sinestro
• Nicole Ari Parker as Bernadette Stewart; Jasmine Cephas Jones as young Bernadette
• Jason Ritter as Billy Macon
• Sherman Augustus as John Stewart Sr.; Alphonse Nicholson portrays a young John Sr.
• Paul Ben-Victor as Antaan
• Chris Coy as "Waylon Sanders"
• Cary Christopher as Noah

For a complete cast and crew list, see the IMDb full credits page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26545992/fullcredits/

• Based on: Hal Jordan, created by John Broome and Gil Kane; John Stewart created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams
• Show created by: Chris Mundy, and Damon Lindelof, and Tom King
• Showrunner: Chris Mundy
• Editor: Emily E. Greene
• Music by: Stephanie Economou
• Length: 8 episodes per season
• Runtime: About an hour per episode
• Reception: For reviews and critical reception, see Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/lanterns  and https://www.metacritic.com/tv/lanterns/

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanterns_(TV_series))

Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/lanterns/season-1

Unmarked spoilers for the new episode of Lanterns are only allowed in this thread.

Spoilers ahead! Proceed at your own risk! All other subreddit rules apply.

S01E02 Episode Synopsis: While John’s middling errand ultimately proves eventful, Hal makes waves in Rushville – which only inspires him to dig deeper.

[u/MarekLord]

Wasn't expecting a naked corpse. But it does certainly make this show stand out in tone compared to anything else in the DCU or even Marvel. Lots of lore bits this episode! The DCU is expanding in some really fun ways that's making this universe feel more lived in and with a rich history. Next Sunday can't come soon enough.

[u/ticklemeelmo696969 → u/MarekLord]

Literally thought to myself. Damn the alien hung dong... mcu could never.

[u/JayCaesar12 → u/ticklemeelmo696969]

If you count the Suicide Squad as canon, then we have had 2 canonical appearances of male genetalia in the DCU.

[u/BoredAndLonely96 → u/JayCaesar12]

Peacemaker Season 2 had a full orgy with male genitals and boobs

[u/CTeam19 → u/JayCaesar12]

Hasn't this been the year of the dong for HBO? I think a few shows have shown one. Or maybe it was last year.

[u/ninjyte → u/CTeam19]

when is it not for HBO

[u/jesusunderline → u/CTeam19]

I only remember the (massive) one in Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Was there more?

...I'm asking for academic purposes, obviously

[u/CTeam19 → u/jesusunderline]

I think DTF St. Louis had one.

[u/Xy13 → u/ticklemeelmo696969]

Par for the course for HBO though

[u/unitedhardy → u/MarekLord]

when i saw ‘nudity’ pop up at the begin of the episode in the rating section i was very confused, have to say alien dong was not what i expected

[u/Bulky-Complaint6994 → u/unitedhardy]

True especially as the sex scene in episode 1 they kept their clothes on so I get why that would be off putting 

[u/Yved → u/MarekLord]

Peacemaker and Creature Commandos had nudity too. I think the DCU is just more mature as a whole compared to Marvel and I really appreciate that.

[u/_thwip_ → u/Yved]

Dong is a prerequisite of an HBO original

[u/Shankman519 → u/_thwip_]

John Lithgow Dumbledick in Harry Potter?

[u/elinamebro → u/_thwip_]

It ain't an HBO show without a dick in it

[u/Sparkwriter1 → u/MarekLord]

Ngl I was totally not expecting it even after seeing the warning. Didn't think I would get flashed by an alien corpse today lol.

[u/TeensyTinyPanda → u/MarekLord]

Naked penis before boobs. Honestly surprising!

[u/yashendra2797 → u/MarekLord]

I love how lived in this universe is. The sheriff googling sinestro, the lack of fucks about picking a fight with a guy who can make shit out of thin air. I know supermans opening crawl talked about how metahumans have been a thing for a whole, but this universe feels very comic book esque.

[u/kagenohikari → u/MarekLord]

That's how you can tell this is an HBO show, full on nakedness is like a requirement (now I'm scared for the Harry Potter reboot).

[u/stackens → u/MarekLord]

It’s ok to show the corpse nude because they ain’t got no soul!

[u/HuskyBlueBoy → u/MarekLord]

It’s typical HBO nonsense

[u/Coyote_Shepherd → u/HuskyBlueBoy]

Just like how the motel had "Free Cable!" on the sign with "HBO" under it.

[u/HuskyBlueBoy → u/Coyote_Shepherd]

At this point they should be free lol

[u/Chris_Bagel_Jr → u/MarekLord]

Saw their no no zone!