Did HBO‘s Lanterns finally reveal the true identity of the secret Manhunter holed up in Rushville? And is it the person you thought it would be??
**Spoilers for Lanterns Episode 4 “The Weenie,” now streaming on HBO Max**
We’ve known for a few weeks now that a Manhunter has been laying low in the middle of America since the night that Ebin Sur’s ship crashed and the Lantern ring chose Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). Manhunters are synthetic beings who were created by the Guardians to protect the innocents of the universe. However, when these shapeshifting, super-powered protectors decided to get violent, the Guardians eliminated them in favor of creating the Lantern Corps. Well, they thought they eliminated all of the Manhunters. One Manhunter slipped through their fingers and that Manhunter has been living life as… Poorna Jagannathan‘s Zoe???
Wait, how can the Manhunter be Zoe if Zoe literally blows up in front of John Stewart’s (Aaron Pierre) eyes after they have an illicit rendezvous? And how does the arrival of “Hector Hammond,” a Green Lantern villain from the comics complicate the Manhunter “man hunt” on Lanterns Episode 4?
Here’s what you need to know about the Manhunter reveal in Lanterns Episode 4 “The Weenie”…
Lanterns Episode 4 Ending Explained: Is Zoe the Manhunter?
Yes, DECIDER can confirm that Zoe, the beguiling character played by Poorna Jagannathan, has been the Manhunter on Lanterns the whole time!
We can also reveal that Poorna Jagannathan didn’t know she was playing the Manhunter until she got the Episode 4 script!
“Did I know that was happening?” Jagannathan asked aloud. “I don’t think when I was shooting Episode 1, I don’t think we had the writing for Episode 4.”
Apparently this was news for her costar (and onscreen husband) Garret Dillahunt. “I’m shocked that I never knew that she didn’t know she was the Manhunter until episode 4 or something,” he said.
“Until I read it, I had no idea!” Jagannathan said.
“No, no one told me they kept it from her,” Dillahunt said.
“Yeah, they kept it from me,” she said. “I mean, you know, those kind of scenes are…”
“They don’t trust you,” Dillahunt teased.
But, yes, Zoe is the Manhunter, and we will learn way more about her history with the other characters in Rushville — and with the aliens on her tail — in next week’s Lanterns.
Naturally, though, Lanterns went out of its way to make the reveal that Zoe is the Manhunter as complicated as possible, going so far as to throw in a Hector Hammond red herring!
Who is Hector Hammond in HBO’s Lanterns?
After Zoe’s car is destroyed by a space laser, Hal and John track down the owner of the satellite and discover he is a major cattle rancher named Hector Hammond. They go to his creepy cattle ranch and discover it’s powered by all sorts of insane alien technology. When they finally confront the guy, he plays it cool. However, they soon figure out he’s just a front for the Manhunter.
“Hector Hammond” reveals he’s just a guy named Hector Guiterrez. William Macon (Garret Dillahunt) offered him the tech to pretend he was the Manhunter. Why did William Macon do that? To protect his wife, Zoe, the real Manhunter — who did NOT die in the car explosion! (Dun-dun-dun!!!)
Hector Hammond is one of the original Green Lantern villains from the comics, known for his mental powers. He’s a genius with telepathic and telekinetic powers. Oh, and Peter Sarsgaard played him in the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern movie.