‘Lanterns’ Episode 6 Instant Reactions | The Midnight Boys

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FanDuel is now available everywhere in the U.S. So you can get in on the sports action no matter where you are, including these places. Make this your most rewarding season ever with FanDuel. Age and location restrictions apply. Product availability varies by market. See FanDuel.com for eligibility, gambling, and more. Welcome into the Ringerverse. This is, of course, the Ringer's Nexus podcast feed for all things fandom. We are Steve, the architect, almond, the builder, and tinkerer of things. Jomie, the explainer, a dinner on. You've got questions, he's got answers. Old Man Van, he of the receding resurgent hairline, the white tea nigga. Okay. Coke, baby. Sure. 24-karat. Together we are known as "A La Midnight Boys." We'll be right back after this. It just feels different when I'm in the white tea. I know, I feel different. Come on. Me in the white tea just reminds me of times before when the white tea was just like, yeah, it was the uniform, you know? It brings out that real niggerish shit in me. When did that change? The white tea? I feel like streetwear, because like, you know what happened? We're gonna get into the show, guys, I promise you. I feel like you know what happened? It's like in the early 2010s when the streetwear boom really started to kick off, particularly here in LA, Fairfax controlled everything. You had Pete Dolphin, you had Christian Castles, all these different. I feel like they took over the white tea. I have a different. I think, like, white tea technology is a little bit different. I think, like, white tea technology is a little bit technology had been progressing to such a point and then it was like what was the song the white tea song what's fresh in my white teeth and he was wearing basically dresses and shit yeah they were like that was some years before but i it wasn't it wasn't like 2008 2009 we all everybody was wearing suits and wearing business casuals yeah yeah and fedora big fedora also the v-necks kind of fucked up the game niggas was wearing v like the dvs that was nasty we got out of here we'll see files on socials at the midnight boys pod on insta and tiktok at ringerverse on insta twitter facebook and tiktok joey man i was gonna do a whole thing about how like the the pod is exploding right now people are on youtube on instagram people are like really loving the coverage thank you guys but i noticed that we got the pizza and the chicken here this week we didn't have it last week when cr was here we didn't have the pizza and the chicken no oh they removed it for cr they removed it for cr what type of shit is this ain't that crazy rewind to last week i did not notice that no respectability ringer over here you come back and they put the fucking fried chicken back they're like the niggas back they said hold on cr big business we're not gonna do them like that wow shout out cr holding it down we're on youtube like comment subscribe share you can watch every midnight boys and house of art episode on youtube.com backslash at ringerverse and also on spotify programming reminders on monday the house of art continues their lantern coverage they're doing some amazing deep dives over there our sisters mal and joe go check out them and on thursday button mash gives their reactions to control resonant and silent hill downfall townfall well it says downfall here is it town or down town all right i don't know i made this this is my mistake wait you did it you did it i'm sorry i thought it was not town it's probably it's probably the right the the auto correct but yeah it's townfall so what is what what is it i don't know so it's a it's a it's another entry in the silent hill series this one centers around a uh black man named simon in a uh i think it was i think it's like an irish seaside town he's dead uh we don't know why would they do it it's a crazy story he will die what time what time in like in ireland this is in the early 90s oh he's fucking finished all right dateline nbas nbc i'm looking at this nigga right now look at him well how could this be the early 90s when he died because he has we're talking about that i do have to ask this is completely random are the midnight boys covering primetime oh well we talked about this we can if you guys want me here yeah i intend to see it yeah like we can if you guys want i'll tell you you guys are gonna look at people look at me crazy when i said that was entertainment man that was like like that was entertainer one one guy that was entertainment man and you know as much as i say about tmz and harvey levin right the first person that i can remember raising a legitimate ethical objection to to catch a predator was harvey right harvey was like that's wrong what they're doing and i was like how could it be wrong and like catching pedophiles and stuff like that he's like they're luring them entrapping them inciting them and then making entertainment out of it yeah look at you you got scruples what the fuck is going on and he was like he legitimately used to say that was wrong and that was before i knew that you know there had been all kinds of issues with the show behind the scenes i don't guess oh yeah get into that who because we're talking about primetime i do feel like we also have to have an episode about the white boy rankings because the emmys were last night yeah and we might need to put this photo on the screen did y'all catch the photo of tom holland senday here i've seen it there he's recruiting you're going crazy he recruited greed i mean greed what is he supposed to do he's the man what was that picture grossing actor in hollywood history what was that picture of him when the day is just like laughing on his shoulder and he's like there's no way this guy's that funny yes i'm hating here's the thing everybody keeps going chase infinity black cat and i'm like guys do you see the optics of the next spider-man movie being peter parker having two light-skinned black women fighting over him that's the thing i'm like i'm like i'm like i'm like as opposed nuts as opposed to what at a certain point though cinema we gotta we gotta put some color girls in a moment you know what i mean at a certain point i'm with it i'm not going back laura harrier in the first one i'm not going back i'm not going back i'm not going back i'm not going back but i'm saying i appreciate it though i thought he was doing his thing hey guess what he's on top of the world i love tom holland yeah it didn't happen to a nicer guy yeah absolutely great guy deserves it deserves every second um on today's episode though we are going to react to the sixth episode of lanterns every single episode of lanterns that drops has to answer the same question can the heat continue how long can the heat last we're going to answer that question but first we're going to spoil a lot of stuff and we're going to warn you even though we do this every week here's a spoiler warning steve we're getting ready to talk about lanterns you're listening to a reaction podcast the spoilers are coming all right to begin our reactions we once again bring you the midnight manifest talking about all the need to know the only person who can do the manifest is chuck joey held it down last week oh yeah thank you joe but the man himself is back chuck take it away all right this is your midnight manifest for episode six of lanterns directed by stephen williams written by damon lindelof and tom king we flash forward to 2026 where john is a successful architect trying to sell high security panic rooms to the government alongside his brother john's life is upended when his mother bernadette calls telling him how wants to apologize john travels back to rushfield to see a disabled and age how the former green lantern was in prison for a decade and isn't in the mood for any apologies you will have it out john punches how and the grizzled veteran warrants his former partner not to tell anyone that they met sheriff carey calls john hours later with the news that how was shot in the head and murdered john spends the rest of the episode investigating house murder which leads him to call in guy gardner after a standoff in a prison cell john gets guy to deliver house decommissioned ring and suit and also reveal that sinestro has escaped john delivers how's eulogy and after the funeral digs up the dead corpse of his partner and finally takes the ring he uses how's old trip trick of tapping the ring against the surface to get a five percent recharge which brings house ai back to life that has been your midnight manifest for episode six of lanterns throwing it back to you fan what'd you think of this episode i really enjoyed it thought it was great i thought that there was A noticeable shift in tone, noticeable shift in tone from Rushville 2016 to Rushville 2026. I wonder for some of the audience how that's going to play. The show slows way down. And now the show is about investigating Hal Jordan's death, which I think that there's been enough narrative work done with the character from the beginning of the show. The first one of the first things we see is Hal Jordan dead. Then we get to know Hal Jordan. We fall in love with Hal Jordan. At the same time, we get to understand why people have such a problem with Hal Jordan. The question for everyone that will be watching the show or the question for the people that will be talking about the show is with three episodes left. Have you come close enough to this character to where the show abruptly changing from what it was doing before, who is the Manhunter, the sort of intergalactic mystery to investigating the death of Hal Jordan? Is that going to be enough for people? Does the show sustain its momentum? For me, it definitely did. Because I think that finding out who Jordan's killer is, is going to rewrap back into what happened in Rushville. I really, really dug it. But it did take me five or ten minutes to settle back in to what the show is after coming off of what could have been most shows season finale. Yeah. So that was my take. Which was, it felt like this was the first episode of season two, right? That we came, like, they gave us a whole season and we came back next September and this was the first episode of season two. And we're catching up with John and where his life's at, what's going on in Rushville. And, like, it's a reset in a lot of ways. But I kind of, I agree with everything you're saying. I think it didn't take me a second to get into it because once we saw Hal's body at the end of the first episode, we always knew we were going to have to solve that problem. And so the fact that it's happening kind of early is a little, like, interesting. But I always knew we were going