‘Lanterns’ Writer Responds to the Overwhelming Reaction to Episode Three

HBO’s Green Lantern series has spent its first two episodes carefully building out a slow-burn mystery, but Episode 3 arrived like a gut punch few viewers saw coming. Titled “OutKast,” the hour handed its entire runtime over to John Stewart’s origin story, and the response from fans and critics alike has been loud enough that even the episode’s writer couldn’t stay quiet about it.

That writer is Vanessa Baden Kelly, a co-executive producer on the series who penned both “OutKast” and an earlier episode, “Trust Fall.” Her work on Episode 3 has become the centerpiece of a broader conversation around ‘Lanterns,’ with much of the praise circling how she managed to weave John Stewart’s fractured backstory into a single cohesive hour spanning his childhood, his time as a Marine sniper, and an unexpected detour through art school.

In the days following the episode’s release, Baden Kelly took to her Instagram Story to address the flood of viewer reactions directly. “Very grateful for every emotion I’ve been gifted the experience of feeling looking at SOME reactions (not all because it’s a little sensory overload). But I will leave you with my favorite. Thanks for watching everyone,” she wrote, sharing a screenshot of one particularly emotional fan response as an example.

That outpouring of reaction fits the broader critical response the episode has received since airing. “OutKast” jumped to a 9.4 rating on IMDb, a significant leap from the 8.3 scores earned by both of the show’s first two episodes, signaling a clear turning point in how audiences are engaging with the series.

Baden Kelly has also had to defend the episode’s substance more directly, addressing online backlash from some viewers calling the show’s handling of race “woke.” Speaking to TheWrap, she explained she’d noticed fans sharing 1970s John Stewart comic panels in their criticism, panels that showed the character calling people “Whitey” or opposing wars, without seeming to realize the character has engaged with racial politics since his 1971 debut.

She’s also spoken about the creative thinking behind reworking John’s origin for the show. “What does it mean to be a Black man and get that ring when other characters canonically had it?” Baden Kelly said, according to TheWrap. “We really started discussing how much more a Black superhero has to do to be accepted in that world.” She compared John’s rigorous upbringing to the way famous Black athletes like Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters were trained from a young age.

Co-creator Damon Lindelof has echoed that sentiment when discussing how the show approaches existing DC canon. “When you’re playing around with the canon, you have to treat it like you’re handling plutonium,” Lindelof told TheWrap, while also noting the importance of finding room for genuine creativity within that careful handling.

Critics have largely sided with the show’s approach as well, with the episode earning widespread praise for finally giving Aaron Pierre room to show the emotional toll of a childhood built entirely around suppressing fear. Not every response was glowing, with Collider’s review landing more critically at 6 out of 10, arguing the show has spent two consecutive episodes overemphasizing John’s importance to the broader mystery.

For Baden Kelly, though, the overwhelming wave of emotional viewer reactions appears to have outweighed any of that pushback, offering real validation for an episode that took a genuine creative risk by pausing the show’s central plot entirely.

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