{"id":8660,"date":"2026-09-07T14:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T13:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=8660"},"modified":"2026-09-07T14:29:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T13:29:43","slug":"lanterns-episode-4-who-the-manhunter-is-are-they-evil-dc-hbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/09\/07\/lanterns-episode-4-who-the-manhunter-is-are-they-evil-dc-hbo\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Manhunter actually a villain? Lanterns star breaks down shocking episode 4 twist"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Lanterns episode four*<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Well, our theories were correct: Zoe Macon is the Manhunter<\/a> after all. The question now is whether she\u2019s the villain of Lanterns, something Zoe star Poorna Jagannathan has elaborated on. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, episode four of the DCU<\/a> series finally gives Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler)<\/a> and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) some answers about the Manhunter hiding in Rushville, although it takes a couple of red herrings to get there.<\/span><\/p>\n

They initially suspect Zoe\u2019s husband William Macon (Garret Dillahunt), only to discover the advanced alien technology on his compound actually came from a mysterious \u201cbenefactor\u201d who also cured him of cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Things take an even stranger turn when Zoe visits John to hook up at his motel, where she tells him she was the one who saved William\u2019s life and that he should leave Rushville (not that John agrees to). <\/span><\/p>\n

As she leaves, Zoe is seemingly killed when her truck is destroyed by an orbital weapon. Hal and John trace the attack to a man calling himself Hector Hammond (Jason Manuel Olaz\u00e1bal), a name DC Comics fans will no doubt recognise. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hector
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the Green Lantern comics, Hector Hammond is a super-intelligent villain and one of Hal\u2019s oldest enemies. Except Lanterns<\/a> is having a bit of fun with the character, as he eventually admits he\u2019s a human named Hector Gutierrez, who has been working with the Manhunter and using its tech.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gutierrez points the finger back at William, but they\u2019re not buying it. And Hal spots another clue: John barely reacted to Zoe\u2019s apparent death because he never believed she was actually dead. <\/span><\/p>\n

John admits he\u2019d already suspected something was different about her, leading them to the real answer that Zoe is the Manhunter.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you remember, in Lanterns episode two, Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor) established the Manhunters<\/a> as pure evil. He told John that one of them secretly lived among his people before turning on them and almost wiping out their entire civilisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

And Antaan believes it survived and is now hiding in Rushville in human form, which we now know to be Zoe. But we\u2019re yet to find out the full story, and Poorna Jagannathan has suggested there\u2019s a lot more to what happened than meets the eye. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is the Manhunter actually evil in Lanterns?<\/h2>\n
\"Zoe
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kind of, but she\u2019s also a product of her environment. Speaking to <\/span>Entertainment Weekly<\/span><\/a>, Jagannathan explained that her character is essentially a \u201cvictim of what the Guardians have created\u201d and \u201ca victim of her programming\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

This actually makes sense when compared to the comics. The Manhunters were originally created by the Guardians of the Universe as an intergalactic police force, long before the Green Lantern Corps existed. But their programming became corrupted, leading them to massacre an entire sector of the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n

After realising their creation had gone horribly wrong, the Guardians abandoned the Manhunters and eventually replaced them with the Green Lantern Corps.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Lanterns is obviously only inspired by the source material, so the story may play out differently in the HBO<\/a> show. But Jagannathan\u2019s comments suggest that the idea of the Manhunters being shaped by the Guardians\u2019 programming is relevant here. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really blew me away that I\u2019d be cast in something like this or they saw me as something like this,\u201d she told the outlet.  <\/span><\/p>\n