episode 8 is out now on HBO Max. And, after weeks of engrossing storytelling and a surprising amount of meme-able content, it's brought the increasingly popular show's debut season to an end.

As the dust settles on ' season 1 finale, I suspect you want answers to your most burning questions. It's a good job, then, that I'm here to provide them. Just make sure you've watched this week's chapter, titled 'Dirt and Stars', before you proceed, for the purposes of spoiler avoidance!

Who murdered Hal Jordan in Lanterns?

It's only been eight weeks since episode 1 dropped the bombshell that someone had killed Hal Jordan in its 2026 storyline, but the wait to find out the identity of his murderer has felt longer.

Well, we finally have an answer — and, after correctly guessing the individual in question in my Lanterns pre-season 1 finale predictions piece, I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself right now.

But, enough posturing: the person responsible for Hal's demise is none other than Sheriff Kerry Kane.

Truth be hold, Hal's death was more akin to manslaughter than pre-meditated murder. After all, the only reason Kerry shot the former Green Lantern — and man she was in a romantic relationship with, no less — was to protect her son Noah after Hal learns a game-changing secret about him. I'll get into the weeds of that later in this article.

So, yes, after weeks of speculation, it turns out the most unlikely candidate of all was behind Hal's death.

Does John Stewart become a Green Lantern?

Strictly speaking, yes. Prior to the release of 'Dirt and Stars', some viewers were convinced that John would become the DCU's first Yellow Lantern, but the sci-fi crime drama's latest entry dispelled that fan theory.

That said, John isn't a legitimate member of the Green Lantern Corps., aka the space cop organization set up by the Guardians of the Universe whose agents patrol the wider cosmos.

Guy Gardner, who watches over Sector-2814, is Earth's one and only official Green Lantern because our world falls under his jurisidiction. However, after John charges Hal's old ring with the Lantern Battery made by Sinestro (more on this in a moment) and comes up with his own Lantern Corps. oath, he's technically a Green Lantern, albeit an independently contracted one.

Ironically, the only way that the DC Universe's (DCU) John Stewart becomes a Lantern is because of Hal's villainous former mentor Sinestro. Want more information on him? Read my Sinestro in explained article.

But, I digress. As we learn in 'Dirt and Stars', Sinestro was broken out of his space prison cell by none other than Noah (I'm getting to him, don't worry), marooned on the dead world of a major alien genocide, and tasked with making a Lantern Battery for Noah. Long story short: Sinestro successfully crafts said Lantern, which is charged with Fear and Will energy owing to the toxic fear gas and planet's remaining water supply.

Sinestro tries to individually manipulate and tempt John and the Hal-O-Gram (the latter being a digital back-up of Hal's consciousness) with respective promises to help them become a Lantern and be brought back to life. However, the pair reject his offers and head back to Earth, leaving a chained-up and furious Sinestro to presumably live out his days on this barren world.

Fast-forward to the end of the HBO Max show's eighth episode, and John uses Hal's ring, the Lantern Battery, and reciting of his self-made oath to become a Green Lantern.

Unsurprisingly, Guy, who's summoned by John before the latter does that, isn't exactly pleased to hear John's plan — one which John says will allow Guy to continue patrolling Sector-2814 while John only watches over and protects planet Earth. Guy is also convinced the Guardians will be angry at this rebellious development, so it'll be interesting to see if a second season of picks up and runs with this story beat.

Anyway, John's plan means the Hal-O-Gram will be permanently erased from Hal's ring once he recites his oath. Incredibly sad though I am to see Kyle Chandler's portrayal of Hal for what could be the final time, at least there's an incredibly touching goodbye between he and Aaron Pierre's John.

Unfortunately, while we get to finally see John fly, we don't get to see him in his full Lantern super-suit. I guess we'll have to wait for his next DCU appearance for that...

Is Noah Macon a Manhunter?

Yes. Another fan theory to emerge in recent weeks, episode 8's arrival on HBO Max, aka one of the world's best streaming services, revealed that Noah is a Manhunter.

As Kerry tells Hal prior to the latter's death, she mysteriously fell pregnant after Zoe, who appeared to be the sole remaining Manhunter, used her advanced medical technology to grow Kerry a new pinky finger. Remember, in episode 5's flashback to 2007, we learn that, at Zoe's suggestion, Kerry removed that digit on her right hand to give to the criminals chasing her to 'prove' to their mob boss that they'd caught and killed her.

Clearly, during the process of growing Kerry's new pinky finger, Zoe used her alien android tech and Manhunter blood to also make Kerry pregnant. That way, in the even that Zoe died, the Manhunters wouldn't become extinct. And, prior to Zoe's death at John's hands in episode 5 during the 2016 storyline, she tells Noah not to forget everything she's previously told him, which must mean she informed him of his true nature.

Fast-forward to the present, and Noah ambushes John when the latter returns from the dead world that Sinestro is marooned on.

However, as evidenced by him saving Hal from that near-fatal house fire, Noah's humanity is constantly at odds with his Manhunter conditioning. And, after finding out that John mercy-killed Zoe because she was tired of her immortality and never-ending guilt over what she did to Antaan's people, Noah asks John to do the same for him.

Long story short, John decides not to mercy-kill Noah. However, the possibility of Noah's Manhunter conditioning winning out some day and threatening humanity as a whole is what pushes John to fulfil his destiny and become a Green Lantern in the DCU Chapter One TV series.

Does Lanterns have an end credits scene?

No. So, if you were hoping that had a mid-credits or post-credits scene to stick around for, you'll be severely disappointed.

Has Lanterns season 2 been announced?

Not yet, but it's only a matter of time before season 2 is officially given the *ahem* green light.

Indeed, ' glowing viewing figures and the assembly of a writers room have given fans hope that it'll be renewed for another season. Add in comments made by DC Studios co-head James Gunn that 'Dirt and Stars' was only the season 1 finale, not the full series finale, and things look even *double ahem* brighter for one of the most popular DCU projects so far.

How does Lanterns episode 8 set up James Gunn's Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow?

It doesn't. Okay, while we already knew that Aaron Pierre will return as John Stewart in Man of Tomorrow, there's a point to be made about the fact that he'll be a Green Lantern in the follow-up to 2025's movie.

Even so, ' season 1 finale doesn't tell us anything about Stewart's role in Man of Tomorrow, nor that film's wider plot. We'll just have to wait until the Gunn-directed comic book flick's first trailer to get a sense of how Stewart fits into its narrative, and/or how sets up its story.

For now, find out everything we know so far about Man of Tomorrow, including its current release date and confirmed cast.