Landman Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Billy Bob Thornton and Sam Elliott Shine in a Quiet Gut-Punch

Every series has it — that one episode that takes a pause from the narrative chaos and delivers a quiet repose to have its characters stop and reflect upon how they came to be at this point on life’s timeline. “Dancing Rainbows,” serves that purpose for Landman, the popular oil drama series, now in its second season streaming on Paramount+.

While the episode opens with a tragic nighttime crash that hints at bigger issues to follow for anyone connected to the fictional M Tex Oil company, the remainder of episode 4 of the latest drama from co-creators Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, serves as a poignant exploration of relationships and regret, and love and life deferred. For much of the episode, we follow Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton, and his family as they attend a memorial service for Tommy’s estranged mother. 

From the soft and deliberate backing musical notes to the beautifully quiet panning shots of the Texas sun as it rises and falls on the horizon, it is evident that the important moments of the episode are meant to move with purpose. 

As expected, key performances from Thornton as the series’ titular character, and that of his onscreen father T.L. Norris, played by Sam Elliott, hold the emotional attention of even the most jaded viewer. Ironic when you consider the character for which they mourn has only been referenced in spoken memory. Nevertheless, each character’s approach to what should be a moment of immense grief showcases the depth of their own relationship with the deceased Norris family matriarch, Dottie, whom we have only come to know from continued hints at her troubled existence as a wife and mother. 

The writing is on par with the brutal honesty of life in and out of the family realm, that reminds us that the real world does not always come with fairy-tale endings and requisite a-ha moments that bring resolution wrapped in self-awareness and atonement. Sheridan showcases, once again, his skill as a writer with this episode, excelling in his ability to weave the truth into fictional realities, effectively illustrating how Tommy’s past has shaped not only his present identity, but most assuredly that of those immediately around him. 

Thornton’s continued brilliance as the weathered oil executive whose Teflon skin and acerbic tongue have been hardened by age and experience to protect a heart once damaged by a family train that derailed decades before. The Academy Award-winning actor continues to dominate the emotional beats of the character’s reticent grief in such a way that you, as the viewer, are the one left to mourn what he cannot. 

In a post-memorial service scene in a West Texas diner, Thornton and Elliott’s characters get a rare moment together to deeply examine the complexities of familial bonds against the harsh realities of personal demons. The other characters around the table are left to sit on the periphery of this raw emotion, but not without its inevitable pull to reevaluate their own present-day relationships and what family means. 

For Tommy’s wife Angela Norris, played by Ali Larter, it does not take long for her to embrace her role as Norris family matriarch in pushing her once-again husband to do the right thing with his current relationships. Though subtle in its appearance, this is a welcomed lane in which to find Larter’s character this go-round, giving the actress an opportunity to mature in her performance and elevate her onscreen alter ego to be the adult in the room, for a needed change. 

For Ainsley Norris, Tommy’s daughter, played by Michelle Randolph, that reflection comes in the form of an unfiltered window into the depth of her dad’s heart, as he does her, in a surprisingly sweet father-daughter moment that comes late in the episode. 

For tortured love birds, Cooper Norris (Jacob Lofland) and Ariana Medina (Paulina Chavez), the push-and-pull moment underscores the tension and chemistry oozing from the young couple’s measured words and knowing looks. Their relationship continues to be a refreshing bright spot in the series, with their slow-burn feelings that are ever-evolving, despite a series of trials. Cooper as the determined, burgeoning oil magnate, whose sincere honesty could be his undoing in the very industry he’s chosen to make a living, as his protective instincts often clash with Ariana’s desire for independence. Nevertheless, the widowed single mother’s blend of strength and vulnerability proves to be the perfect match for Cooper’s good guy persona. 

While this episode masterfully brings out the moments of important and honest character introspection to dance around the sincere, it would not be a true Landman episode without a touch of the sensational. That comes with some rather absurd scenes involving corporate attorney Rebecca Falconea, played by Kayla Wallace, on what is meant to be a quick and quiet plane ride to Midland for needed business. Because these brief scenes do not fit the episode’s greater narrative, the only plausible explanation for them to be on canvas must be to serve as a way to show the character’s hidden vulnerabilities and set up the introduction of a new mysterious character — one who comes with a slew of his own self-care products and an accent. You will understand when you watch it for yourself. 

To bring us back to the big business of oil, the episode gives us a sneak peek at next steps for Cami Miller’s newly-inherited oil company. Cami (Demi Moore), who plays the other side of family grief in the episode, demonstrates its motivating powers to pull oneself up and keep moving forward. With a parallel graveside mourning scene that puts her in tears at the foot of her late husband’s headstone at the start of the episode, we find her with steely determination sitting across the dinner table from Tommy’s greatest enemy at its close. Dare I say this is gettin’ good. 

In an episode directed by Stephen Kay, we have finally arrived at the promise of what this series is meant to be. See how the story continues to evolve this season as new episodes of Landman drop each Sunday on Paramount+.

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