UPDATE: Morrison has company, like Lanterns ended with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes fan score of any James Gunn DC project.
Grant Morrison watched the Lanterns finale, and DC Comics legend calls the ending a “morally and legally incoherent conclusion.”
Morrison, who wrote The Green Lantern in DC with artist Liam Sharp, shared the verdict in the latest Xanaduum newsletter while responding to readers’ mail.
This follows Morrison’s August review of the premiere, which said Kyle Chandler played Doctor McCoy, not Hal Jordan.
Morrison was in the middle of Lanterns debate since March, lambasting Damon Lindelof’s Green Lantern comments before Lindelof apologized and called the joke “stupid.” James Gunn and Nathan Fillion supported Lindelof.
“The lanterns were a spectacle”
The new verdict begins with praise.
Morrison admits he fell asleep during the two episodes leading up to the finale, “not because they were boring,” and he still came away convinced of the series and its stars.
“Lanterns worked as a series and that’s mainly due to the two leads, particularly Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan. They have a great supporting cast that helps, but it’s the two leads, their chemistry and their charisma that sells the whole thing, so maybe those True Detective comparisons had some merit after all!” Morrison writes.
This last line is a reversal. In August, Morrison argued that True Detective comparisons only match Lanterns loses.
“Everyone seemed fine with this psychotic break”
It’s at the end that the praise stops.
In the finale, Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) is revealed to be Hal Jordan’s killer. John Stewart understands, tells her that Hal wouldn’t want her to be punished and lets her walk.
John also spares his son Noah, the Manhunter, before appointing himself protector of Earth.
Morrison writes: “I didn’t really like the ending, even though everything was perfectly set up”, finding it “difficult to accept” that Kerry “shot Hal Jordan in the head, and everyone seemed fine with this psychotic breakdown.” »
“There probably should have been an answer to this, because otherwise it will be very difficult for the audience to understand what makes the Green Lantern Corps an intergalactic law enforcement agency,” Morrison continues.
“The Guardians are now okay with killing their agents while other officers simply ignore the fact and let the criminals go free? Morrison asks.
“Let him walk free with a gun in his hand.”
Lanterns Co-creator Tom King has previously explained why Hal’s killer gets away with it, arguing that “prison isn’t any worse than that.”
Morrison read the explanation, summarizing it this way: “she killed the man she loved and suffered enough,” and wondered how that defense “would hold up in a court of law after a horrific crime of passion.”
Then Morrison wrote the closing argument:
“The horror of the cold-blooded murder of his wife is punishment enough for this man, your honor. Let him walk free with a gun in his hand, and we just hope it never happens again, okay?”
The news report then presents the arguments against the ending as it is shown on screen.
“I watched the show; Kerry lost her shit in a way that made her seem unhinged and she shot a superhero in the head out of spite. John Stewart also let Manhunter go free, knowing he could one day destroy the world,” Morrison writes.
“For a series that isn’t about masked vigilantes with their own personal code but is about strange space cops working for an interplanetary justice system, this was a morally and legally incoherent conclusion that ran counter to its own implications and the basic premise of the franchise,” Morrison concludes.
Morrison floats Hal Jordan as parallax for season 2
Morrison always left the door open to learn more.
“There are rumors of a potential second season, but even with the compelling Aaron Pierre, it’s hard to imagine the formula working as well without Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, and they should find a way to recreate the partnership,” Morrison writes.
“Sinestro said he could bring Hal back to life, so maybe Hal as Parallax would be good, with John having to save him. We’ll see,” adds Morrison.
Deadline reports that a Season 2 renewal is pending at HBO after the finale attracted a series-high 10.5 million viewers. However, before that, the HBO boss confirmed that season 2 was not in development, which was recently confirmed by the showrunner saying the same thing.
Morrison isn’t the first to point the finger at Parallax, either. Fans landed on it at finale night, and Lindelof talked about it a few days later.
Morrison was also just announced in a James Bond comic at IDW.
Gn entert
