HBO's Lanterns season finale splits fans. Fans flooded Instagram and TikTok over Hal Jordan's fate when the Lanterns finale aired Oct 5; Google searches jumped 50%.
The spike
Social and search spiked together on Oct 5.Verified: the top posts on the social peak day were hand-checked and are about this trend.
Why it’s trending
When a story you love ends, you want to say goodbye together, argue about it and ask for more.
What’s happening
HBO's Lanterns ended its first season on October 5. Fans spent the week posting memes about not being ready to say goodbye, then argued over Hal's death, the new oath and whether season 2 is coming. Some loved the slow ending, others wanted more action.
What content is working
Trending hashtags
The tags people used most on posts about this trend, ranked by number of posts. Generic tags like #fyp and #viral are left out.
- #lanterns 498 posts
- #greenlantern 317 posts
- #haljordan 175 posts
- #dcu 160 posts
- #johnstewart 160 posts
- #dccomics 100 posts
- #dc 95 posts
- #hbo 47 posts
- #hbomax 46 posts
- #dcuniverse 43 posts
Sentiment
Automatic sentiment labels across 622 posts and 400 comments.
The other side · what’s negative
Real backlashFans split on the finale: killing Hal, a quiet anticlimactic ending with little action, a weak oath, and worry that season 2 is not ordered.
The negative videos
Don't joke about Hal's death or the finale being boring; fans are divided and protective. Tap the emotion, memes and Mogo humor instead, and avoid taking a side.
What people are saying in comments
Lanterns is incredible! Kyle Chandler is phenomenal as Hal Jordan. What an amazing series! I want more Lanterns.
Lanterns is the best thing dcu has made. But if hal jordan is dead, lanterns is dead. If hal jordan lives, lanterns lives.
Hoping for a second season - I haven't had a Sunday date with HBO since Succession!
I like how Noah and Hal are written, but killing Hal and the anticlimactic ending were really bad ideas.
What an absolute waste of Kyle Chandlers Hal Jordan.
They shouldn't have killed Hal
Loved the finale but that oath was really mid need something more powerful and more preachy like the other oaths.
Who wrote this crap? Dont be afraid to be afraid ?!
Embrace fear huh, brain dead writers and every person who signed off on that
Hal need to be alive, best part of the show
Need season 2 or a movie with Kyle
Series taught me how late gratification builds a character
Why the heck do we have to wait till 2028 for the next season? That's just ridiculous.
Hal's payback for "Me and Mogo stood right here"
Show of the year, masterpiece ending
Well written finale didnt need any of the action to make it great.
The content strategy we observed
Fans lead with feelings and meme captions about the Lanterns finale.
Opens on a fan's feeling or a meme caption.#1 #2
Explains a detail fans missed or shares a wish for what's next.#4 #5
One person or clip with text on screen.#1 #2 #3 #5
Warm, playful goodbyes to the weekly show.#1 #2 #3
The top videos went up between Oct 3 and Oct 7: 2 of 9 before Google searches peaked on Oct 5. Social views peaked on Oct 5.#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9
Post a short, personal goodbye moment with one text line on finale night.
What can brands do?
The finale-night green drink
“Pour a glowing green drink and say: 'Sunday nights just got quiet. Who's watching with me?'”
- Format
- Short reel: friends toasting during a weekly watch night
- Platform
- Instagram Reels, TikTok
- Who posts
- Drinks brand with fan creators hosting watch parties
- Caption
- Some Sundays you never want to end. Pour one for the finale. 💚
- When to post
- While season 2 talk is still hot
- Watch out
- Do not use show footage, logos or the Lantern name without rights.