Lanterns episode 4 is another corker, and seemingly answers one of several major mysteries in the DCU show: Who is the Manhunter? But fans aren’t sure if there’s still more to the case of a killer, shapeshifting alien lifeform hiding in plain sight.
Warning: full spoilers for Lanterns episode 4 follow.
In Lanterns episode 4 ‘The Weenie’, it is revealed that Zoe Macon is the Manhunter hiding out in Rushville. While Zoe doesn’t technically verbalize her true identity, many things point to this, most notably the fact that she cured William Macon’s cancer. Zoe Macon actor Poorna Jaganathan has also been discussing her role as the secret Manhunter in several post release interviews, telling EW: “I wasn’t told when I got the role that she was the Manhunter. I had to read it to find that out.”
Case closed? Not quite, as Lanterns fans think they answer to such a huge mystery came too soon, and too easy, meaning there must be more to it.
“Why did Zoe blow herself up if she was in charge of the decoy Manhunter?! Why did the show make it so obvious that she’s the Manhunter?!” asked one user on Twitter. “Because she probably isn’t,” offered one fan in response. “We don’t find that answer so easily, 4 episodes in. Or the Manhunter is not the main threat.”
With half a season still to go, it does feel surprisingly early to be blowing the lid open on a mystery that could run all season. But with another huge question – Who killed Hal Jordan? – still to be answered, and the entire 2026 thread of the story untouched since episode 1, there’s still plenty to be explored.
And we do have another question to answer now: who killed the Manhunter? And if it was Zoe who used her own laser satellites to blow herself up (or make it looks like she had), why go to such lengths? The questions keep piling up.
Lanterns episode 4 is streaming now on HBO Max in the US and UK, and on NOW in the UK. For our spoiler-free verdict on episodes 1-7, check out our Lanterns review. And bookmark our Lanterns release schedule, so you never miss an episode.