The Trial of Thaal Sinestro (Emerald Knights)

Episode 4 of the first season of Emerald Knights. Taking place after the events of Starro War, Sinestro is called to trial on Oa, in the presence of his former student Hal Jordan and old friend John Stewart. To prove his motives being correct, Sinestro must relive painful memories of his life on Korugar, and his happy memories training Hal Jordan.

Story
“The Trial of Thaal Sinestro” S1E4

In a lone room on Oa, the Guardians sit in thrones, Hal Jordan and John Stewart watch as Sinestro stands center, in handcuffs and civilian clothes.

Appa Alli Apsa

Green Lantern 1417, we charge you with abuse of power and treason. How do you respond to these charges?

Sinestro

Innocent, Guardian.

Ganthet

And you are aware of your right to a representative? You need not prove your innocence alone.

Sinestro

As in a lawyer? No, I’m capable of representing myself.

Appa Alli Apsa

Then we continue. Sinestro, deliver your defense.

Sinestro

My Guardian, I only sought to do what was the best for my planet. As a Green Lantern, my duty is to protect my sector of the galaxy and everything in it, which I am sure you know includes Korugar. Stripping me of my ability to do so will only prove counterintuitive. That is all.

Appa Alli Apsa

Green Lantern 2814.2, rise to the stand and recollect the events on Korugar.

Hal walks to the stand, and sits down in front of a desk. Sinestro doesn’t enjoy this.

Hal Jordan

Yeah, well, we got there, Sinestro asked me to help him patrol the planet. He told me that we needed to keep a check on Korugarians rebelling against the government, that they were putting lives in danger. Little did I know Sinestro was the only one endangering lives. I mean, I saw him with my own eyes torturing citizens, just… just terrible things.

Sinestro

If I may ask, Hal Jordan, will you put your ring on the stand? I would like to replay certain events for the courtroom.

Hal Jordan

Now if you think for a second I’d do anything to-

Sayd

Green Lantern 2814.2, do as he says.

Hal

(Pause, Hal is pissed) Whatever you say, your majesty.

Hal places his ring on a futuristic looking device.

Sinestro

Ring 2814.2, in Earth hours, replay the events of August 12th, 2009, and fast forward to the end of the fight against Hector Hammond.

Ring

Playing.

Hal is fighting a psychic with a giant head, Hector Hammond, outside of Ferris Aircraft, and is generally losing. Carol is watching

Hal

Ma’am! Get in the office, it’s not safe!

Carol runs back into her office after staring at GL.

Hammond

I know what you think.. I can see what you’re thinking.. It disgusts me.

Hector Hammond delivers a psychic blast to Hal Jordan, and Hal screams in pain. Suddenly, another Lantern arrives above Hal: Sinestro.

Sinestro

Are you truly struggling against this rudimentary telepath, Earthman?

Hal looks up at Sinestro, confused and disoriented.

Sinestro

You there, “telepath”, you have no idea the intergalactic codes you’ve just violated, foremost attacking an officer of the Green Lantern Corps. Ring, remove his air supply.

The ring forms a bubble around Hammond’s head, and he is swiftly knocked unconscious.

Sinestro

Come rookie, we have business to attend to.

Hal

Who are you?

Sinestro

Thaal Sinestro, the greatest Green Lantern this universe has to offer.

Hal

Lucky me, anyways I can’t just leave this place, I have to check on Carol and the others.

Sinestro

Ring, scan for immediate threat surrounding these humans.

Ring

No immediate danger.

Sinestro

Let’s go Earthman, it wasn’t a request.

Hal and Sinestro fly in the skies, Hal follows Sinestro.

Hal

Where are we going anyways?

Sinestro

To stop a threat on your planet from spreading any further.

Hal

Are you always this non descriptive?

Sinestro doesn’t speak.

Hal

Listen pal, I don’t know who you are or what “rank” you have over me, but I’m gonna need-

Sinestro

No, you listen to me, Earthman, frankly I wanted John Stewart to accompany me on this mission, but he’s off-world so you’re the best I have. Seeing as I am your superior, you will obey my command and adhere to my rather agreeable rules. Now firstly you will not question me or my authority, and secondly, some of the threats this galaxy presents will scare the ring right off your finger, and when you fall I will have to save you. That would only slow me down.

Hal

Fear? Try me buddy, that’s never been my thing

Sinestro is silent for a moment, then breaks

Sinestro

We face the leader of an intergalactic terrorist cell named the five inversions, he calls himself Atrocitus. For reasons unclear to me, the five inversions are bent on the destruction of the entire Green Lantern Corps. In Atrocitus’ hand is the power to kill a Green Lantern, he stole it from my good friend after killing him in cold blood.. Abin Sur.

Hal

Abin.. he’s the one who gave me the ring! You’re telling me he’s the one who killed him?

Sinestro

Which is all the more reason I lock this bastard away. Forever. Come Earthman, we’re close to the weapon.

Currently, Atrocitus is attacking a young man outside of a church, the young man was digging inside of a grave. Hal and Sinestro hover above the scene

Atrocitus

William Hand.

