So to start with a timeline, Hal Jordan makes himself known in 1986 by stopping a meteor. In 1996 he gives the TV interview we see at the start. In 2016 he goes to Nebraska to solve an alien plot we see for most of the episode. In 2026 Hal Jordan is dead, in that same town, and without his ring.
To add to all this, in 2016 it doesn’t seem like our third Green Lantern, Guy Gardener, is known.
Even if Hal is dead in 2026, it’s likely a Halogram will still be around, although how up to date it is… is up for debate. Also, where is the ring? Also why did Hal choose to return to this city? Will Hal learn the alien plot in 2016 but decide to keep it covered up but also it looks “solved”?
John said he was patient, the wife said otherwise. What has John been up to for the past ten years? He might have done some training with Hal, but probably not for ten years, especially if another human (Guy Gardner) gets the ring essentially passing him over.
Excellent point! I knew we were missing something but figured it would be revealed next episode.
So,
1986 Hal reveals himself.
1996 Hal interviews on TV.
2006 Hal stops updating his Halogram.
2016 Hal investigates in Nebraska.
2026 Hal dies.
Hal mentioned Abin Sur dying was out of the ordinary so he setup a watch for aliens in the area. Logically he would have done that immediately, but I wonder if instead he setup the warning system last time he was there, in 2006.
Why did Hal immediately rush to Nebraska in 2016 once told of “hail”?
Like did he just forgot about it, until reminded of the “hail”. He couldn’t have predicted that the hologram would have reliably alarmed him since it was somewhat of a fluke that another wore the ring.
When Hal received the message… maybe the ring could have told him of a mass shooting which confirmed something suspicious… but this smells of memory manipulation. Which could explain why the last backup was 2006. And why he immediately rushed.
I do wonder what Hal’s alert system looks like. Is he monitoring the police radio? Does he have someone in the town that activates his alert system? I forget who says it but “hail” meant alien, but we see a shooting; how did the shooting activate the ring? The answer might just be “Green Lantern Magic” and that’s fine I suppose, but I feel like we might learn more.
Also the message is coded. Why is Hal hiding coded messages in his ring? Does he think someone else is going to get his ring/message? Training John is a relatively new thing, this was setup back in 2006 or so.
The Green Lantern magic does seem like a good hand wavey tool in terms of solving plot issues. Just hope it doesn’t turn into Lantern ex machina, especially since they’re going with a detective theme.
It was John who explained about the “hail”.
My only guess on the codedness is that Hologram didn’t really trust John (guess he doesn’t trust the job hiring criteria). The halogram was explained to be a failsafe so if Hal had died, I presume the message wouldn’t be so cryptic.
To your point, I’m also mildly perturbed by the coincidence that the Halogram/Alert got activated exactly on the day the shooting/something fishy happened 10 years after. Feels like the rat scene in Avengers Endgame haha.
I rewatched the episode today and something I noticed is that when the Halogram is activated it’s looking away. It says “Shit. Am I dead?” But I think the “Shit” is the end of another conversation.
I think someone is explaining the backups to Hal who says “Shit” and then destroys/stops uploading.
I also don’t think the “hail” is a predetermined catchphrase.
I think the Halogram just (from its point of view) got finished talking about trust and now immediately is confronted with a stranger it doesn’t trust.
Also we don’t know that it’s been exactly 10 years, the Halogram asks what year it is and just knows it’s been about 10 years. But there is also a theme of repetition, every 10 years and/or years ending in 6. Although we can guess that it probably isn’t always exact since 2016 Nebraska is fall (weather plus football season) and 2026 Nebraska is winter.
Well. I am intrigued.
So to start with a timeline, Hal Jordan makes himself known in 1986 by stopping a meteor. In 1996 he gives the TV interview we see at the start. In 2016 he goes to Nebraska to solve an alien plot we see for most of the episode. In 2026 Hal Jordan is dead, in that same town, and without his ring.
To add to all this, in 2016 it doesn’t seem like our third Green Lantern, Guy Gardener, is known.
Even if Hal is dead in 2026, it’s likely a Halogram will still be around, although how up to date it is… is up for debate. Also, where is the ring? Also why did Hal choose to return to this city? Will Hal learn the alien plot in 2016 but decide to keep it covered up but also it looks “solved”?
John said he was patient, the wife said otherwise. What has John been up to for the past ten years? He might have done some training with Hal, but probably not for ten years, especially if another human (Guy Gardner) gets the ring essentially passing him over.
With every major event happening in the sixes, I wonder what happened in 2006, the last time Hal backed up his halogram
Excellent point! I knew we were missing something but figured it would be revealed next episode.
So,
Hal mentioned Abin Sur dying was out of the ordinary so he setup a watch for aliens in the area. Logically he would have done that immediately, but I wonder if instead he setup the warning system last time he was there, in 2006.
Good summary!
One question I had was:
Why did Hal immediately rush to Nebraska in 2016 once told of “hail”?
Like did he just forgot about it, until reminded of the “hail”. He couldn’t have predicted that the hologram would have reliably alarmed him since it was somewhat of a fluke that another wore the ring.
When Hal received the message… maybe the ring could have told him of a mass shooting which confirmed something suspicious… but this smells of memory manipulation. Which could explain why the last backup was 2006. And why he immediately rushed.
I do wonder what Hal’s alert system looks like. Is he monitoring the police radio? Does he have someone in the town that activates his alert system? I forget who says it but “hail” meant alien, but we see a shooting; how did the shooting activate the ring? The answer might just be “Green Lantern Magic” and that’s fine I suppose, but I feel like we might learn more.
Also the message is coded. Why is Hal hiding coded messages in his ring? Does he think someone else is going to get his ring/message? Training John is a relatively new thing, this was setup back in 2006 or so.
The Green Lantern magic does seem like a good hand wavey tool in terms of solving plot issues. Just hope it doesn’t turn into Lantern ex machina, especially since they’re going with a detective theme.
It was John who explained about the “hail”.
My only guess on the codedness is that Hologram didn’t really trust John (guess he doesn’t trust the job hiring criteria). The halogram was explained to be a failsafe so if Hal had died, I presume the message wouldn’t be so cryptic.
To your point, I’m also mildly perturbed by the coincidence that the Halogram/Alert got activated exactly on the day the shooting/something fishy happened 10 years after. Feels like the rat scene in Avengers Endgame haha.
Find out next week in Lantern Ball Z!
I rewatched the episode today and something I noticed is that when the Halogram is activated it’s looking away. It says “Shit. Am I dead?” But I think the “Shit” is the end of another conversation.
I think someone is explaining the backups to Hal who says “Shit” and then destroys/stops uploading.
I also don’t think the “hail” is a predetermined catchphrase.
I think the Halogram just (from its point of view) got finished talking about trust and now immediately is confronted with a stranger it doesn’t trust.
Also we don’t know that it’s been exactly 10 years, the Halogram asks what year it is and just knows it’s been about 10 years. But there is also a theme of repetition, every 10 years and/or years ending in 6. Although we can guess that it probably isn’t always exact since 2016 Nebraska is fall (weather plus football season) and 2026 Nebraska is winter.