to get here. And so this episode, for me, like, kind of felt in a ways of we're seeing, we're seeing John kind of become Hal a little bit. To your point that you were talking about in early episodes where you're like, how, or John's growth is going to be how he bucks against the system. Right? And I thought in this episode, we'll talk about it more later, but him scheming to get the ring, in order to get the, um, the Hal, the Halograms, people were calling it, I thought was just genius and something that he wouldn't have done before. And that now that's something that's in his mind. After watching this episode, I thought it was so funny that going into Lanterns, one of the hardest things that I think this team had to do was almost rehabilitate Hal Jordan as a character. Because if you go back to the Ryan Reynolds movie, we had all kind of realized, that, like, if they ever want to do Green Lantern again, it's going to have to be Jon Stewart at this point. And watching this episode, I was like, it is amazing in six episodes how much they, like, Kyle Chandler and this team have made me miss this character. And I knew that, like, part of this was going to be this murder mystery. But I think what you're speaking to, both of you, in terms of this feeling, maybe, like, another season of TV is just how big of a hole that character is. And I think part of this is just how big of a hole that character leaves. But, weirdly, I wanted to broach this with you guys. This is almost how I wish they would have done Sam Wilson, Anthony Mackie's Captain America. Because this gives Jon Stewart so much to go. Where it's like, through just this episode, we see, because we miss Hal so much, you get to see how resourceful Jon is. And you get to really invest in him now. Right. And being the center of this story. And I'm like, oh, that's such a good way to pass the mantle. And I think it's because of the fact that it's such a clever conceit. Because, again, it does feel like the start of something new while still being very much tied to the story that we've been having for the past five episodes. But this episode really caches in the equity of both Hal and Jon to forward them ten years. And to not really suspend them in time for ten years and then have us pick up from them. But. Illustrate them in a mental state in a way that they've still been carrying Rushville with them for ten years and what they've become after that. And I think that's kind of what the episode needed to do. But I think what was fascinating about it is seeing how the world now moves past Rushville and how they keep coming back. And the people around Hal and Jon are not letting them leave. In the case of Jon, he refuses to leave it. Like his brothers, who he's reconnected. With are just like, you are stuck there. You're still an asshole to us, even though we've quote unquote reconnected. For Hal, he's like going door to door trying to apologize, trying to do things and make it right in the saddest way possible. And even that brief, like illustrate, like as it's it's done from dialogue secondhand. I immediately buy the fact that that body sitting in that football stadium is a remorseful and sad person that doesn't know who he is anymore. I thought it was brilliant. So I'm gonna come back to what you said. But there's a reason why you almost couldn't do Falcon like that, because Falcon has to be a sidekick first. Yeah. And so I thought it would have been when you mentioned it this way, they could have probably done something closer to this. But the problem for Falcon is there's a line in Captain America Civil War where Falcon goes like basically I go where he goes just a little bit slower. Right. Or he goes people that shoot it. You tend to shoot at me. Right. He has to lean into the fact that Captain America is his better. He has to. So like when you're doing that, those are always tougher mantles to pass, like Robin the Batman and stuff like this. This one, the tension of these guys being each other's equals is what makes the show. The tension is that they're telling me to be your sidekick or your trainee, but I'm not like I'm better prepared. I'm more naturally gifted. I'm better than in every way than you, except he's not. There's still something that he has to learn. And the entire Rushville saga was him coming to terms with that. To what you're saying is the reason why they can't let go of Rushville is because they're not finished. Yeah. They're not finished. Yeah. There's still something there that they haven't gotten to the bottom of. The entire town has had to move on because. They had to rebuild. Right. In some cases, didn't or not rebuild. But for those two guys, even what John is trying to do now, which is provide people with a place of protection and a place where they can go where no one can harm them. He's still doing hero work, but he failed as a hero in Rushville. So the reason why he would get his car and drive right back there is because he knows that there's still something there to do. Really quick. If we go back to the beginning of the episode, they say something that. Like, if you're reading absolute Batman kind of perked up my ears where John calls the panic rooms that he's creating arcs. Yeah. And I was like. Is John Stewart going to create Arkham Asylum? Because, like, in the absolute Batman universe, it's like Ark M, Ark B, Ark whatever, whatever for all of these prisons. And I was like, don't tell me a black man is building a prison. You know what's funny? Is that like. This world, this show is going a very long way to get us into Batman. They've they chronically acknowledged him now. They have officially acknowledged. Ripped off the bat guy. Ripped off the bat guy in Gotham. You see the signal in the sky. Gotham leads to part of our mystery here. So our Batman exists and is already getting busy. Where is he, though? I mean, I'd love to see him. We'd love to be a part of that someday. But, like, already getting busy. Yeah. So it's that's already there and out there and in the world. It was very interesting. I was like, is that something that y'all wrote, like, two or three years ago? Or they saw them absolute Batman trades selling and they're like, we are going to call these arcs now. OK. I mean, they got a show coming, right? Like, they got the absolute Batman show. Yeah, they do. Hopefully they save save that for that. To your point, though, about, like, how leaving a big hole in this episode. It's crazy how much oxygen. Kyle Chandler takes up and doesn't take up. Yeah. And the sense of, obviously, you miss him when he's not there. But when he is there, like, all he does in this episode after dying is come back as a hologram and say, son of a. And I rewound that, like, four or five times. I was like, this is great. Yeah, it's amazing. It was amazing. This is not my take. I saw somebody on social media. Sorry, I don't remember the handle where they're like, I love what they've done with Hal's ring. Yeah. Because Hal has all these little tricks for it. Like, it's a beat up old car. Yeah. That only he knows where it's like, in the last episode, he chips part of it to get the hologram. Or we have a callback. And I love when a show does this, where I think it was in the first episode where it teaches John how to do the, like, boom trick. And the minute he does it again, I was just satisfied. I was like, you know what? You fucking did it, bro. You know what that reminds me of? It's like. I had a whole. boy. like basically a brother who was uh in law school he's this guy's brilliant yeah he's brilliant right goes to morehouse then to stanford i think the year that he went to uh the year he went there to stanford he had the highest lsat score in the country for anybody that was black or something like that it's like literally a brilliant guy brilliant guy and goes there and i'm like what is it like being a first year at scad like he goes to scad and harps meegers and flamborne fuck it is and he goes where they're teaching me how to be a lawyer he's like law school is where you learn the rules of this undergrad is where you get weeded out for it and then when you go there they teach you how to be a lawyer they teach you what it actually is like you learn from people who have instincts who have developed all different types of tactics and ways and things like that those are the things that your parents cannot give you when you are training to be the green lantern since you're a baby yeah your parents can't teach you the small things to do your parents can't give you some of the things that hal does sometimes it seems like naturally when they're sitting at the table they're going back and forth john overpowers how physically but how still bests him mentally yeah how still is able to get a rise out of him how is the experience yeah of being in as many firefights as he's been in as green lantern still matters that part is interesting i wanted to ask you guys about this because we've talked about like we've had many theories over over this uh course of episodes you guys have convinced me noah is definitely a man a manner like for sure come on yeah come on did how get a rise out of john on purpose because just talking to bernadette or bernadette he calls or john or bernadette calls john tells him that they've been talking he goes to how and how i mean how's like not the friendliest guy to john but this was this was nuts he was called he was like he was excuse my language mother let's call him a pussy yeah like you can't do that i i am thoroughly convinced that hal knew he was gonna die that night and he called upon john or he made john's mom call him to get him there and probably go to him on to at least punching him so that he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there and he'd be able to get him out of there invested in what happens to him next i think jordan knew a they didn't find the real manhunter or there's another one i agree with you that night it seems like how had come back to rushville not necessarily to repent but to restart the investigation and the only person that he trusts to restart the investigation in case he dies is john and that's why i think john knows that and i was like oh that's fascinating where it's like because uh spoiler alert carol comes back uh what's her what's her name in the uh in the comics the villain oh uh oh shit she's uh she's got the the purple shit whatever but when carol says something to john essentially where she's like he really liked you and i think this was an episode where i was like oh the reason how was so difficult on john was because he knew that not only one day would he be the green lantern he'd be a better green lantern and it was also fascinating this episode made me think about the conversation they had two episodes