the great mystery of purpose - a lanterns review
Purpose is a mysterious thing. The whole point of life is simply to live, but most of the time, we are pressured by the world to chase something. To me, the ring in Lanterns represents more than power. It could be status, wealth, a job title, or whatever we are chasing because we think having it will make us feel worthy. Having a purpose is fine. The trouble starts when we use it as proof that we are enough.
You have seen all these superhero tropes before, but I loved the way Lanterns brought them together around two men fighting to prove to themselves that they are enough. Hal Jordan and John Stewart are fascinating characters, alike in some ways and polar opposite in others.
Hal doesn't want to give up the ring. Like many of us, he doesn't actually know what his purpose is; he just got handed a role. He does everything to keep proving his worth so he can keep that role. Hal is afraid. He is running away from everything else in his life and living entirely off the weight of the ring, terrified that he is nothing without it.
In the episode "Jordan Boy's Legacy," we see Hal trying to hold on to a ball for as long as he can. He does the same thing with the ring, holding on because he is terrified of losing his identity. Will anyone care about him without the uniform? Hal tries his best because he feels he has nothing else.
John, on the other hand, has his purpose defined for him: never be afraid, achieve this, and you are worthy. That is what he has learned growing up. He does everything possible to keep up his output, chasing the promise of that defined purpose, and will practically destroy himself to be the perfect soldier and the perfect Lantern.
But when John gets the ring, it doesn't feel the way he expected. He feels empty and doesn't know why he wanted it in the first place. It doesn't settle the question of whether he is enough. So he leaves the ring behind and walks away from the position he spent his life working toward.
Hal struggles to believe he has worth without the role. John's worth is tied to his output and how perfectly he serves his assigned "purpose." Hal needs to keep what he has. John needs to keep living up to what is expected of him. Neither gives himself much room to just be a person.
The Guardians, to me, represents society or atleast the perceived eyes of society in our mind. They have their rules, their chain of command, and their definitions of what makes someone ideal. John has spent most of his life trying to fit a definition handed to him. In the end, he accepts his fear, changes the Lantern oath, and becomes an independent Green Lantern. He keeps the calling and rejects the ideal that was set for him. The purpose is finally his own.
Hal eventually learns to live without the ring and realizes he is good enough without a cosmic superpower.
A Green Lantern's ring runs on willpower, the strength to overcome fear. For most of the show, both men seem to use that will to avoid the fears they find hardest to face: Hal's fear of being nothing without the role, and John's fear of not being enough.
You can chase something, get it, and discover that it doesn't mean what you thought it would. You can leave it behind, learn, unlearn, and reshape your purpose. You don't have to spend your whole life proving that the thing you once wanted was right for you.
You don't have to hold on so tightly to everything that makes you feel worthy. You can leave things behind and still be enough.
Both men grow when they embrace their fears and learn not to be afraid of being afraid. I don't think that means the fear is gone. They can begin to live and choose for themselves while it is still there.
And it is beautiful to see a superhero story that makes room for that.