Landman Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: Romance, Regret, and Reckoning in “Forever Is an Instant”
- Kae
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
It seems Taylor Sheridan’s popular oil drama, Landman, has found its softer side this week, as a fair amount of reflection, a bit of romance, and whole lot of relationship talk dominates the dialogue in the Dec. 28 episode release of the streaming blockbuster for Paramount+.
Firmly entrenched in the back half of its second season, the series’ episode, entitled “Forever is an Instant,” finds Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) and family navigating their respective happily ever afters in wildly different ways. Picking up from the close of episode 6, the titular character and his pseudo wife, Angela’s, (Ali Larter) overnight stay in Fort Worth for a little fun and foolery, goes awry before the day even gets started. When the morning does not go as the night before most assuredly did, tensions run high for the on-again couple. Though, Tommy’s not quite sure how the day got so sideways so fast. Nevertheless, if you know you know — happy wife makes a happy life. Angela’s silent treatment on the ride to the private airstrip to head home tells Tommy that life may not come as soon as one would hope.
On his own road trip home with his father, T.L. Norris (Sam Elliott), in tow, Tommy gets another one-two verbal punch from the elder statesman as he lectures his adult son, this time over chicken fried chicken and biscuits, on the time he is wasting with his family, chasing a job that will not love him back.
Back in Midland, another couple wakes up to a more firmly stitched blanket of calm. Cooper Norris (Jake Lofland) and lady love, Ariana Medina (Paulina Chavez), have learned to take the road less traveled on their relationship where peace and purpose seem to prevail. Cooper’s parents could learn a thing or two from their son on how to approach love and marriage. Eager to make a honest woman of Ariana, Cooper remains on his quest to formerly ask for her hand. Wrapped in each other’s arms, the characters continue to show us a needed warmth and sincere authenticity in contrast to what can sometimes be a crass narrative for the series. Their story juxtaposed against the others on canvas remind us that less is most definitely more.
To close out the series’ trio of “happy” couples montage and their respective sunrise moments, we find Rebecca Falconea (Kayla Wallace) waking to dawn’s early light under the cover of what has become a newly familiar bed. The usually buttoned-up corporate litigator has fallen hard for the unusually charming geologist, Charlie Newsom (Guy Burnet), whom she first met mid-air in episode 4. Only this time, Charlie has brought her to his cozy home — a weathered fifth-wheel lost in the shadow of a horse-head pumpjack towering over a field of mesquite and creosote bush, blistered by the West Texas sun. Not the most romantic locales for a burgeoning relationship - both personally and professionally, and yet there is still something endearing about breakfast cooked over a grill as your lover waxes poetic about the geologic formation of the Permian Basin.
Not one to fall too deep into a saccharin moment and always eager to prove herself, Rebecca turns the early morning conversation quickly back to the business at hand — that pesky little off-shore drilling issue for M Tex Oil to avoid insurance litigation. The fast friends talk shop as Charlie gives Rebecca the dirty details and the impossible odds to continue drilling for gas in the field of the damaged well. If successful, their kids’ kids could retire before they ever start working. Miss the mark and it will be a multi-million dollar hard lesson learned, for all involved.
Rebecca heads to see fellow attorney Nate (Colm Feore) to workshop how to proceed on the risky drill. When the two counselors come to terms on the most efficient means to an end, a slip of the tongue, opens a door for Nate to hit Rebecca with an unexpected lesson on corporate relationships, particularly, those that take place in the bedroom and not the boardroom. Unable to hide behind her pearl-clutching, Rebecca is resolved to come clean on her recent time spent with Charlie. Remember, kids, what’s done in the dark, always comes to light. Rebecca fools no one, most notably, the often observant, only-adult-in-the-room, Nate, which could have implications for her work.
In a rare moment of visual vulnerability, Rebecca runs from the house in tears and right into Angela and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), fresh off the plane from Fort Worth. In exchange for receiving his mother’s promised ring for Ariana, Cooper has graciously given the ladies a ride back to the homestead, much to the youngest Norris’ chagrin. Though, Lofland and Randolph share little screen time week-in, week-out, they never fail to hit the mark on their characters’ sibling rivalry banter and bitterness — the relationship between the onscreen brother and sister is actually refreshing for its often subtle humor and familiarity.
Running as a throughline for the series is the B-plot narrative surrounding the M Tex work crew, led by Theodore “Boss” Ramone, played by character actor Mustafa Speaks — a tough, experienced roughneck and trusted member of Tommy Norris’ oil crew, still a man down from the unfortunate toxic gas leak of episode 2.
Speak’s “Boss” has been a recurring character for the series since its debut episode when he was tasked with bringing Cooper under his wing as a newbie, aka “worm.” Now established as the strong, protector of the series, Boss is celebrating a work milestone with the oil company at the center of the series’ storyline. Dale (James Jordan) comes to make a special delivery to the lead crewman on Tommy Norris’ behalf. As the men reminisce and celebrate over Texas backyard barbecue, the dialogue leaves a subtle taste of foreshadowing in your mouth, and not in a good way.
These moments with the crew, peppered in between sweeping aerial views of oil fields and rigs emphasize the scale and gritty reality of the people, places, and processes that represent the grunt work of the industry that serves as the bedrock of the Texas economy.
To close out the episode, the younger Norris father-and-son duo finally find their respective right moments to put it all on the line with the women they love. Tommy arrives back home to enjoy another theme-night dinner with the family sans costumes. When Angela reminds him that her cold shoulder time with him is far from done, it does not take long for Tommy to get her to melt when he calls her outside to make sense of their relationship once and for all. Across town, Cooper knocks it out of the park with the ever-anticipated proposal to Ariana. With expectant heart eyes, whispered words, and enough rose petals to impress the most jaded of hearts, we, romantics, finally get the answer to that long-awaited question.
And, then there was three…episodes, that is, remaining for Landman’s sophomore run. Already renewed for a third season, new episodes drop each Sunday exclusively on Paramount+ through January 2026.
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