ago about how lonely this job is because the entire episode it is john having to realize my father needs me my mother needs me my brother needs me but i also need to be the green lantern star sapphire star sapphires you know i also thought something about the green lantern i don't know if it's a good thing or not but i think it's a good thing or not but i think it's a good thing or not but i think it's a good thing or not but i think it's a good thing or not the table scene was interesting in that his final words to uh zoe were that john if he knows one thing about john he's not a coward he's not a coward yeah meanwhile his final words to john before john went crazy was that he is a coward so he says it's one thing i know about that boy the boy ain't no coward he's not scared then he tells him you are scared so what is he doing what game is he playing does he what what game does he play which thing does he believe does he believe that john stewart is afraid of only becoming the green lantern could that be something in the back of our minds has john's hesitance to take the ring not been from some sense of altruistic morality but from the sense that he knows that this is the last thing that really sets him apart from his family and actually sort of codifies the idea that he is chosen which is a basically a a a jab that his entire family takes up the entire time is there a reason why he's scared to do it is he he has no fear of anything else except for that is the fear actually becoming like hal jordan that isolated that alone um that nihilistic yeah you know what i mean and so because even the version of john that we see in the book is that he's scared of anything else except for that is the fear actually becoming more and more and more human he seems to be more engaged with people until he does something that even surprised me when i saw i thought he was gonna find a way to get the ring off of his finger while he was sitting right there but him legitimately digging somebody up yeah and then getting the ring off their finger like i was like shit he's going to find a way to get the ring off in the extra mile gotta make it look good but i mean but don't you think how deep down new he's like the thing that will get john to do what i need him to do is to poke at him because i i don't think that his last words to him were a mistake i think how knows it's reverse psychology if he tells john i believe in you you were destined for this john's still gonna hem and haw right if he goes to john you're still afraid right that is the thing that like john's gonna be like man fuck you i also think that he that in that scene there's a possibility that he could have been challenging him on the thing that he actually is afraid of i agree with what you're saying but he also could just be saying here i'm holding the mirror up to you i'm allowed to be gone this is the last thing that you're gonna have to overcome can you do it i will say if i'm your mentor i use that word very lightly for how i am disappointed because i'd be like i'm not gonna be able to do it i'm not gonna be able to do it i'm not gonna be like hey yo you took the ring off my finger you put it down you see the fucking redhead out there you see guy gardner that's what happens bro like i would be 10 years in 10 years you have to do a bit off that yeah i'm like come on bro nah if you i mean if you gotta be honest if you john how did the bid for you you gotta at least you gotta cut him a little slack because you were also a little bit how did the bid for himself john didn't do nothing john wasn't there john didn't need it john didn't owe me anything everything that happened in rushville is almost 100 percent fuck i wasn't on this episode bro this nigga was burnt to a crisp bro you couldn't tell me anything you know but no i'm like let's what part of rushville if a percentage you're right is how's fault versus john's fault like 97 i would say yeah like 90 that's what i'm like yeah i'm not saying you gotta come off like the whole thing should i be like yeah i was also there you did do the bit though you get like one dap and that's it i'm not saying you gotta also homegirl from the diner who looks like what's their face from i thought it was the girl from shout out monday but i was like she was talking to john crazy i'd be like hey yo white girl i don't know who you talking to that was not my shit that was the most insane thing ever yeah you got to the world whoa she she has a chip to play oh no she absolutely does yeah she has a chip to play look here's the deal i think it's kind of both their fault how i don't remember seeing anybody chain chain i don't remember seeing anybody chain uh john and drag him there and make him participate he was a part of it but he was trying to get how to do it in a way reckless in a way less reckless way and how was it listening but he was still though what they were doing in rushville was there disturbing a town that kind of had their own symbiosis and their own thing worked out they both were there especially after the beginning like once they realized that they were aliens there how was using rushville in order to prove that he was the green lantern and john was using rushville in order to prove that he was the green lantern they both all of that carnage that happened and they both were there and they were is because of a dick measuring contest that was happening between those guys. At minimum, John is complicit. At minimum, he's complicit. I go 70-30, because if Hal— 30? Yeah, because if Hal wouldn't have flown— That's how you're going to do your fellow black man? That man from England. Hey! Come on, man! Hey, bro! Whoa! Am I misremembering the episode? Hal was literally burning up in the car and then getting new skin while Hal went to the diner himself. Yeah, but at the same time- Fuck all that shit up. after after you get burnt up why don't you just go i'm out i'm done if that happened it would there would have been a way more people who died because he had to he had to lick uh fucking zoe i know but what i'm what i'm saying is by that point though by the way he slept with the man hunter twice by that true and he has told the man hunter that he suspects her of all of this stuff he knew she was the man hunter yeah he's involved like he's involved is he as involved as i mean this entire city this whole thing is the origin of hal jordan this is abin sir this goes back to the ring yeah leaving him and choosing hal jordan so this entire thing is a fundamental part of who hal jordan is which is why he flew there like right away right so to me i get it but both of these guys not being able to come to terms with their parts in this is a part something that made this episode like almost eerie in a way yeah all right so i want to get to the point where i'm going to talk about this episode in terms of this feels like the biggest episode that takes lanterns from almost existing in its own universe to being very very much a part of the bedrock of the dcu with guy gardner okay then how do you feel like guy gardner was weaved into this episode because to me it almost deep i want to re-watch superman now because guy's cockiness but almost like just unseriousness plays a little bit differently now that you know how he got the ring well he's wearing maxwell lord's logo on his chest which they wore all throughout superman the mystery of reward as well so they're and you also see guy posing for an ad like he's a cutout yeah for like gatorade or something like some kind of drink or something something like that so so seeing what he is sort of a more how could i say it a more pop culture green lantern and knowing that being that being the way that he is that in the back of his mind he had to re-establish the green lantern brand it makes more sense about how guy is in the first one about why the spectacle of heroism means so much to him whereas how jordan was a cowboy yeah how jordan seemed to be like a complete solo act he's not someone that would have been in any type of group he's somebody who would have relied on himself guy gardner felt like he had to do different things and he says it because of the brand right um also i wondered tonally how that character from that bright world would fit into this world and they rode around it yes and injected him into the world so seamlessly it feels like they had this idea before they had that idea and that's a credit i think not only to the writing team but also nathan phillian uh incredible actor i mean shout out castle i was locked in you know what i'm talking about um but like as soon as he shows up on screen sup stewart like you're like oh this guy is somebody who fits in this world that we've known for five episodes to your point it's like the world or sorry charles's point the world has been so solo these first five episodes for them to open it up with guy and for it to feel natural feel cool when they're at the um the funeral home and he's like uh what i'm here to pay my respects i'm out bad optics he flies out and like we probably won't see him again but for what like he gave this episode spectacular it feels like he's always been here i love the idea that not only does guy know john for what probably was at least 10 plus years like they don't like each other that much and it's the it feels so lived in because of the fact that when they talk in that prison cell that's the first time they met no that's the first time they met he knows about john everybody knows about what happened about each other but that's the first time they met did i say did i read that wrong he says the first time i met how jordan was oh right right no yeah but but for the fact for the sake that guy had a bit of reverence for hal to want to talk to him while he was in prison and we're only illustrated that for like a small sliver of that and then john having the tenacity to say that like everything that you have is because of me and the fact that i didn't take it and all of these things that make the silliness of guy gardner both like the antithesis of hal and something that hal does not trust he's like oh you don't need to make the constructs that green you don't need to be doing all of this like flashy shit that's the reason why hal didn't call upon guy like you because guy would have called upon guy would have answered i believe when with if if if if guy was to help him in rushville or to talk like lantern to lantern if he knew he was going to die that night yeah why call john and not and not guy because he doesn't know guy like exactly yeah but like for the fact of the authority that guy's not a part of it yeah but like he has a respect for hal's authority as a lancer because he visited him in jail and to impart some wisdom on him like john would have wanted how to