What They Say:
Larfleeze – Hal, Kilowog and Razer find the Orange Lantern Corp.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With some strong showings by the Star Sapphires in the previous episode, building on events previously with the Blue Lanterns making their slow but steady entry into things, the series shifts gears to bring in something very different here. Definitely one of the more divisive characters to be brought in, the Orange Lantern Corp is introduced with Larfleeze makes his debut in this episode and, even just temporarily, adds something a little different to the show that I can’t say I expected to have happen.
There’s been a lot going on in the series since Aya went off kilter and because of the scale of the problem she represents, the Guardians are now insistent that Hal and the others come back to Oa so they can fix things themselves, making some pointed comments about how it’s all Hal’s fault. While they’re on their own for the moment, but still wanting to help, Razer provides an option that may give then hope. By finding some way to utilize the power of orange, we get a brief tale about how the Orange Lanterns was one of the few things that could stand up to Atrocitus in ages past. But just the hint of it is enough to get Hal and Kilowog on board to try and help Aya, getting them to head off to Okarra in order to see what they can find.
Hal’s discovery of the Orange Lantern battery is amusing and scary at the same time simply because of all the dead rings surrounding it as Larfleeze has made it clear that he’s the last of the corp, having gotten rid of them all. The whole basis of the greed angle is nicely done here as Larfleeze naturally comes off as a bit of a Gollum type with its desire to protect the battery and I liked seeing the way Hal sucumbed to it, lightly at first and then getting more and more possessive about it. While there’s a certain amount of insanity to Larfleeze because of what the Orange represents, it’s fun to see how he handles dealing with Hal and the others while Hal’s tone continues to change.
When Hal gets taken over by the battery in a big way, he goes completely Orange in a really great way, which sets Larfleeze off even more, enough so to make a deal with Kilowog and Razer. The resulting battle defines a good chunk of the episode, but it’s also nicely revelatory to the world that Larfleeze has holed himself up in. Having a battle involving the three corps works really nicely, especially as you have two Orange’s going against each other while struggling with the battery. Larfleeze has his own special brand of avarice, but so does mankind and Hal’s use of it combined with his willpower time before makes him a particular difficult opponent. Making matters worse is that the longer the fight drags on, the closer Aya gets as she’s coming to this part of space as well as the background to the fight is the slow but steady winking out of many, many stars.
In Summary:
Bringing in Larfleeze and showing off what remains of the Orange Lantern Corps is certainly something that will get its nods towards Gollum and the similarities there. His portrayal is nicely done here and he has a good sense of power behind him, but it’s through how Hal uses the Orange Battery that we really see the scale of what can be accomplished with it, and how it can corrupt so easily, which is its primary emotion anyway in the spectrum. The whole experience does come across as a sort of side story, but it’s all towards how the three main characters will try to handle getting Aya back from the frame of mind she’s in now. Keeping her out of this episode other than as someone to talk about definitely helps and the story in general is one that hits a lot of good notes.
Grade: A-
