Lanterns Episode 5 Reveals and Kills Manhunter

The fifth episode of the HBO series "Lanterns" resolved the central mystery of its first season, revealing that the alien Manhunter hiding in Rushville, Nebraska, was Zoe Macon, who was subsequently killed by John Stewart. In the episode, titled "Lights Out," a flashback to 2007 showed how Zoe, played by Poorna Jagannathan, first established her control over the town. She saved a young Kerry Kane from gangsters in exchange for a future favor, a contract she replicated with many residents. This system of debts allowed her to mobilize the entire town to defend her when alien hunters, led by Antaan, arrived to kill her for past genocide. The episode also revealed that Zoe had killed the Green Lantern Abin Sur. According to Jagannathan, the character's programming compelled her to eliminate the risk of her location being revealed, despite Abin Sur having brought her to Earth for safety. The climax saw John Stewart, after being severely burned in a car crash and healed by Zoe's technology, use her as bait to draw out Hal Jordan. Stewart then shot and killed Zoe, removing her crystalline heart as proof for the Guardians.