do so like i got all of those things from it and like the fact that they feel owed at the end of it which is why he got hal's ring for him in the first place all of those things tie in so well for me i also think that like hal is deploying john to finish the mystery yeah like guy gardner guy gardner would have been starting from scratch this is what happened so like how getting john there john by the time we get to the end of this john is going to be the only one that has all of the information guy gardner could not have been a part a part of that guy gardner is an outsider this rushville thing is like a fraternity and you see that a fraternity of shame and destruction between all of these guys so guy would have never been called because guy has nothing to do with this and guy also probably the hal is somewhat of a perversion of what the green lantern ring really is he probably feels more connected to john because guy exists i mean also what i think this episode did really well is when you think about the mcu if you're looking at the history there were superheroes before iron man but that is a universe where when iron man works so much of how superheroes and how the world interfaces with superheroes is through the prism of tony stark but this episode i was like oh because we know that there were superheroes before superman of course green lantern can be something where it's like oh hal jordan is the top gun version of this and some people know of him and now we have guy gardner who is essentially like to your point a perversion of just like oh i'm going to take the deal i'm going to be a corporate superhero and we've seen peacemaker so i like how this version of the dcu where it's like oh the world doesn't look at all superheroes the same it means guy gardner a more interesting character for sure and all these things coexisting like in the same spheres of influence are so cool to think that like we're like how the fuck is guy gardner going to fit into this and to know that like this doesn't change how we see him in man of tomorrow it deepens him for sure but i don't think that anything is lost in nathan fillion's portrayal of this in this show do you think that makes it so but my question is like for most of the time when we see the justice league right we look at that those core seven superman batman wonder woman green lantern aquaman and then martian man under whoever you want to put in that last line we look at them as those like important right the world knows about them they these are the foundational characters and james gunn's universe is almost doing a subversion of that where it's like oh they don't have that avengers assemble moment all of these are just a ragtag group of heroes that are protecting their own corner of the world and i was like oh that's interesting because it makes the world more interesting and i was like oh that's interesting because it makes the world so much more out confusing isn't the right word but almost nuanced well you want to know what is going to happen to make these heroes feel like they have to team up yeah what is going to be the thing that takes the bat guy out of gotham and makes him get with guy gardner it makes where wonder woman is going we know she's playing wonder woman guys like what is gonna make all of these heroes decide what kind of cataclysm can come to make them decide that they are going to come together and form the justice league it kind of already sort of happened in man of tomorrow not man tomorrow in superman you see a small version of it hawk hawk girl miss terrific uh guy gardner together so you know that they work together in some way some heroes work together but to get our larger people how are they going to get integrated in this world and i have to also say this now there's a standard set in the dcu of how to do it right because this did not feel forced yeah no not at all this is story first this feels more seamless than superman in in what way so to me because they had more real estate this this show feels like a palette that the mcu does not have it almost gives the dcu a blueprint of how to make a different superhero show that's a little bit more serious that's a little bit more grounded that feels like oh this is how you differentiate yourself from marvel where it's like superman did not necessarily so i'll say this guys Guy Gardner, when introduced in Superman, was a Green Lantern. There's always going to be a difference between being a Green Lantern and being the Green Lantern. This show seemingly is creating the Green Lantern. The person that we are going to be attached to, the hero that we're going to be attached to as the Green Lantern. And putting Guy in this world kind of reminds you that even though he's Green Lantern, he's not the Green Lantern that you should have an emotional connection to. Maybe the next season of this show is Guy and John. Maybe it's just Guy. Like, who knows? But when you see him sitting there, he legitimately flies in, delivers a ring, and then flies out. And then you're left with somebody still contending with what it means to be a superhero. And solving this thing using the powers that they've acquired. And the ring now that they have that's going to allow them to do the last thing. Do we want a second season? Because, like, of course people want a second season. But when I look at this, I'm like, damn. Aaron Pierre is a star. Where it's like, maybe it would be a mistake to do a movie. But I keep being like, oh, I want to see Aaron Pierre with the suit, with the ring. With the $200 million. With the $200 million budget. We'll see him in Man of Tomorrow. Like, I think they've, some trade has announced that he's going to be Man of Tomorrow. The real issue is, I don't think it's Aaron Pierre per se, but I think it's Kyle Chandler. Because I don't know, I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know how to watch a ladder show without Kyle Chandler, right? And I think this show is doing, like, obviously it's doing Kyle Chandler wonders. Like, we've praised him every single episode. But you mentioned earlier, when Carol Farris shows up, I'm like, oh. They, that's. That's his love interest, right? That's his big love interest. In the comic books, that's the number one love interest. And she's there for his funeral. Fellas, he might, this might be one and done for Kyle Chandler. It might be. After episode eight. Thanks for coming out, guys. I had a great time. I'm done. You don't think he's dead, for real? I mean, maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I actually kind of slightly zag there. I think that they're giving him a phenomenal send-off. And there's a part of me that's almost yearning for Aaron Pierre. Pierre, and for Jon Stewart, Aaron Pierre's Jon Stewart, to be the central catalyst in this. Even though I completely agree, when it was them back together at the end with him and the construct, I was like, oh, shit, we still doing the show. Still got him. Still got him. Even then, though, it's different. Now it's kind of Jon Stewart who knows everything or is taking the chances. It's all on, they flipped it, and I'm with that. No, I like that for the next three episodes, but then when it comes to season two and Hal's actually dead, if he is actually dead, how do you do it without Kyle Shannon? I'm not saying it's impossible. But here's the thing, if we go back to the comic books, you know what happens after Hal Jordan dies. He becomes the Spectre, which is this very historic character that is essentially like this phantom of vengeance. I could see a version of this show where maybe they don't have the power to do it. Maybe they don't have the power to do it. Maybe they don't make him the Spectre, but he is like what Edie is for Tony Stark, where the hologram is an interesting. Well, the construct is still there. It is still there, and I'm just like, oh, if this isn't a fake-out death, I could see a version of this where it's like Kyle Chandler is a little bit up there. He might not want to be in a season two in every episode, but to pop in to be the hologram. And this, I don't want to theorycraft it too far ahead because we still got some more episodes. But this episode leaves so much on the table for what Jon Stewart could be as Green Lantern because I immediately thought, I'm like, okay, so at the end of this season, he's Green Lantern, but how does it get from, okay, he stole a ring from Oa, the Guardians are not going to like that. Now we have to reconcile, the Guardians have to reconcile with the fact that there could be two Green Lanterns, let alone if Jon Stewart is even welcome in the eyes of the Guardians again. If that's the case, is he going to update his consciousness like Hal, or is he going to not do that? Because he wants to keep Hal around. I think he'll keep Hal around. The Argarnees thing is really funny, though, because they got bigger fish to fry. Sinestra out there running wild. Sinestra going crazy. Right, yeah. You got to focus on that. So, let's come to Noah real quick. Okay. So, Noah, we don't trust you. Right. House of Ars stepping on the corners. It's weird. Of our Noah theory. Yeah, yeah. The corner's big enough for everyone to have a Noah theory, but, you know, they're doing their thing. Why? What? Noah is now Mr. Perfect. He is the perfect high school quarterback. He's going to have the hat ceremony. Wait, wait. I literally didn't think I would call that. I'm not really into football like this, so I'm not. When I was looking at the physique, I was just like, is this like the number one? Like, is that what a quarterback? I mean, look. I mean, they could be strong in high school. We'll see now. No, right? Because even if we're like, even if we're giving him some grace, he probably, let's say he's like, 6'2". He's a little skinny. He looks like a prototypical pocket passer guy. Like, think of like Tom Brady. Like, in 1999, right? You can work with that. Now, where's the legs? You know what I'm saying? You got to be mobile. You got to be athletic. You can't just be a one-trick pony. I don't know what kind of office he's in. He might have a tent. Right. Also, we know that it really doesn't matter what he looks like. He's a fucking manhunter. Right. And so he's running around people. He's trucking people. He's fucking. He can do it all. Derek Allen. Derek every number. Because I wasn't here last episode. Can I put on, like, my fucking, my theory cap real quick? Go for it. So, when Anton, I think his name is, was talking to Macon, right? Said something that perked my ears up. Those two talking about a kid. Couldn't have a kid. Right. So, I was like, hmm. Okay, okay. So, it was like, is it that Noah is a manhunter or should, should we really be asking who the fuck is Noah's fucking father? Like, who