William Hand

GOD! DON’T HURT ME!

Atrocitus

You are a doorway to the absolute black. You are a being of pure darkness. You reek of the blackest night.

Suddenly, the footage is cut.

Appa Alli Apsa

Enough.

Ring

Playback is paused.

Hal

What? What happened?

Guardian #4

The Blackest Night prophecy is forbidden from being mentioned. Even in cases of evidence.

Sinestro

However, you are intruding on my right to defend myself.

Ganthet

You will simply skip to where your evidence lies, as I have seen nothing yet to prove your innocence.

Sinestro

Fine. Ring, skip ahead to after the fight with Atrocitus, the second time Hal Jordan has met me.

Ring

Resuming playback.

Hal stands on a cliff, looking at a ring-made projection of his father. Sinestro slowly floats down.

Sinestro

This, Hal Jordan, is where you tell me I was right.

Hal Jordan

You’re not always. But this anger I’ve held on to since I was a kid.. It’s been for nothing. All for nothing.

Sinestro

Us Lanterns, Earthman, are experts at overcoming fear. It is the single thing we do best. But guilt? Trauma, loss, anger? We still struggle with those, whether we like it or not.

Hal

You think I’ll make it now? As a Lantern.

Sinestro

I know you will Earthman. You just need to come to understand the blessing you were bestowed with, the absolute honor it is to wield that ring. I suggest spending some time off this ball of mud, explore this vast sector, experience the wonders this galaxy has to offer.

Hal

Thank you Sinestro, really.

Sinestro

You’re welcome.

Sinestro starts to float away.

Sinestro

And one of these days, Earthman, you’re coming to my world.

Sinestro flies away into space.

Playback finishes.

Sinestro

That will be all ring.

Ring

Playback stopped.

Sinestro

As you all can see, I have consistently been a good mentor to Hal Jordan, in the little time I’ve known him. I consider him a younger brother, and I am sure he has once considered me his elder. Guardians, Jordan’s testimony is shrouded in conflicted emotions, he’s simply reacting-

Hal

Not true!

Sinestro

HE’S SIMPLY REACTING out of confusion. He has never been shown to this.. Authoritative side I possess, therefore how can his testimony represent a true trial? He was.. Pushed into a pool before learning how to swim.

Sayd

Then let’s find somebody who knows how, shall we? We call to the stand Katma Tui of Korugar.

Suddenly, in a green burst of light, Katma Tui is teleported next to the stand Hal Jordan sits at.

Ganthet

Green Lantern 2814.2, you may retrieve your ring and return to your seat.

Hal does just that, and Katma looks around her confused.

Katma Tui

No.. more Green Lanterns? Sinestro? No..

John

Katma, please, try to relax

Katma

You! I know you, what’s going on?

Appa Alli Apsa

You have been summoned to recollect the events of your uprising against Thaal Sinestro, and events that may correlate.

Katma

You.. you’re sick! You Lanterns think you can pluck me out of whatever I’m doing? Whenever you want to?

John Stewart

Katma, please. If you want to bring Sinestro to justice, we need to hear your testimony. Now I’m sorry the Guardians hadn’t given you a heads-up, but we need to hear your side of the story.

Katma stares at John, upset.

Katma

Fine. For the good of the galaxy.

Katma sits down at the stand.

Katma

Where do I start?

Ganthet

The beginning.

Katma

Well, I started out as Sinestro’s chief “Liberator of Korugar”, an incredibly ironic name.

(As she narrates, the events of her narration play out)

Katma (Narration)

I had been doing good. I commanded my own army, we crushed the will of so many citizens. Then it had hit me what we were truly doing, it was incredibly unjust. So I ran, away from the Liberators and to the rebels, until Sinestro had caught me in the act. As punishment, he gave me a faulty oxygen tank and threw me into the void of space, he told me that he “wanted me to be alive as I slowly drifted away, and to know the fear of succumbing to a violent death.” As I floated in space, I was picked up by a tractor beam, a group of pirates had found me and recognized me. They sold me to Mongul, leader of the Warworld. There, I fought back with some of the greatest heroes Earth has to offer, along with two other aliens. At the end of the day, John Stewart found me and brought me back to Korugar, where I joined the rebellion.

The narration ends

Ganthet

Very good Katma, that will be all.

Sinestro

I have but one question-

Katma

You do not deserve the right to ask me a thing, you demon.

Sinestro

So I would be wrong to assume my ring headed for Korugar landed in your home? Hm?

The court is silent.

Appa Ali Apsa

I do not see how that is-

Sinestro

She TOOK my ring, and doesn’t even have the courage to weird it. She carries MY legacy, MY triumphs. My defeats. We consider one who would completely discredit the corps sane? That ring was sent two days ago, and I do not believe she has reported since.

Katma

You smug son of a-

Ganthet

Quiet! While it is true that Katma Tui has not wielded her ring for training, we must not discredit her experiences.

Appa Ali Apsa

However, that is a fact we must consider. Katma Tui, why have you not wielded the ring?

