Another great episode of Lanterns on Sunday night, and now, with the show moving out of 2016 and into 2026, we are back to the core mystery of the season: Who killed Hal Jordan?

After last night’s episode 6 of Lanterns , there seems to be a burgeoning theory that makes the most sense out of anything else, and that points at one character in particular. We are back in the situation where there are only so many possible suspects that exist, given the limited selection of known characters actually in Rushville. That happened when we were trying to guess who the manhunter was, and many were correct that it was Zoe.

But as Yoda said, there is another. Maybe.

The theory here is that Noah, Kerry’s son and Zoe’s grandchild, is the one who killed Hal. Other suspects could be the diner girl, as she has reason for revenge, certainly, or someone like Billy. But it’s a very short list, and Noah is at the top.

  • First, he’s just got…weird vibes. He’s super friendly with John and was seemingly very cool with Hal, unlike everyone else in town. Out of nowhere, it’s revealed that after being a football star, he wants to be a Senator and then President? What?
  • It’s not just revenge here, that Noah was perhaps, in fact, harboring secret resentment against Hal for his role in the town being ravaged and leading to the death of his grandparents. The level past this is that it seems possible Noah is some kind of manhunter. Why?
  • The show focused specifically on a close relationship between Noah and Zoe, with her last scene with him telling him, “Don’t forget everything I’ve told you,” which did not mean anything to us at the time. It’s weird if it isn’t relevant at all.
  • Kerry said that Zoe gave her “a miracle,” which does not seem to be just beating up dudes who were after her. The idea here is that Kerry was infertile and Zoe was able to heal her in order for her to have Noah.
  • One step past that is that using manhunter technology to heal her and give birth could have resulted in her actually creating another manhunter, or manhunter hybrid, which could in part explain that close relationship and the way Noah is now. You will recall the specific plot point that Antaan and Zoe couldn’t concieve.
  • You would imagine that a manhunter would say, want to do something like become President. Hell, it could even explain why Noah has the edge and has become a football star with extra strength and speed.

The “why” of killing Hal is a bit more nebulous. Again, it could be revenge, but that opens up a question about why he killed Hal at this specific moment in time instead of earlier. What does that have to do with his plan, if anything? And will he end up going after John too, given that he took the actual shot to put Zoe down?

It’s a good theory, and again, we only have three real suspects and it sure isn’t Billy. I see no evidence it would be diner girl either, but the show has been setting up Noah too long for all of this to be nothing. The theory, at least most of it, seems sound.

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