The opening episode of the HBO Max series Lanterns concluded with a shocking revelation—the protagonist Hal Jordan discovered dead, frozen with a visible head wound. This development immediately prompted fan theories about possible culprits and motivations. However, viewers examining the show's promotional footage have identified narrative details that contradict this seemingly definitive conclusion.

Close analysis of the trailer reveals multiple corpses displaying identical head wounds that match the injury visible on Hal's body, along with skull fragments bearing similar scarring patterns. Viewers also noted scenes depicting Hal extracting a cadaver from a morgue and transporting it to the same location where his body was later discovered. This evidence has prompted a theory that Hal remains alive and has been collecting bodies of extraterrestrial origin, suggesting the show's central mystery involves alien activity rather than conventional murder.