Lanterns writers explain why Kerry really killed Hal after controversial finale

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Lanterns episode 8*

The Lanterns season finale has arrived and finally reveals who killed Hal Jordan: it was Sheriff Kerry Kane all along. And the writers of the DC series have now unpacked the shocking reveal and what drove Kerry to pull the trigger. 

Just who killed Hal (Kyle Chandler) has been a question we’ve had since the very first episode The finale initially makes it seem like Noah (Shea Pritchard) did the deed after revealing that he is – as many had already theorised – part Manhunter, as his grandma Zoe conceived him in Kerry using alien technology.

Noah confesses this to John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), saying Hal discovered the portal and therefore he killed the Green Lantern to avoid his secret getting back to his mother (Kelly Macdonald). 

But John then talks to Kerry while Noah’s football game is happening, and here’s the kicker: she confesses that she was the one who killed Hal. Noah had only falsely confessed in order to protect his mum, showing that he can overcome his programming. 

We then see how Hal’s death came about through a flashback. Hal confronts Kerry and says he knows about Noah before asking if there are more Manhunters. After unconvincingly trying to pretend she knows nothing, Kerry finally admits, “No. He’s the only one.”

Hal warns Kerry that he’s planning something “very dangerous,” referring to the forged lantern made by Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). 

Here’s the confusing part: Hal actually offers Kerry and Noah an escape plan, saying he’s got a “trusted friend” in Guadalajara, Mexico. He offers to get them there safely until they plan what to do next, potentially taking them to a more isolated planet.

Hal isn’t confronting Kerry because he wants to expose or destroy Noah. He wants to get them out because he loves Kerry and believes Noah is in danger. Yes, he knows Noah is part Manhunter, but he’s also aware he’s not behaving according to his programming, having saved Hal from the firebombing.

And yet Kerry still shoots Hal dead. 

This particular decision has annoyed some Lanterns fans, with one Redditor describing it as “completely nonsensical and out of character.” They added, “He poses no immediate risk, didn’t even threaten to do anything to Noah, in fact he vocalized that his intention was also to protect Noah.”

Another agreed, “The fact that Hal didn’t even want to kill Noah, wanted them to discuss and move them is sad. She deserves jail time at least.”

So, why did Kerry kill Hal in the Lanterns finale?

Ultimately, Kerry kills Hal because she panics at the prospect of losing Noah and acts on an impulse to protect her son. Even though Hal isn’t actually threatening to hurt him, the writers intentionally made it so that it was a spontaneous and contradictory act driven by Kerry’s fear and her love for Noah.

You could argue that this gives the decision a more realistic feel, as so many murders committed are done by impulse and fear. 

Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof spoke about the decision on the HBO show’s official podcast, saying, “I think that the more important and impactful part that stays with you after you’ve watched a season of television or beyond is, ‘Why did they do it?’” 

“Particularly for what we fancy ourselves as storytellers is really understanding the complex emotions that lead someone to do something, particularly a violent act like a murder.

“And I think that the idea of it being just a normal human being who is in extraordinary circumstances, having to take this life was really, really interesting to us. 

“So even if people are starting to sort of guess midway through the season, ‘I think Kerry might have killed Hal,’ there’s no way that anyone understands why until we turn over these cards that we do in the final couple of episodes.”

Co-creator Chris Mundy added, “She loved Hal, and this is a tragedy for her as well.” But perhaps it’s fellow co-creator Tom King’s comments that give the greatest clarity on the fact that it really was a snap decision. 

“Watching it now, the way Kelly portrays it, the way you ran it, it works for me because it feels so spontaneous and you can feel the regret in the moment,” he explained. 

“This is not an evil person who’s executing a plan and then covering it up. This is a person who had a moment and then regrets it, but doesn’t regret it. She’s having 16 emotions at once.

“So the cliche of just like, ‘Oh, I’m a killer and I do killing things’ – No, she killed someone and she doesn’t want to do it, but she does want to do it. She wants to protect, she doesn’t want to protect. 

“And she’s doing things that are undermining her and doing things in calling John – and that becomes so complicated that it’s not just a murder mystery. It’s about the character of this person and about her relationship with Hal and her relationship with John. That makes it into a good murder mystery to me.”

Host Juju Green then pointed out, “Again, it goes back to the nature versus nurture of it all, right? Like, what are you willing to do to make sure your kid is getting the best opportunity that they could possibly get?”, which the Lanterns creators agreed with. 

Why did Kerry call John after killing Hal?

This is a question that is mostly explained in Lanterns episode 8, but the writers have spoken about in follow-up interviews. 

As John himself asks Kerry, why would she call him after killing Hal, knowing that he was the one person capable of figuring out who did it. Her response? She ran away to Rushville to escape a monster. “I wanted to know if I was raising one,” she says, referring to Noah. 

In other words, she needed to know whether everything she has believed about Noah is wrong. She has protected him his entire life in the belief that raising him as a human could overcome his Manhunter programming, but now fears he may actually be dangerous. 

John was the person capable of finding that out, even if bringing him to Rushville also risked exposing what she had done. 

King admitted on the podcast that this was the main part of Hal’s death they “struggled with” in the writers’ room. “What was really hard for us was the fact that she made the call to John Stewart afterwards,” he said. 

“We fought each other and fought over that. And I was always kind of trepidatious. I think everyone was.” But what brought it all together was Kelly Macdonald’s convincing performance.

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Featured image credit: HBO