This feature contains spoilers for Lanterns episode 6. Make sure you're up to date before reading on.
The latest episode of Lanterns finally brings Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner into the picture, reprising his role from Superman last year. But another key character is also introduced this week, one even more important to Hal Jordan than a fellow Green Lantern.
With the past storyline complete, Lanterns episode 6 devotes the vast majority of its runtime to the mystery that surrounds Jordan's murder in the present day. It's there that John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) discovers that everyone hates the former Green Lantern in Rushville due to what happened ten years prior.
That's why Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) called John up. "I just wanted someone else around who cared that he was gone." But it turns out that there is someone else who cared about Hal. Or at least cared enough to attend his funeral, which is otherwise pretty quiet.
Yep, Carol Ferris shows up briefly for the first time at the request of Kerry who invited her because she and Hal "had history." "I bet he liked you," Carol tells John, referring of course to Hal. "And I bet he never said it."
There's a sense that Carol knew Hal intimately, better perhaps than anyone else at the funeral. This history is only hinted at though, and newcomers to Green Lantern lore wouldn't necessarily think Carol is that important still, especially given how fast her one major scene flies by.
Anyone even vaguely familiar with Hal Jordan outside of Lanterns knows better though. Carol Ferris is easily the most significant female character in Green Lantern lore. She is very much the Lois Lane to Hal's Clark Kent and prior to this show, it was near impossible to imagine a Green Lantern story without her.
Former flame
Carol debuted in the DC comic Showcase #22 (1959), the very same issue that introduced us to Hal as Green Lantern. It was Carol who first hired him as a test pilot at Ferris Aircraft, an origin that could also hold true for Hal in Lanterns. Across the six decades that followed, Carol remained Hal's main love interest, even when she was transformed into Star Sapphire, a supervillain with comparable abilities to Green Lantern.
From the noughties-era Justice League cartoon and the short-lived Green Lantern animated series to even Ryan Reynold's ill-fated blockbuster, Carol has always been a mainstay. In the latter film, she was played by Blake Lively, whose performance was anything but. A character reportedly based on Ferris, renamed Carrie Farris, also showed up briefly in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
It's no wonder then that everyone assumed Carol would therefore play a bigger role in Lanterns. When Macdonald was cast as Hal's potential love interest in October 2024, the obvious answer was that she would be playing Carol. When it became clear that wasn't the case, Laura Linney's subsequent casting ignited those same rumors. It wasn't until episode 3 that they were eventually dispelled when the show revealed she's actually playing a Guardian of the Universe.
Even though Carol has now arrived at last, her limited role still comes as a shock to fans who assumed she'd be more important given how vital she is to the Green Lantern mythos at large.
Going rogue
To be fair though, Lanterns is hardly comic book accurate, a label the writers sport rather proudly. Billed as a True Detective-style story from the start, Lanterns has repeatedly defied expectations, mostly to the show's benefit. Take episode 3, for example, which rejigged John Stewart's origin story to bold effect.
When it comes to adapting long-running comic book stories, there's much to be said for putting a new spin on the lore in question. As such, it's almost admirable how Lanterns has gone out of its way to sideline such a key character. This sense of daring is one of the main reasons why it's become the third most successful show on HBO Max, behind only House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.
The issue, however, is that ignoring Carol feels like such a wasted opportunity. More than just a mere love interest, Carol is one of the most intriguing female characters in the DC universe at large, straddling the line between good and evil, between love and hate, with her unique position as Star Sapphire. With or without Hal, Carol stands on her own two feet, as made evident by her recent Justice League membership in DC’s All In comic book relaunch.
Sure, Lanterns is more about John, and rightly so, but it's not like Carol has fared particularly well previously in live-action either. Unlike Lois Lane, who appears in pretty much every single Superman adaptation ever made, Carol's live-action legacy boils down to Lively's portrayal in the universally despised Green Lantern film of 2011.
If there's room to develop at least some romance between Hal and Kerry, more could have also been done to bring in Carol, regardless of whether she ended up being his love interest or not. It's likely Carol was sidelined to further emphasise just how lonely Hal was, how he pushed away every important person in his life. But to not even mention her in passing before now feels odd and an oversight.
That's not to say Carol's story is over completely. There is technically a whole world beyond Lanterns, one where Ferris could return to play a much bigger role. But with it looking like Hal's journey will end this season, it doesn't feel like there's more story to tell where Carol is concerned, not beyond her one fleeting appearance at Hal's funeral.
That's a shame, especially when more time is given to the likes of Guy Gardner, a character who's not just less important but also doesn't quite fit into the world of Lanterns in the way that Carol could so well.
Lanterns is currently airing weekly on HBO Max. Read our Lanterns review for why you should be watching before checking out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows you need to know about.
