Season 1, Episode 13
Airdate: May 26, 2012
Kilowog volunteers to stay behind and slow down the Red Lantern armada, while Hal Jordan and Razer head off in a desperate plan to get to Oa first. Suddenly, Hal wakes up on Earth, but amnesiac. Carol Ferris tries to jog his memory using the power battery he’d left in his locker, and Hal finally remembers that he had the Star Sapphires teleport him home, as it’s close to Oa. The transport process just scrambled his brains a bit. Meanwhile, Kilowog is being overrun by the Red Lanterns’ might…until he’s suddenly supercharged by a blue light. Saint Walker, the first Blue Lantern, appears along with his friend Mogo. The pair manage to stop the fleet, but Atrocitus has already made it to Oa. He easily breaks through to the Guardians’ citadel, but Hal arrives and the two duke it out. Hal barely defeats the villain, and after Atrocitus is locked up, Hal and the Guardians offer to help the Red Lanterns rebuild the Forgotten Zone. Their new leader, Zilius Zox, warily agrees.
And thus, the first season of Green Lantern: The Animated Series comes to a close…sort of. (More on that later.) All of the hanging plot threads from the past few months have been resolved, giving us a clean slate for when the show comes back on the air in the fall.
Take a wild guess as to what my favorite part of this episode was. Yep…Saint Walker. He’s finally sporting his Blue Lantern duds, but more importantly was how he used his newfound powers. Kilowog got the usual boost, of course, but Walker also had some slick tai chi moves which he used to take out goddamned battleships. If that’s not enough, his literal blueshifting of Mogo’s Death Star blast to disable Shard was just awesome. Between this and his recent exploits in Green Lantern: New Guardians, Walker’s shaping up to the have the best year yet.
One quick nit with Walker, though it’s clearly not his fault: in a closeup shot with Kilowog, his Blue Lantern emblem is slightly incorrect. (I’ve placed the proper one on the right.)
I couldn’t tell if it was wrong in any other shots, but I’m assuming this was just a production error given the attention to detail everywhere else.
The scenes with amnesiac Hal were better than expected, because absolutely no hints were given as to what were going on until the very end. The audience was just as clueless as Carol, but once Hal recharged his ring, everything fell into place with perfect clarity. Salaak defending the Guardians was also very cool to watch, especially his quad-wielding of sword constructs.
Unfortunately, “Homecoming” stumbled towards the end. The battle between Hal and Atrocitus was fine, up until the fistfight that ended it. Why the hell was Atrocitus just standing there while Hal belted him in the jaw? And why were neither of them using their rings anymore? It made no sense, it felt rushed, and it was a rather crappy ending to the Red Lantern saga. (I know they’ll be back, but still…)
So was this a proper season finale, or not? That depends on who you ask. The official press releases for this episode refer to it multiple times as the season finale. However, the upcoming DVD boxset states that the first thirteen episodes are “Season One, Part One.” Interviews with production staff also support the latter assessment. Personally, I think that “Homecoming” works better as a season finale than a mid-season break; the Red Lanterns can be placed on the backburner for a while, and the second season can focus on something else. I’d love to see more characters and villains who don’t use power rings, but I’ve got a feeling we’ll end up with someone like Larfleeze instead. (Which could work, if he’s not handled as comic relief.)
Regardless, the first season or whatever of GLTAS was a fine one. Very few slip-ups, only one crappy episode, some fantastic character development, and overall a fresh and exciting take on the Green Lantern saga. Bring on the next batch of episodes!
It took me a few episodes to get into this series. I think its fair to say that the show is aimed at younger audiences, and especially at first, I felt that the episodes and characters were a little too tidy. But by the end of this first batch, there was plenty of payoff of elements that had been planted earlier. What better threat for Mogo than planet killers? The long range teleportation of the Sapphires seemed out of place, but it paid off here. And the relationship between Razer and Aya is beginning to pay off in a big way.
And even though the series wont be complete until Sinestro appears, I am glad that they decided to build a solid universe before introducing him.
Bring on season 2!
I honestly hope they don’t bring in Sinestro. He’s just not necessary with what the show’s doing, and with the universe they’ve created, introducing him only works if he starts as a Yellow Lantern right off the bat. Making him a Green Lantern first would be rife with problems. For example, if he was a veteran Green Lantern, then why was he never mentioned before, and why wouldn’t he have been on the frontlines instead of Kilowog? If he’s introduced as a rookie Green Lantern…well, we know Geoff Johns would never let that happen, and it wouldn’t fit with Sinestro’s character anyway. I’d much rather see a new character lead the Yellow Lanterns, if they make them at all; it would be a very cool twist.
I dont think its a big deal he hasnt been mentioned yet, and I think it would work if he was presently incarcerated. In fact, I think him being introduced as a cell mate with Atrocitus could make sense. However he is introduced, I do hope it is established that he was Hals mentor at one point.
I see what you’re saying, but suggesting that the most bankable, recognizable GL villain should remain sidelined in GL’s first animated series is a bit woozy.
Can you imagine if the first-ever Batman cartoon had a no-Joker rule? Crazy. Sinestro is probably the 2nd-most popular GL character at this point. So it’s just a matter of time.
And I think producers have confirmed Sinestro for either in season 1 part 2, or season 2 – if that happens. They’ve already begun hinting, what with the yellow rocks and all.