Lanterns Episode 6's Surprise Cameo Introduces A Green Lantern Legend
by Joe Roberts · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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This article contains spoilers for "Lanterns" Episode 6, "Bad Optics."
The sixth episode of "Lanterns" delivers one of the most anticipated moments of the entire season: a brief cameo from Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner. But the latest installment also features an even more brief cameo from a legendary Green Lantern character who many fans surely expected to be given a more significant introduction: Carol Ferris. Hal Jordan's on-again-off-again love interest was introduced all the way back in 1956 in the very same comic book issue that gave us Hal's origin story. She's been an integral part of Green Lantern lore ever since, but in "Lanterns," she pops up for less than a minute.
"Lanterns" Episode 1 ended with a twist, revealing that Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan winds up dead in 2026. Ever since, fans have been wondering how Guy obtained the Power Ring and became Earth's Green Lantern rather than John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). Episode 5 cleared things up by completely changing John Stewart's story and having him refuse the ring, thereby explaining how Guy got ahold of it. But one huge mystery remains: Who killed Hal Jordan?
In Episode 6, we see John begin to investigate that very mystery, but before he can get into it, he has to bury the man he loves to hate. Hal Jordan's funeral is held at a church in Rushville, Nebraska, where we learn he returned after being locked up for his part in the events of the previous episode. Unsurprisingly, those same events essentially turned him into a pariah, to the extent that John and Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) are the only attendees at his funeral. At least, that's how it seems until John is approached outside the church by a woman we haven't seen before.
Carol Ferris has a smaller cameo than Guy Gardner in Lanterns Episode 6
"Lanterns" Episode 4 teased the arrival of a major Green Lantern villain before pulling the rug out from under us all at the last minute. Though Carol Ferris' introduction in Episode 6 isn't quite the grandiose debut she deserves, she is at least — unlike the fake Hector Hammond from Episode 4 — the same character from the comic books.
In the episode, we see John Stewart talking on the phone outside Hal Jordan's funeral when a woman approaches. John immediately recognizes her as Carol Ferris, Hal's former partner. Amie Mackenzie, who has previously appeared in episodes of "Dexter: Original Sin" and Taylor Sheridan's "The Madison," plays Carol, who tells John that Sheriff Kerry Kane invited her to the funeral due to her and Hal having "a history."
The pair chat briefly, with Carol commenting on the lack of attendees at Hal's funeral by saying that the "only friendship that stuck was the one on his finger," in reference to the Power Ring and Hal's obsession with holding onto it. She then asks John to deliver the eulogy, which "demands a certain level of bravado I just don't think I can sell." After John says he'll try to do her words justice, she replies, "Oh, they're not my words." Yep, turns out Hal wrote his own eulogy.
Later, in one of the funniest moments of the entire series, John reads the eulogy in question, which welcomes dignitaries from around the world to a burial attended solely by John and Kerry Kane. Even Carol doesn't show up to the burial, which is odd considering her history with John and the fact she's a significant DC character who ultimately only shows up for a minute at most in "Lanterns" Episode 6.
Carol Ferris is a Green Lantern legend who deserves more screen time
Both Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris were created by John Broome and Gil Kane, and first appeared in 1956's "Showcase" #22. "Lanterns" fans who haven't read the issue and its Hal Jordan origin story will already be familiar with the events therein, as much of Hal's backstory in "Lanterns" is taken from tht comic issue.
Carol appears in the story "Secret of the Flaming Spear," which sees Hal arrive at the offices of the Ferris Aircraft company, where he works as a test pilot. There, he meets Carol, daughter of company CEO Carl Ferris, and asks her out on a date. Carol agrees, but when her father announces his departure and puts her in charge of the company, she tells Hal she can't date an employee. So begins their decades-long on-again-off-again relationship.
In 1962's "Green Lantern" #16, Carol is transformed into Star Sapphire and brainwashed by the Zamarons into trying to kill Hal. After that, she oscillates between her original identity and Star Sapphire, even becoming a superhero herself. Throughout, she remains Hal Jordan's oldest and most important love interest.
The character has appeared in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) and was also played by Blake Lively in 2011's "Green Lantern," which, thanks to "Lanterns," recently became a streaming hit on HBO Max despite being Ryan Reynolds' most notorious flop. Christina Wren played a version of the character named Carrie Farris in multiple DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films, but it seems that Carol isn't a major figure in James Gunn and Peter Saffran's DC Universe ... at least not yet. Hal's real love appears to be Kerry Kane, though it's nice to know Carol exists in this universe and could perhaps one day take on the Star Sapphire identity.