is the other parent? Is, is one of the reasons that they were trying to, like, hide or the subterfuge or whatever is because Zoe ended up procreating with someone in Rushville? Yeah. And then hiding fucking Noah. You were hiding a child. Yeah, yeah. So, we did talk about that a little bit in the show. Okay. The, the, the fact, that maybe perhaps when Carrie says, Zoe gave me a miracle that she is actually talking about Noah. That she's actually talking about the fact that in some way maybe she couldn't conceive, they couldn't have kids because Anton says to Macon when he thinks that Macon is the manhunter, we couldn't conceive. So, maybe there was something that couldn't happen between them that could happen between the manhunter and Carrie and then that is Noah, which would make Noah a biracial manhunter, part manhunter. Wow. Or maybe. Why you gotta bring biracial back into it, man? I mean, it's two races. Bi-species. Bi-species. Bi-special. Bi-species, human is a race, whatever. Why doesn't he, why doesn't he look half South Asian though? He could, but here's the thing though. This is what I was about to bring up. What I was about to bring up is this. The entire monologue about coming into a society as being someone that's disadvantaged. When you think about that monologue and then you think about also what Anton says to Macon, which is, it's not like you to take the form of an elite. Well, Noah would be an elite, right? He is a white male, okay? However, he would almost represent the evolution of that idea. Someone who is raised by somebody that can give you insight into what it would mean, had a lot, relationship with his grandmother, give you insight into what it would mean to be a part of a society when you don't, when you look different. Somebody who, when you listen to him talk, think about the things that his mom said that he had already done. He wrote a bunch of different letters until they got the school rebuilt. He wants to be a senator. He wants to lead. He wants to do these things. Like, he is a kid, that seems insanely well adjusted. Like, Jon Stewart beat his father up and he responds to that, like, with this emotional maturity. Yeah. It seems as if this version of the Manhunter would be the version of the Manhunter that would be free of all of the trauma and stuff that Zoe had. A Manhunter in the White House? Well. A Manhunter in the State House. A Manhunter on the field for the Huskers. Some would argue. We've already got. Nah, you wouldn't try to be that. I'm not that motherfucking human. No alien would come down there and try to be that. You couldn't try to be that. That's homegrown earth, baby. We have been very positive. The only thing over these past two episodes I have been like, is the race stuff getting a little on the nose. We talked about it. Like, there's a. In this one, in this one, in this one, in this one, there was two things that I enjoyed. Number one, John almost got so frustrated. I almost said it. I was like, yo, that's real. funny bro this album that i'm funding john was so funny this whole episode like there was bits but that the phone call in the car your brother's rap album was where i was like all right all right bro you on the phone with your brother you're asking this this they're only real i'm gonna be real with you i'm not even trying to get at nobody there's only gonna be a certain group that's gonna understand the pain of what i'm talking about you on the phone with your brother yeah you're funding his fucking album you're asking him to pick up to go get dad and he's talking to you nick yeah it's the same bro bro y'all don't even fucking know bro when he said go pick up your dad like he's not all right when do i gotta pick him up he's like now like what you want to do what you want to do is who are you to talk you know but you can't you can't be a part of this steve i will just say that's family there is no anger like when i've given a nigga money and he's talking to me crazy on the phone i'm like hey bro but you gotta maintain the respect yeah because if you don't maintain the respect you come across like kevin hart on the plane right why you you like you you gotta maintain the respect right you gotta maintain the respect you have to maintain the respect but you like and then what did he do he used some whole time the pain that still exists between him and his family is evident oh yeah and it's tough too because you got to remember he's the youngest right these brothers are older than him so there is a level of like you guys are like completely right in the assessment of john in relation to his brothers but also if your if your younger brother was talking to you like that was like hey he was like yeah man you got to go do this you'd be like yo hey man come on now but if i'm gonna be real i have some problems i'm saying this is why john ain't ready for the fucking ring because i'm like nigga you must be at least 35 at this point that's your older brother he's 40 i'm not funding a 40 year old's fucking you not west side gun like come on bro you got it he might be you never know it could be good shout out to gazelda you like you you never you never know it might happen later yeah we saw a lot of rappers in the 2010s denny brown yeah you think shit going a little bit you wouldn't have believed him get that shit going a little bit you really think i'm not doing it but somebody might you've never given anybody money for day i definitely have definitely if he's if he's asking for this kind of money when he's just a successful architect when he's green lantern what do you think he's gonna do i mean look it he's a really successful architect because he's breaking off government 40 million like for people you know i'm saying going crazy so he's very successful in 10 years he's i do need to talk to the wardrobe department because John looking fucking crazy in this episode. Where? Really? He had a cool coat. Galicka didn't think that. He had the bougie black fucking turtleneck fucking coat situation. I was like, nigga, come on, bro. What would John wear? John's not out there shopping. By the way, that's a one-for-one fit in the animated series. What would he wear? Something like an Averyx jacket? Yeah! Hey! Hey! Hey! That's not a diss. Shout out. That's not a diss. No, it is. Keep it real. Keep it real. It's not a diss. I'm just saying it's an Averyx jacket. It's an Averyx jacket. Shout out to Averyx jackets, by the way. Shout out to them. Niggas wear them. They wear them. You're a hater. You are a fucking hater. I'm not hating you. Do you want me to tell you what you said, bro? I'm the one that said that Aaron Pierre is going to be the biggest star in the world. What else did you say? At Comic-Con. At the panel. Oh, don't. I can't remember what I said. We don't cut this. We could cut it. How are we cutting it? He turns around. He's got the in Brightest Day and Darkest Night on a jacket. You're sitting right next to me. He turns around and does that. Man, look at this nigga. I was like, come on, bro. Shout out to Averyx jackets. What we will say, if we're going to be honest, let's just have it out. Because they already have Aaron Pierre on the Summer Jam screen because his accent do be slipping out. It's the funniest thing that they do on the internet, right? It is so funny. Some of our UK brothers, though, sometimes, I'm like, you're trying a little bit. You're trying to be like. I felt like. I've heard this criticism before. I feel like he is pretty seamlessly slipping into this role. Yeah. But there are clearly times where the accent comes out. Yeah. And it's not like mine. The nigga, the attempted nigga, I felt like that was very natural. That's natural. You thought that was natural? That was absolutely natural. I felt like that was very natural. And then he stopped. There are other things that he says, like sometimes when he says motherfucking, he says motherfucking. He hits the N and the G. It's motherfucking. So sometimes I hear that, right? But at the same time. The car ride, that was good. I thought that was good. But to me, he's. As far as approximating a black man from America, I feel like he's 96%. Who is the top UK Negro who you were surprised to find out they had a British accent? For me, it was Idris Elba. It's gotta be Idris. It was Idris Elba because I. Early on in my career, I don't know if I've ever told this story before. Early on in my career, I did a movie called The Reaping. And this movie was shot in Baton Rouge, right? So I had done at this point a show called College Hill that was on BET. Shout out to Nicky Webber. I remember College Hill. Damn. So the first season of College Hill was the first TV job I ever worked. And that happened while I was still on the yard at Southern. So my man Tommy Talley actually said, hey man, there's a reality show coming to Southern. Blog, you know. And so I got on there. I was like a production assistant slash like Pilko camera operator slash whatever on College Hill. Everybody was. My man Mel was on there. It was a great experience. Like my first job. So then after that, the productions that would come into town, I would work on them. So whatever it was, like a couple of days here, a couple of days there. Missy Elliott had like a show. It was an I Am Missy Elliott show or something like that. Like she was going around trying to find somebody. I worked on that. A bunch of different stuff. But The Reaping comes into town. And it's a Hilary Swank movie that's produced by Joel Silver. And it was a big production for Baton Rouge at that time. Baton Rouge ended up having productions that were way bigger than that. Baton Rouge, the Fantastic Four was shot there. All kinds of shit. I was talking to Michael B. Jordan one time and he just looked at me and he goes, Blue Bonnet Boulevard, because it's like the only street he could remember. And Baton Rouge, he was down there for like four months, right? Great guy. But like I'm at this point watching The Wire. This is 2005. Like legitimately, the show starts the same year Hurricane Katrina, 2005, the year that changed everything in my career. So I'm watching The Wire. Have been watching The Wire. And they're trying to cast this character. I think the character's name was Ben or something like that. And a couple people came in for, Carl Urban came. Came and they showed Carl Urban around and people were like, are they going to hire Carl Urban for this? I remember the girls on the set were going crazy when Carl Urban came on. And one of the ladies, because I was, they had taken the Walmart on Perkins Road and made that into a soundstage. And I was the stage manager of this. So it was my job to like coordinate everything that was going on and make sure everybody had what they need and all that stuff, whatever. But