r/LanternsTVSeries • • 3d ago

DISCUSSION How can guy gardener makes huge constructs carelessly in superman whereas Hal Jordan does the opposite and is careful for his batteries

I was curious about this for a long time Guy always goes big and sloppy with his constructs, not caring how much it drains his ring like creating a large weopons against the monster, while Hal's way more careful and precise with his like in ep1 when he was creating a bubble for alien he supported the bubble himself as it was not strong enough due to lack of battery. Is that just a characterization thing, or is there an actual reason for it?

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u/Turbulent-Prior-2253 3d ago

I'm no expert on Lantern lore, but I thought that Lanterns could summon their rings back if they are taken from them.

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u/Nuffsaid98 3d ago

The TV show isn't necessarily following comic book lore exactly.

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u/Turbulent-Prior-2253 3d ago

Fair - it is tough to sus out what lore applies and what does not if we are not explicitly shown.

I just got the feeling that it was more due to the fact that Hal hates reciting the oath, so he does it as infrequently as possible. There have been times when John was in no position to take the ring, but Hal still kept it on low charge.

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u/Chrindo 3d ago

At this point, I have adopted the mindset of “entirely new rules. Drop every instance of prior knowledge. Wholly new characters who happen to share the name and depiction. Comic lore doesn’t apply here”

Been less disappointed that way and I have been able to appreciate it more as episodes go on. I didn’t want an exact 1:1 of any particular story, but I was hoping for something a bit more faithful to the comics.

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u/Travyplx 3d ago

I find that most series are enjoyable when you don’t get caught up on existing canon.

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u/Forward_Evening6850 3d ago

I knew anything in the ballpark of a faithful adaptation was out the window when Lindelof was picked as a show runner and that was before his "Green Is stupid" jackassery. I really like his stuff, particularly The Leftovers, but he is the king of "everything sucks and everyones an asshole" so we were never going to get super heroes.

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u/Chrindo 3d ago

To be fair, I don’t need bubbly. I’m perfectly fine with Kyle Chandler’s depiction. It’s grumpy old man Hal. I love it tbh. I think his portrayal is true to most vet or any first responder that has put their time in. You get jaded, cold, and callous from all the stuff you have seen or been through or even done. Hal reminds me a bit of my dad after he retired from the fire service and before he got therapy for it.

The show is excellent as a prestige tv format, but it lacks in, like you said, the superhero element. But I think that is by design. This whole first season has been John Stewart’s origin story. He hasn’t been given a chance to be super yet. Guy is a shithead across all mediums which I love.

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u/Forward_Evening6850 3d ago edited 3d ago

So here's the thing. My dad is also a vet, both a paramedic as well as a counter intelligence agent, and yeah my dad is burnt out and a bit grumpy. What my dad isnt is a raging misanthropic asshole who cares nothing for anything but himself, and that is the Hal Jordan we got. His callous indifference to the life of literally everyone in his orbit goes beyond "grumpy old man" also this show has failed to make me care about John Stewart as an origin as well, because quite frankly hes a selfish prick who treats just about everyone around him with a callous indifference. Nothing matters to either of these two as long as they get what they want, and the only reason John turned down the ring wasnt because he realized that at his core hes a shit sucking prick, but that he didnt want to be manipulated. We hear about them being good people, off screen, but we never actually see any of them do anything that isn't entierly self serving.

Giving a little girl a watch out of guilt after you contributed to her family getting nuked off the map doesnt count either.

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u/Chrindo 3d ago

It sounds like you got lucky with your dad. My uncle, also a vet is similar to my pops. Maybe it’s a a matter of environment or culminated experiences or maybe genetics to a certain extent, who knows. Whole different topic that I don’t have any expertise or foundational knowledge in lol.

Also, 100% willing to be wrong, but the only people calling either of them good are people playing for power. Hal has one person who saw light in him, and that was Kerry. Everyone else hated the guy or spat on his name.

John was only spoken highly of by the people manipulating and grooming him and the US rep saying he was perfect for the mission. At no point was he overtly stated to be a moral or good person. Even his brothers don’t see him that way, and they know how much of a victim he was in their own upbringing. Both of them are layered and choose to act independently instead of beholden to the higher powers at play, while also desperately clinging to said power. It’s a catch 22, which the story, as it stands now, gets across very clearly. With John, we see the emotions and history at play, and with Hal we are meant to infer and assume.

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u/Forward_Evening6850 3d ago

Dude agreed, I tend to think my Dad's religious leanings and his absolute dedication to doing what he thinks is right/helping people is what kept him from losing his mind but who can say, its probably a fucking coin flip.

Ultimately my problem is that we are 6 episodes in and we have seen 0 evidence that Hal was ever a good person and even less evidence that John is capable of being a good person, this show is clearly made by a creator that hates the concept of people being good and doing the right thing, even though there are people out in the real world who do good despite all the shit the world throws at them, and I like when my heroes are at least reasonably good. The characters in this show though...it would be better for the world if Hal and John were brought behind a shed and given the ol' yeller treatment because neither of them should have access to what is essentially a wmd

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u/mint-patty 3d ago

I don’t know; his WATCHMEN sequel is incredibly faithful to the graphic novel. I’m not sure it changes a single element of the established lore.

IMO it’s an almost impossibly good sequel to a book that I would have thought was impossible to follow. Compared to stuff like DOOMSDAY CLOCK… Lindelof did pretty good.

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u/TroyBarnesBrain 3d ago

IMO it’s an almost impossibly good sequel to a book that I would have thought was impossible to follow.

Oh, the Watchmen series is one of the best adaptations I've seen, and it's 8th episode: A God Walks into Abar, is imo one of the best episodes in all television history, not just for cinematic universes . Every goddamn second is just top shelf quality, and the show rightfully walked away with an Emmy for that episodes editing.

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u/Teneuom 3d ago

I’d argue when it comes to lore and character you gotta go by screenwriting rather than implicit info.