The penultimate episode of Lanterns dropped this week, and now only one episode is left. The eighth episode, "Dirt and Stars", will tie up all the loose ends, including the most important one: who killed Hal Jordan, and whether he truly is dead. The seventh episode focuses on John investigating his mentor’s mysterious death.John has the help of the backup consciousness of Hal Jordan’s ring, which also looks like Hal in 2006. The episode ends with John coming across Sinestro, who is on the run and hiding inside a mysterious factory in Antaan’s home world. The closing minutes of the episode set up an interesting finale, which is slated to release next week.Lanterns finale release details: View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe eighth episode of the DCU superhero series will air on HBO next Sunday, at the same time as the previous seven episodes. The release date and time of the episode will be different across different geographical locations:Pacific Standard Time: 06:00 PM, October 04, 2026Eastern Standard Time: 09:00 PM, October 04, 2026Indian Standard Time: 06:31 AM, October 05, 2026Greenwich Mean Time +1: 01:00 AM, October 05, 2026Australian Eastern Standard Time: 11:00 AM, October 05, 2026Central European Time: 03:00 AM, October 05, 2026Apart from airing on HBO, the finale will be simulcast on HBO Max for streaming. Thus, make sure you are subscribed to HBO Max before the Lanterns finale drops next Sunday.The preview for next week’s episode focuses on John and the ring's backup consciousness as they return to Rushville. As that happens, we see Kerry in a football stadium watching her son play. The preview also shows glimpses of Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, and the teaser ends with “Hal” advising John not to be afraid to feel fear.How does episode 7 set up the finale? View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe seventh episode opens with a brief flashback about Hal Jordan’s childhood, set in 1975. After that, we return to 2026, right where the previous episode left off: John summoning Hal’s ring’s backup consciousness, “Halogram”. John convinces Halogram to head to the Fortress of Storage and open the safe, which is only activated with Hal’s voice command.Inside the safe, they discover a portal to another planet, and Hal and John travel to the alien planet. The alien planet is empty, and we soon learn that it is Antaan's destroyed home world. John informs Halogram that the alien species was manipulated into killing each other after being sprayed by a fear toxin, much like the one used by the Batman villain, Scarecrow.With great difficulty, John and Halogram make it to a factory which emits a mysterious blue fire. There, John encounters a cloaked figure, who turns out to be Hal’s mentor turned enemy, Sinestro. Just before the Lanterns episode cuts to black, Sinestro recognizes John.Series finale speculation - Noah is at the center of this mystery:Shea Pritchard as Noah in the HBO series | Image Via: JioHotstar/www.hotstar.com/in/showsA prominent fan theory is that the DCU series is not done with the Manhunter storyline. This theory suggests that Noah is part-Manhunter, something Hal Jordan suspected. Thus, either Noah or Kerry killed Hal to protect her son. However, that's not the only theory about the finale.The midseason trailer includes a scene in which we see Hal Jordan lying on the floor. This scene is from the finale, which airs next week, not the seventh episode. Therefore, the Lanterns finale could reveal that some people in Rushville abducted Hal and decided to clone the former Green Lantern. They placed the clone's body in the football stadium to misdirect everyone.Seven episodes of Lanterns are available on HBO Max. Binge them all before the finale airs on HBO next Sunday.