that was the soundstage. And they were, it was like a week before shooting was supposed to start and they had not cast this role. It was either Ben or Carl. I cannot remember the name. They had not cast this role yet. And one of the girls on the set was like, they cast, and I was like, who? And she was like, fucking Stringer Bell. And I was like, what? And she was like, yeah, they, Stringer Bell. And then one other transport guy goes, yeah. I think they, it's like a 6'5 African that they're bringing in. It's Louisiana. So I was like, I was like, what? Okay, cool. Like, whatever. And so he comes in and he walks in, big guy. Once again, the girls are going crazy. He knows his effect on a woman. Like, he walks in, big guy comes up and he's, and I'm like, yo, man, what's up, what's up? And then he spoke. Hello? And I was like, fuck. Dog. And I think he read it. He's not going to remember this happening, by the way. Like, it's like, he spoke and I think, I was like, shit, that was the first time. Because I had no clue. I hadn't watched The Wire, like, recaps or documentaries on The Wire. I had never seen him in anything else. That was the first time I had actually ever talked to him or talked to anyone that was playing somebody American on the screen and had an accent. And I was legitimately, like, blown away. I was like, fuck. Then, I kind of got obsessed with it for a second. Like, the guy that was in Primary Colors, I don't know if you guys ever saw that movie before, but he was playing the young black guy in Primary Colors. Like, the movie where John Travolta's supposed to be President Clinton, I love that movie. Oh, that one. That dude is British, too. The same dude that was in Day After Tomorrow. Like, That dude is British, too. So I was like. The black dude in Day After Tomorrow is British? So, no, the black. Not that guy. So in Primary Colors, there's a guy who plays whomever, whatever. That dude's British as well. So I was like, how much. I was like, how much of this is going on? How much of this is going on? I will say my generation's version of that is. I don't know how much of Snowfall I got through. Damson. And then I was like, oh, Damson's not. Well, I met him before. That's the thing that happened. But I wasn't. I didn't know. No, by the time it got to that point, I was kind of used to it. Because it was going crazy. That's crazy. Now it's everybody now. Ain't no niggas from Tallahassee getting no roles. Shit. From boys. All right, and we have to move off this. Who is the only black American actors left? It is Michael B. Jordan. Mike. Denzel. I mean, if we're talking about this age group. No, like this age group. If we're talking about this age group. Like 30 under, 40 under. This is the deal. Here's the thing. There is an embarrassment of qualified, amazing black actors under, like, 45. Well, not that they're qualified. They're just not getting the chance. Well, what I'm saying. I mean, they are getting chances. Like, they're out there. Like, when you just think about it, if you really name them, Lamar Morris, J. Ellis, Aldis Hodge, Michael B. Jordan, Lakeith Stanfield. You're talking about all these people are, like, almost 40. Well, I mean, some of them are younger than that. John David Washington. But, like, if you're talking about. I mean, Aaron Pierre is, what, 33? Yeah. 34? I mean, there are guys around that age, too. But, like, just of the people that we're talking about, there are a bunch of them. Yahya Abdul-Mateen. Like, there's so much talent. So much talent. So, the uncomfortable part of this conversation when it comes to the black British thing is. Sometimes it seems. It seems like Hollywood has a preference for a certain type of actor. That it's not necessarily that there's, like, not anybody there to be in those roles. That they don't want those guys. Like. I think the British thing, unfortunately, brings with it a perceived air of respectability. Perhaps. Perhaps there's something else that I can't. Like, I brought. Like, we talked to one of the Hughes brothers on Higher Learning. And we asked him who was going to play Snoop Dogg. He said, I don't know, probably some British guy. And then he was very open about what he felt like was the foundation of stage acting. And all of that's. The reverence for the arts in the UK are, like. Look, that. What I would say is I know so many brilliant, amazing, talented black American performers. And they give a fuck. And they are going crazy. I will say this, though. I do feel like we're getting to a point to where I don't have a problem having to do this. Having this conversation. But my antenna does go up, even as we're having fun, about the fact that in the world we live today, it could be, just in my estimation, unnecessarily divisive. And I joke. I know. I know. I joke and I play. But I feel like, at this point, while I don't want to get to a point to where I make it seem like this isn't important. Because in order to have a functional diaspora. You have to have people from that diaspora, like, that can express their culture and feel like their culture matters. Feel like their part of it matters, right? And as a black American, I'll just be honest with you. It seems like sometimes everybody want to come to the party, but nobody want to come to the march. It feels like everybody want to kind of dress like us, be us, and then all of that stuff. And then slide in for us. But we can't go do the stuff that they do. Like, it's like. Like, their cultural traditions and all of that stuff, we can't do that. But they can do everything that's ours, because our stuff seems to be disposable and not respected. But even those conversations, I'm going for not going to have them on podcasts as much. Because that's a conversation over drinks with people who I trust, that I love, and people who I call, like, my brothers. No matter what kind of accents they got. And it's not conversations so people can take them, clip them up, and then pit us against each other. Because. We not up enough. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, we not up enough to really do that. I mean, I'm bringing it up because. No, no, no, it's fine. It is now a meme. Where it's like, you see Air Pierre slipping. Now I. It wasn't until the meme where I was like, "Now I see this is starting up." So I was like, "Damn." Yeah, yeah. And you know, it is what it is. And that would be what people would be talking about. Like, if I was playing a Jamaican guy. Or if I was playing a Nigerian guy. Which has happened. Which, by the way, which has happened. Denzel Washington played. I mean, Steve Biko isn't Nigerian. But which has happened. Ice Cube did this movie called "On Deadly Ground" where he played a guy. An African guy who had to go back to Africa. He's from South Central now. He was in South Central. But he had to go back to Africa to, like, help his brother out or something like that. This has happened before. Of course. A bunch of times. Morgan Freeman played Nelson Mandela. All of this stuff. And you're not going to. You can slip into that and you can, like, present and perform. But if it's not you, it's not you. Somebody from there that had all of the tools is probably going to do that better. But I mean, it's nothing. I'm fucking with Aaron Pierre. I think he's doing a fucking phenomenal. Except for the Avery X jacket. I'm fucking with that, too. I just thought it was funny. I just thought that was funny. 'Cause, by the way, this is a regional thing. 'Cause I know a lot of niggas in New York with the Avery X jacket. Like, right now. You never gonna see no Avery X touch my body. In 2026? I see Avery X jackets, nigga. And shout out to them. Them bitches is expensive. I'm not trying to hate on the Avery X jacket. So you're telling me if you see Aaron Pierre rocking, like, a Coogee sweater, you just cool with it? Yeah. No! No! You so corporate, bro. You so corporate. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. What the fuck do I got to be cool with? Bro, I'm looking at the Avery X shit. You know, I'm just being for real. How much did that white one cost? That's $1500. That's $1500 for the Avery X, bro. And you hate 'cause he had it on, bro. Bro, this bitch right here is an Avery X starter and NFL jacket. This bitch got three logos on it. Avery X over the starter. And the NFL on the side. Alright, let's get back to the show. Actually, let's take a break real quick and reset. We'll come back to the show. 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Hit the street, grab a can, and get after it. Alright, cool. We gotta talk about the reason why HAL came back. HAL came back to get his girl. I know why you wanna talk about this. You missed their circle to block. That's the Jomie move. You already know, man. You gotta ah, sometimes you gotta go spin it, you know, see what's going on. Hey, how you been? It's been a minute. Check in, you know. And HAL, after doing 10 years in the bid, first place he went, was back where she was at. Knocking on doors. Mm-hmm. Just trying to, you know, you might say he's investigating. I think, you know, what she say? It was annoying, but it was endearing. Yeah. He was leaving the voice memos on the phone, like, "Hey, you know, something came up." Buttercup. It's Craig Buttercup. HAL was talking sweet. HAL was simping big time, bro. Woo! Big simping. That's a demon. And he, and he bided his time. He waited. Mm-hmm. He waited. They was, "Oh, you have a marital problem? Cool. I can wait 13 years!" - Cheers. - Mm. It's about opportunity. But also, if we're going to be real, hey, sometimes you a single mother, you need a shoulder to cry on. It don't matter if I'm a felon. Like, come on. Right. Don't worry about all that. Sometimes the felon is better. Can I have been locked up for 10? They live in a Tyler Perry movie over there. Go on, lock up for 10. Come on. But, like, I do feel like it's interesting that he had this attraction to her, and then after he comes back to Rushville, they realize it. The show has got me to a point to where I'm wondering about everything. So, she breaks up with Billy. Her and Billy split up. Billy pops back in. Now he's a tough guy. Man, that's, hey, I'm not going to lie. I don't know. All five foot two of them? We had a lot of, man. The show's been a lot of fun, man. That entire scene was one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen. Because, you ever, it happens in movies all the time. Like, obviously these guys are, like, overmatched, and the hero's like, hey, guys, this isn't what you want, man. You can still walk away. Right? And the physical, like, difference between, specifically Billy and Aaron Pierre. He's like, hey, man, come on, man. We don't. Nah, that's that white man pride. You would never, if I saw Aaron Pierre on