Landman Recap: The Dream That Keeps Coming True

by

Like many shows created by Taylor Sheridan, the second season of Landman is starting slowly. However, the show has never relied heavily on a central plot or villains to overcome. It’s more of a dramatic comedy focused on the everyday experiences of people living and working in the West Texas oil industry. While occasional cartel conflicts and crime elements appear, Sheridan is primarily interested in depicting the realities of daily life.

Not all stories about everyday life are equally good, and this show still relies too much on the silly storylines involving Angela and Ainsley. This week, they’re at a retirement home for an aerobics class that quickly turns into a party with drinks and dancing. The staff has been letting it happen because the residents enjoy themselves, but that changes when an unexpected inspection from Health and Human Services arrives.

I’m not sure how things would play out in a real-life scenario like this, but the male inspector’s aggressive behavior – grabbing Angela and trying to push her down – was completely inappropriate. I understand why she reacted by hitting him with an elbow, knocking him to the ground. (I’m less sure about Ainsley tripping the other inspector, though.) Thankfully, Tommy stood by her side when the sheriff called, immediately ordering them to be released from handcuffs.

Angela and Ainsley are usually together, and it’s currently unclear what role they’ll play in the story this season beyond Ainsley’s cheerleading. However, the recent events in “Sins of the Father” have introduced some potential conflicts, including a complicated issue involving offshore drilling. Monty took the full $420 million payout for M-Tex after a gas well accident off the Louisiana coast, but the money is now unaccounted for. The payout depended on drilling a new well, which never happened, leading to a lawsuit from the insurance company.

To move forward, they need funding and a drilling contract. Tommy puts Nate in charge of securing the money and Rebecca Falcone in charge of negotiating the contract. Nate is predictably annoyed that Rebecca gets the more visible assignment, but she quickly shuts down any attempt at him talking down to her. She’s confident in her ability to handle the negotiation without needing expert advice, and she proves it during a meeting with the insurance company’s lawyers. She immediately dismisses their prediction of a lawsuit and, within minutes, successfully reaches an agreement.

Despite all the legal jargon, the situation was surprisingly straightforward, almost ridiculously so. Rebecca pointed out a few obvious things the lawyers had somehow missed: Cami had no knowledge of the insurance claim, the drilling equipment, or the replacement policy; going after a deceased man and his widow wouldn’t look good to a jury; and the plaintiff had already broken their agreement by paying Monty the settlement directly instead of the drilling company – which outweighed M-Tex’s issue with the unfinished well. The lawyers were so impressed with Rebecca’s clear and compelling argument that they agreed to drop the case if M-Tex resumed drilling quickly, and one even suggested she join their firm. “We thought we had a solid case until you completely dismantled it,” he admitted.

It’s still unclear where the story is going, but Monty’s actions have created a lot of problems, and Cami might get caught up in them. However, this subplot feels like a minor distraction. The main focus of the episode is on Tommy and Cooper, who are both dealing with difficult personal issues, and their stories are where the episode really shines.

This episode is tough on Cooper, as he experiences a breakup and faces the potential loss of income from his profitable oil wells – though calling oil money ‘clean’ is debatable. The split feels abrupt, hinted at by Paulina Chavez’s mixed feelings about Cooper’s success in the first episode, and it’s still unclear what truly drives her character. Ariana is understandably terrified of losing Cooper again, shown by her anger when he’s unreachable while working. However, she also claims she doesn’t want a lavish lifestyle, emphasizing her attachment to her home and desire to stay there.

I’m skeptical that Ariana would actually make this decision, or that Cooper’s money would force her to leave her home. While I’ve seen people reject high-paying but unfulfilling jobs, it’s rare to see someone leave a partner – and potentially their financial support and that of their child – simply to avoid having wealth. Regardless of the logic, I admire the principle. However, I suspect there’s more to Ariana’s actions than just this. I believe her past experiences are a bigger factor. As Tommy suggests, the best thing to do is listen to Ariana and support her needs right now.

Cooper realizes he needs to be more business-savvy like his father, so he shows Tommy one of the successful oil wells and explains how he secretly grouped the leases together to get funding. Tommy is immediately worried, finding it suspicious that anyone would finance such a large operation. He asks Nate to investigate Sonrisa, the funding company, and the results are shocking: Gallino, the cartel boss previously seen in the season finale, is in charge of the fund. This means the Norrises are working with the cartel, setting the stage for major conflict in the future.

Tommy is going through a difficult time, grieving for a mother he didn’t have a real connection with. This isn’t because she wasn’t present during his childhood, but because she struggled with addiction and illness. He tries to hide his pain, but it comes out in his angry outbursts, like when he rages at radio DJs for not playing a specific song. He understands how his parents shaped him and speaks about them with a touch of dark humor, as seen when he pre-plans his mother’s funeral, requesting flowers that show effort rather than deep sorrow.

I appreciated how “Sins of the Father” didn’t overexplain Tommy’s relationship with T.L. Instead, it immediately showed the three Norris men calmly watching the sunset, making it feel like a familiar scene. Sam Elliott is always compelling to watch, even when he’s in the same setting as before, offering similar reflections on protecting these fleeting moments. I’m really looking forward to seeing more interactions between him and Billy Bob Thornton – Thornton’s presence is hard to match on Landman.

Honestly, that whole scene with T.L. did so much more than just move the plot forward – it really deepened the beautiful relationship between Tommy and Cooper. Watching Tommy drive home afterward, you could just see him lost in thought, reliving his difficult childhood. He confessed he never had a good example of how to be a father, with T.L. being abusive and struggling with alcohol, and he worried about repeating those patterns. But Cooper, bless him, was so quick to reassure Tommy that he had broken that cycle, or at least he’d tried his best, and that’s what mattered. It genuinely got to me seeing Tommy get choked up in the car, momentarily lost for words, overwhelmed with thankfulness for escaping his past. It proved that even a ‘slow’ scene can be incredibly powerful and moving – it definitely wasn’t lifeless at all.

Boomtown

It was nice to see the Boss again, though the scene with the venison breakfast burritos felt out of place. Taylor Sheridan often focuses on groups of people working together, like the ranch hands in Yellowstone, but with Cooper now independent, it’s unclear why the oil rig crew is still around.

She accidentally tripped; she didn’t notice my foot, I suppose. Her companion warned her that she was phrasing it in a way that could be used against her in court.

• “I’m funeraled out, to tell you the truth.”

Are more scenes of Nathan venting to Tommy about his family really necessary? It’s starting to feel unfair to the actor Colm Feore. However, the line, “It’s a dream you should consider coming true,” did make me laugh.

Read More

2025-11-23 22:58