Every week, Lanterns comes and goes, destroying a number of fan theories in its wake. But now, as we head into the finale, which not even critics have seen, there is really only one left standing after Sunday night .

We can call this the Parallax theory, as even if that name doesn’t end up mentioned in Lanterns , events seem to be coming together that could replicate at least some facets of this infamous Green Lantern, Hal Jordan storyline. For starters, what we know for sure now:

  • Hal had something to do with Sinestro breaking out of prison, given that he currently owns a literal portal to where Sinestro is hiding on a dead planet.
  • That population, which we now know was ravaged by fear gas, now directly creates a bridge between Sinestro and the Manhunters.
  • The Halogram does not seem to understand how Hal has changed so much since his “backup” period.
  • Sinestro very much seems to have been dropped off at some sort of forge or factory on the planet.

Now, you need to know the context of Parallax from the comic storyline. This is from my coverage of the theory about six weeks ago, when it was already starting to take shape:

“Hal Jordan is driven mad with grief when his hometown is destroyed. He then goes on to destroy the Green Lantern Corps, among other things, and becomes the villain Parallax.”

“Later, in subsequent storylines, it’s revealed that Hal Jordan was actually possessed by Parallax, which is an ancient entity embodying the yellow light of fear. During The Final Night storyline, Hal Jordan sacrifices himself to reignite Earth’s sun (long story), but when his soul isn’t at peace, he returns as a hero once more to make up for his past actions. This all continued in DC Rebirth in 2016, where Sinestro is hosted by Parallax and faces off against Jordan, who ends up destroying the Sinestro Corps base, Warworld.”

  • Hal killed himself (or had Kerry kill him) after realizing what he was becoming, infected by the fear entity Parallax. It’s a form of the “Jordan boys legacy,” prominently featured last night and a noticable depature from the comics (Jordan’s dad really does die in an accident there).
  • Sinestro knows a way to bring Hal back to life, which involves another theory: that Noah is a manhunter in some form, given his connection to his grandmother and frankly very weird appearances in the present-day storyline (he wants to be president? He cancels his whole football event out of nowhere? Why is any of this in the show?).
  • Sinestro will use the manhunter technology and Noah to bring Hal back to life, where he will likely still be infected by Parallax and may then become that villain.
  • So, we are witnessing the birth of the Sinestro Corps, the yellow, fear-based counter to the willpower of the Green Lanterns. Sinestro is staying in a forge on Antaan’s planet where he can craft the first yellow ring/rings to get that started. So, heading into future seasons or movies, it’s Sinestro and Hal versus the Green Lantern Corps and John.
  • In the comics, as mentioned, that is not a permanent transformation for Hal, who does regain his old sense of self and destroys the Sinestro Corps, becoming a hero again.

I think a main issue with this is that jamming all or most of this into one last episode would be a bit hard for non-comic readers completely unfamiliar with the Parallax storyline to process. It would be a bit jarring if Sinestro revived Hal, handed him a ring, and suddenly he’s an enforcer in a new villainous fear-based Corps. I get that 2006-2026 Hal had his issues, but this entire thing would demand another season to fully get into. But from everything the showrunners say, this storyline is meant to have a satisfying ending this season, even though yes, they say it could continue on.

I don’t know how much of this I believe will come to pass. Of this entire theory, I am certain that A) Noah is a manhunter and B) Sinestro will revive Hal using manhunter tech. Past that, however, the grand, last-minute supervillain turn for Hal seems like a stretch given where we are in this season with just one episode left.

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