‘Lanterns’ Episode 3 Just Became the Show’s Highest-Rated Hour Yet, and It’s Not Close

HBO’s Green Lantern series has spent its first two episodes carefully setting up a small-town murder mystery, weaving in alien refugees and a shocking premiere twist along the way. That slow-burn approach has earned a mixed but engaged response so far, with critics split on whether the show’s grounded tone works in its favor.

Then came Episode 3, and the conversation around ‘Lanterns’ shifted almost overnight. Rather than pushing the central mystery forward, the show hit pause entirely to hand its third hour over to one character’s origin story, and audiences responded in a big way.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 3, titled “OutKast,” debuted with a score of 9.4 on IMDb, a massive jump from the 8.3 ratings earned by both the first and second episodes. That kind of leap signals a clear turning point in how the show is being received, at least among the audiences rating it.

The episode functions as an extended flashback centered entirely on John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, framed as a nonlinear job interview with one of the Guardians of the Universe, portrayed by Laura Linney. Rather than continuing the investigation into Rushville, Nebraska, “OutKast” digs into Stewart’s childhood, his military career, and the winding path that eventually led him to the ring.

Critics have largely echoed the audience enthusiasm, with outlets across the board calling it the strongest episode of the series so far. Vulture praised the episode’s storytelling, comparing it favorably to a standout episode of HBO’s ‘Watchmen,’ while Den of Geek highlighted how the episode finally let Pierre’s performance breathe after two episodes of restrained emotion.

Much of that praise centers on credited screenwriter Vanessa Baden Kelly, who took on the difficult task of piecing together Stewart’s fragmented backstory across multiple timelines. The episode weaves together his unconventional childhood, a harrowing Marine Corps mission, and his unexpected detour into art school, all building toward the moment he’s finally handed a Green Lantern ring.

Not every reaction was uniformly glowing. Collider’s review landed on the more critical end, giving the episode a 6 out of 10 and arguing that the show has now spent two consecutive episodes overemphasizing John’s importance to the overall story. Still, that perspective remained an outlier compared to the broader wave of praise the episode received.

The jump from an 8.3 average to a 9.4 rating suggests “OutKast” resonated with viewers on a different level than the show’s slower-paced opening episodes managed to. For a series that’s spent its first stretch balancing mystery-of-the-week plotting with deeper character work, this episode appears to have found the right formula, at least according to the numbers.

Whether ‘Lanterns’ can sustain that kind of momentum as it shifts back to its central investigation remains to be seen, but Episode 3 has clearly raised the bar for what the rest of the season needs to deliver. With John Stewart’s origin now fully in view, the stakes for where his story goes next feel higher than ever.

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