the street, I'm like, nigga, you got it. But, Billy, how you doing, man? The show is going so far, though, to position Carrie as the one character that we trust more than anyone. Right. She's the one character that we almost never question her motives. No. What? The minute she cut off her own pinky, I was like, this woman can, like, she can do anything. But even right now, they're sitting down right now, as we speak right now. Even in this episode, she goes back and she says to him, she says to John, she goes, you don't have even a small suspicion that I killed Hal. And he goes, no, I don't. Either he really doesn't have that suspicion, and the show is narratively trying to clear her. Or we're going to find out in the next two episodes that he does have that suspicion. And you should have that suspicion, because everyone else in Rushville hates the sight of John and Hal. She loves it. She loves Hal Jordan. They fall in love. All of this stuff. She seems so pulled in so many directions. I still don't have quite a handle on her character. It's a phenomenal character, but there's still a lot of intrigue for me there. I think the show's kind of lulled me in a false sense of security with her, because I feel like the show is, the show almost treats her as sacred because I want her to be sacred. I don't want her to have been a person that would deceive either John or Hal in that way. But I think it's a testament to the writing, because everything is on the table now. Hello, Ringiverse fans. I regret to inform you that due to the initiation of Deep Shadow Protocol, this bit had to be edited out of the pod. I know. I'm just as disappointed as you are. Thanks as always for listening, and the Midnight Boys, pew pew, will get back to you shortly. Don't say that. No, no, keep that in. That's crazy. This is what we miss when Chuck's not around. See, you're going crazy. Bro, we gotta. You know, we went to Race Corner, and Race Corner here was all on Aaron Pierre and the Diaspora Wars. But we didn't talk about the fact that. We didn't talk about the fact that. The young white lady who is the clerk at the fucking, or the waitress at the cafe, they sit down, and he tells her that the reason why he didn't tell is because he's the black man, the only black man in Rushville, in rural Nebraska, and she goes, we're not racist, now give me reparations. This show is so crazy. Writers of Lanterns. We see y'all fucking with us. That's good shit. It's the kind of shit I like. She goes, we're not racist, but I want reparations. He was like. Exact numbers, by the way. He was like, huh. Well, interesting. And something bad happened to her. She went to that black man. She said, give me a wire and your motherfucking watch. But I will say, it's so funny, because, dog, you have to think, from a little girl, she saw John walk in, and she's like, this nigga gonna give me mine. I don't care. I don't care if it takes a decade. I'm not getting my back. She saw him, and she was like, oh, I've been waiting for a long time, bro. I've been in this burned down house for 10 years. I didn't peep it at first. At first, I thought she was trying to be a little bit, yeah, but then afterwards, I'm like, oh, she got a bigger plan. As soon as she, like, pulled up to the crib, I was like, is that the girl from the, where he handed the watch to? Yeah, yeah, it had to be. And I was like, it had to be her, because the show doesn't do anything on accident. There's no wasted scene. There's no wasted dialogue. Everything means something. As far as we go. So as soon as she showed up at the door, I was like, ah, she gone. I know she was doing it for dramatic effect, but this is how I could tell she was from rural Nebraska. I'm like, girl, round it up. Ask for half a mil. Like, 300 ain't really going. Let me see the exact value of the house. Here's the deal, though. When you're asking for reparations, you don't want to ask for one penny more than what you're owed. She got it. She read from here to equality by Sandy Darity. You don't want to ask. You think she actually read that? Nah, she didn't read that. Because that would have been the book that they would have shown in the bookshelf. So before we get to the funeral, which was oddly moving for me. Very moving. Like, very moving for me. Before we get to the funeral, I want to ask one question about something that Guy Gardner said to John. He said, what kind of sick fuck? And he goes, you're the kind of sick fuck that's good at hiding that he's a sick fuck, which I thought was such a phenomenal, phenomenal. Description of who John is. Yeah. And it's also like the conversation I had earlier about putting Guy Gardner in this world. That's something that Guy would say. Absolutely. Right. It just, it all comes natural. It all feels like very, like, again, like the world feels really lived in. To your point, though. Yeah. Because we find out at the end that, yeah, he was playing the whole thing. Sick. Sick fuck. Dig somebody up for their ring. I mean, I'm still baffled. I was like, damn. I just thought, you know. Our guy was a little bit of a perv, but I'm like, damn. He was really in love with the robot box. Like, he was really like, it doesn't seem like he's, he probably hasn't had any in the last 10 years. He really was just like. He's hung up on it? Jon Stewart? Yeah. You don't think Jon Stewart has had sex with anyone since Zoe? In 10 years? In 10 years? The way he's walking around all mad and angry, all wound up? No, man. I mean. That, that bastard. I don't think that Jon Stewart has had sex with anyone since Zoe. It's been 10 years. I think I got a whole. I got to believe that. He has. He has to have. Somebody. Come on, man. Come on. I don't think so, bro. You know what? You know what? Have some respect, man. The way he was walking around in this episode, that looks like somebody who got a roster. Can I ask you a question? You're good at spotting people who haven't fucked in a while. Give me some other people. Give me some other people out there. What are you talking about? Like, what are you doing? He's like, there's lots of names out there, bro. There's lots of names out there. Charles is droughtless. We can do it. We can do a whole graphic. Thank you. Why are we coming at my thing? We did the Manhunter rankings. Where's the drought rankings? Where's the dry spell rankings? Whoa. Here's the thing. The way Hal was walking around, that's a nigga who's like, that's some 90s R&B. He's been on his fucking knees begging for the pussy. In the rain. Like, fucking, yeah. So they decide that they're going to have this funeral, and we get the Carol Ferris cameo, but then we also get two things from the funeral. Number one, we get the eulogy. Which I thought was actually both hilarious and really touching. Yes. He thought he was going to be the man, man. He thought he was going to be the man. And it's so well written because you can absolutely tell that this was written when Hal was so, like, bright-eyed about being a hero. He was so optimistic about what this ring and this power was going to give him. And it, as John is reading it, it's exactly how he wanted it to be. It's exactly how he wanted it to feel when he got it. Right. And everything happened exactly the opposite way. Yeah. Like, somebody who didn't have any purpose thought that at the end of his life, he was searching for purpose to such a degree that he wrote his purpose. He wrote his fate. He wrote his destiny. And he put presidents there. By the way, very woke. Mr. or Mrs. President. Yeah. There could be a female Green Lantern. But also, though, because he was like, could be a female Green Lantern, but probability probably not. He was just like, yeah. It was more of a reflection. It could be, you know, just playing the odds here, right? But by the time you get to the end of the letter, it seemed as if he says, I hope I mattered. Oh, tough. Like, I hope I mattered. And then when you look around, there are three people at the funeral. Yeah. Even the other Green Lantern, the sitting Green Lantern flew away, didn't even stay for the ceremony. But it's not only that. It's the ending line that's really tough. And it kind of wraps, like, how, at least I feel, and I think the show was portraying Hal Jordan as a character, as someone who, like, has all this bravado, has all this, like, I'm the biggest guy, whatever. I'm the best Green Lantern, whatever. But, like, at the end of the day, he knows the truth, right? And he's like, I can't remember the exact line, but I wanted to, I didn't want to be on the ground so much. Like, I'd rather. Oh, yeah. It was easier to fly away than to stay on the ground. And I'm like, oh, so he does, he does get it. Absolutely, 100% does get it. He's just like somebody. with so much, whether it's shame, whether it's pride, whatever, is just out there being the biggest, baddest, pretending to be the biggest, baddest guy and pretending not to totally understand what's happening, except he absolutely does understand what's going on, but he just, for whatever reason, can't commit to being, like, truthful or honest about it. Well, I think the, like, really interesting thing that this show has done from the beginning is it's situating what the Green Lantern ring and that power actually means, because for John's family, they're seeing Hal at his peak, and his family, specifically Bernadette and the father, want the ring so much for their child in that black way of just, like, oh, this can finally give so much of our suffering and so much of what we've been through purpose. And then you see the reality of what happens to Hal and being like, oh, the Green Lantern ring in and of itself does not actually mean anything in the world. It's not really going to give you riches. Nobody on Earth really gives a fuck about it. And then you see that, like, when they do, the version of that is Guy Gardner, and I'm like, oh, that's such a fascinating way into this superhero, because it's John having to realize in real time, okay, if I take this ring, what does it mean to me? He has to do it for his own reasons. And I'm like, that is smart. That is it. Because even with what's happening right now, his family's in shambles. Think about this. His father, by the way, this is very, very, very familiar to me. You leave, you go somewhere, you are way away from everybody. You have to try to be a part of their pain now. Like, Los Angeles is not Baton Rouge, right? So when people, when I call people back there, sometimes a way for them to connect with me is to tell me who died, right? It's like to tell me who's sick, to tell me everything that's going wrong. Like, out here, that sometimes doesn't feel like it's my life. It is, right? But it sometimes feels like when you call back to someone, all they have is bad