Katma

Why? And be seen again even in the vein of that madman? Ridiculed and outcasted by my fellow Korugarians more than I already am for associating with that filth? I would rather die.

Sayd

We understand. I would like to call Sinestro’s ring to the stand.

Sayd’s eyes glow, and suddenly the ring flies through the courtroom and in her hand.

Sayd

Katma, you may sit down.

Katma Tui sits down in the crowd, a couple seats away from John.

Sayd

Ring, in Korugarian time, replay the events of Cycle 623, Hour 29, the last interaction before the intervention of Hal Jordan.

Ring

Playing.

Open on a prison, walk in ans it’s revealed Katma Tui is kept in chains, legs and hands shackled to the wall. A green light flashes across her face, and Sinestro walks in.

Sinestro

I’m amazed that you’re even alive right now.

Katma spits at his foot. Sinestro looks, disgusted.

Sinestro

You were the best of the best. If I were to die, Katma, you would’ve taken my place as both a Green Lantern and the ruler of Korugar. How you throw away the absolute honor is beyond-

Katma

You killed her.

Sinestro

What?

Katma

My mother. You told me the rebels had caused the car crash, do you even remember doing it?

Sinestro

That’s ridiculous, my ring can’t even-

Katma

Kill? Not but it can cause death. I saw the footage of you cutting her brakes.

Sinestro chuckles to himself.

Sinestro

She was anti-Korugar scum. Her death was but a stepping stone in building my new empire, it gave me you didn't it? Or so I thought.

Katma

I’ve met Arin. Your former lover.

Sinestro

Be very careful with the next words that come out of your mouth.

Katma

I wonder what it is you did.. to make such a forgiving woman hate you as much as I do.

Suddenly, Sinestro focuses a beam on Katma’s shoulder, branding her as Katma screams in pain.

Appa Alli Apsa

I’ve seen enough!

Ring

Stopping playback.

Appa Alli Apsa

We, the Guardians, have reached a verdict.

Guardian

We believe these acts egregious, and completely unfit for an officer of the Green Lantern Corps.

Sayd

Such actions must also be punished accordingly.

Ganthet

Thaal Sinestro, for abuse of power, neglect of free will, and various crimes against the Green Lantern Corps of Oa, we hereby exile you to float in the endless depths of the anti-matter universe. Here, you will live for the rest of your lifespan, but know no home, no allies, no enemies, and will ultimately be driven mad.

Sinestro

Fools. YOU’RE ALL FOOLS! FEAR IS THE ONLY WAY! YOU ALL FEEL WHAT YOU PROCLAIM WE SHOULDN’T, YOU’RE ALL COWARDS!

Appa Alli Apsa

Lantern 2814! Take him to the teleporter!

John gets up to drag him to a circle like pad device in the corner of the room.

Sinestro

JOHN! HAL! ASK THEM! ASK THE GUARDIANS WHAT HAPPENED IN SECTOR 666! ASK THEM WHY THEY HOLD THE BLACKEST NIGHT PROPHECY AWAY FROM US! ASK THEM ABOUT THE MANHUNTERS!

John

Enough, Sinestro. Let’s go.

Sinestro stands on the device, and it gets ready to teleport him, flashing green light at the center of the circle.

Sinestro

Hal. I know you will question authority. Implore. Question the Guardians.

Sinestro is transported in a flash of green light, no longer in the room.

Hal

Jesus Christ.

John

I know. I know.

Appa Alli Apsa

Lantern 2814, Lantern 2814.2!

John

Yes sir.

Appa Alli Apsa

You are being called in to fight the Starro threat on Betrassus.

Hal

Are you serious? Right now?

Appa Alli Apsa

The only reason you’re here is because you’re vital as a witness, and Ganthet felt that we “owed” John the chance to witness this.

Hal

Still, there has to be other Lanterns?

Ganthet

We are spread thin through the galaxy as it is. Only 12 Lanterns remain available for Betrassus, and 10 have already been sent.

John

Come on Hal, we know our way. Let’s go.

John and Hal fly out of the room and to Betrassus.

Katma

I would like to go home now.

Appa Alli Apsa

Wait! You are yet to wield the ring, this is a great-

Ganthet

Appa Alli Apsa, I believe she’s had enough turmoil for today. Let’s send her and the ring back home.

Appa scowls.

Appa Alli Apsa

Very well.

Appa’s eyes glow and she returns home.

Sayd

Ganthet, she must wield her ring, she was chosen.

Ganthet

And she will, sister. In her own time, by her own free will.

The camera zooms out on the Guardians.

Episode End.

Cast

 * Mark Strong as Thaal Sinestro
 * Patrick Stewart as Ganthet
 * Chris Pine as Hal Jordan
 * Michael Gambon as Appa Alli Apsa
 * Whoopi Goldberg as Sayd
 * John David Washington as John Stewart
 * Naomi Scott as Katma Tui
 * Leighton Meester as Arin Sur
 * Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Hector Hammond
 * Kevin Grevioux as Atrocitus
 * James McAvoy as William Hand