news. All they have is the last thing. But they, a part of them connecting with you is them telling you, hey, this is what's happening to us. And you are one of us. Like, we know you. Like, you're, this is, we're your family. So just to let you know, while you're up there doing whatever you're doing, everyone's getting older. Like, things are going bad for some people. There's some people who can't fucking handle it. And every call that John gets, it feels like that. It feels like his brother's pulling at him, calling him a name he doesn't like. His father is in crisis. And he calls somebody else to go. It seems like, it seems like he's becoming Hal Jordan. He digs the ring up out of the earth to get it back to continue to do this thing. Digs up a dead man's bobble. Meanwhile, he's estranged from his family. So the question is, can you do it any other way than what Hal did it? Or do you have to become the corporate version of it, which is what Guy is? And I also think what's so true is that emotion of his family had to sacrifice so much for John to get where he is. And then the resentment, a little understanding that builds over 10 years of his brothers being like, what was it all for? Our parents poured so much into you. And then you didn't take it. I was like, oh, that's so tough. Where it's like for John to become a better version of himself. He almost has to step over the sacrifices that his family made. For him, even though those sacrifices literally may have not been what was best for him. I was like, oh, that is fascinating that like, of course, his brothers would be like, it was all about you our entire life. And it still wasn't enough. You still have to go back to Rushville. You're still, he's not fucking his family over. But there is a level where I'm like, damn, your dad shooting. He's not one of them. And they made him that way. Yeah. I mean, no, it's true. Like they isolated him away from that. So when he makes his own decision, they resent him for it the entire time. And like, and him taking the ring, like would have been an entire loss of his agency. And he would have been as aimless, if not more so than Hal. He should have taken the ring though. I wasn't, I wasn't here to just give my one, two. Nigga, take the ring. Hey, you can have a season off. Just take it. I mean, yeah, but if you take it, then you got to go to Oval for, it's a whole thing. You know this, brother. Yeah. Also, like. You would have left the ring. I don't know, man. I know you're Nigerian. That's not leaving the ring. You're like, I'm taking it. First of all, my, my, my, well. What the fuck that got to do with it? Well, hold on. Because, I mean, he does a point. Like my parents came, like left their home, came all the way here to give me a better life. And so if they did all that, and then for the sole purpose of getting the Green Lantern ring, and then I was, it was my time. And I was like, I'm good. The call, the call, I'm finna get it. Oh my God. I didn't want to think about it. Yo, so you were, at this, your parents, what they say. I mean, like, if, if my, it was my whole life, right? Like, if I had to wait till I was, like, again. John was a little pussy. I'll be real with you. That's why I like the fact that he, that he left the ring. What's the purpose of being the Green Lantern? If anyone, anyone. Can tell you what to do? Can just, like, push you around like that. Like, what's the purpose of being the Green Lantern? I mean, I think that's fair, but I was. Once I get the ring on my finger, hey, yo, fuck you. I'm going to a galaxy far, far away. Fuck all y'all. You can do that. But I think, I mean. Yeah, you can't really do that. But I mean, I think the main thing is, he saw what, what John would, would Hal turn into. He saw what the Guardians was making him do. He was like, I don't want to do this, bro. Look at this. This is, this is what y'all do. This is the chaos y'all rock, bro. So it's like. So he wants to become an architect? Think about it. Imagine if you, if you like, imagine you, imagine you hooping your whole life. Imagine you hooping your whole life. You get drafted by the Sacramento Kings. I would quit basketball too. You kidding me? Oh man, no you wouldn't, bro. Like. You kidding me, man? I'm just getting on the king right now. Nah, bro, you gotta look around. How about this? Be a cop or be an architect? I'm being serious though. Like, you look around, you're like, hey, this organization got trash. This motherfucker has to literally suck dick for the U.S. government. Give me the ring. Okay, well, okay. You can't say literally suck dick and he not actually sucking dick. That's not how that works. All right, guys. Where's that meeting? Come on. He, over the, in solving Hal's death, this entire arc is about him finding out what version of a hero he wants to be. Yeah. And it seems as if there's going to have to be some sort of reconciliation with his parents at some point. Maybe not. Maybe their voice is on the phone for the rest of the fucking time. He's calling her Bernadette. Calling her Bernadette. Yeah, that's a. Like, that right there shows you. Black mama calling her by her first name. And she's not crazy. She should kill him for that. I mean, she, but they, they probably feel like they did him dirty, right? They did him wrong. Yeah. So now we'll kind of see how John, John as the lead detective. Wasted his, his peak years though. Well, maybe. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe. Come to the rap game late. Yeah. It happens. It's cool. So three episodes. Wait. Three episodes left or two? Two more now. Two more now. It's six, seven, and eight. Oh, it's eight. Yeah. Yeah. Two more left. It's six. Yeah. So. Two more. So two more episodes. Two more episodes. What's still left? We still need to figure out. We still feel, feel like a Manhunter's out there. Right. Sinestro's out there. We got. We got to figure out who killed how. Those are the three mysteries. Is there a Manhunter out there? Is, what is up with Sinestro? And who killed how? Mm-hmm. Who killed how? And what school is, is he choosing? And what school is he choosing? Right. Oh, and we forgot. We still need to figure out what the Guardians were actually up to. Okay. It's true. Here's the deal. Jomie, all-state quarterback from Nebraska. Yeah. Does he look like a five-star? I think he looks like a high four to me. They said put in a good word for the Huskers, so that's on the table. Right. It's got to be on the table. Yeah, it's Nebraska. So let's say they have five hats on the table. What are going to be the five hats? Let's, let's, if you can guess the five hats. For next week? For next week. There's probably a copyright thing on there, too. I bet there's a Gotham school there, too. Yeah, there's a Gotham school. There's a Metropolis school. Yeah. There's going to be like Central City University or something like that. So. You don't think it's going to be real schools? Let's say it is real schools. Huskers for sure. Huskers for sure. Let's just see. Huskers for sure. You got to have. Remember, he wants to be a politician, so think about a politician school. It's not good, but he's not going to. Like Ivy or anything? He's not playing Ivy football, bro. No, not Ivy, but he might. Texas? No, what would a politician go? If you didn't go to Ivy, you would go. If you don't go to Ivy, you probably go to Texas or you probably go to. The Citadel or something like that? Have some. Man, he. USC, maybe? I mean, CR said SC. He can't. If he's going to be a politician, he can't go to Miami. Too much dirt over there. Okay, so what. Five schools there. Try to call the schools. Nebraska. Nebraska's going to be on there. Texas. Texas. Florida State. Florida State. I got to say it. I know you got to. I got to rep. Shout out Lauren, but it's not happening. Oregon? Oregon? Okay. I'm with Oregon. Oregon. It's quarterback. Texas is no longer a Big 12 school. It's got to be. I guess Nebraska's a Big 12. Is Nebraska a Big 12? Nebraska is in the Big 10. Big 10? Oh, my God. I mean, back in the day, you would have had a Big 12 school. Nah, he can't go to Kansas, man. Have some pride. Hey, bro. Give me the fucking schools, dog. What you got going on, bro? Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, Clemson. Yeah, okay, Clemson. Dabo get him right with the Jesus. Okay. I can't believe it. Bama. Okay, okay. I'm going to say, I'm going to swap Bama for Notre Dame. Oh, Notre Dame. Oh, hell no. He picked up that. He picked up Notre Dame. My only question is, if he's trying to be a center, he's trying to be, you know, the president. What's his party affiliation? He from Nebraska. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to play the party line. I would say he's probably like a Bob Dole Republican. Bob Dole. A Mitt Romney. A Mitt Romney Republican. Mitt Romney, wow. They still make those? Other than that, if he was MAGA, I think some of the things on the show would be a little bit different. He is treating John nicely. He's probably a Mitt Romney. But we don't know what John. John was in the military. He was in the military. Yeah. So we don't know. If we meet John Stewart. Nah, don't do it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, man. Come on, man. He's building prisons. Don't do it. He's not building prisons. He's building panic rooms. All right. Don't do it. They're going to repurpose him. Come on, man. Come on, man. Nah, come on, guys. You're like, it's like. John Stewart is definitely a Republican. Nah, nah, nah, nah. I don't do him like that. This is just a take. That's a bad take. That's a bad take. That's a bad take. Don't do that. I don't know how to say it. Don't do that. It's tough. It's tough. Why are you doing like this? He voted for Hillary, man. I think he's a centrist Democrat. I don't care, by the way. You think he's a centrist Democrat? I think he's a CBC Democrat. Did he vote for Biden in 20? Did he vote for Kamala in 2024? Kamala. Kamala. Kamala. I think he's like. I think he's definitely signed for one year. Actually, you know what? Actually, after seeing Zoe, he definitely voted for Kamala. All right. There you go. There you go. Indian, black, they would have a Kamala, you know? Shout out to that, you know? Wait, who's so good? All right. Fantastic episode. We leave on the return of Hal. The hologram. The hologram. So the hologram's here. We now have to find out who killed Hal. But before we go, we got to do it again. Manhunter rankings. Manhunter rankings. Okay. We got to do the Manhunter rankings. Okay. Who's number one on the Manhunter rankings? I mean, Noah is number one for sure. He's number one on the Manhunter rankings. He's definitely number two. He's number two on the Manhunter rankings. He's definitely number two on the Manhunter rankings.