Landman Season 2 Episode 8 Review "Handsome Touched" Raises the Stakes
- Kae
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Life’s a gamble — none more so than when spending any time in the chaotic world of Tommy Norris, the oil company crisis manager in Paramount+’s, Landman, now in its second season. If you have spent any time watching this series, you know that every day he wakes up under the West Texas sun, it’s a crapshoot on what kind of day Tommy Norris, played by Emmy Award nominee Billy Bob Thorton, is going to have.
As we delve into the latest episode of the hit oil drama from Taylor Sheridan that explores this theme, we uncover not just the thrill of risk, but also the profound truths about chance, consequence, and the choices that define the world we live in. In an industry where every decision can lead to fortune or ruin, it's clear that life itself is the ultimate gamble, one that reveals the depths of human resilience and the greater ability to adapt.
On this day, Tommy wakes to another hot one in the Permian Basin when he finds his aging father has fallen and cannot get up and out of the shallow end of the family pool. It seems a misstep and a bad hip have left the elder Norris clinging to the side waiting for a life line to safety. That comes unexpectedly from his adult son as the only one, it seems, in a house bursting with other able-bodied adults who cannot ever seem to hear another’s cries for help. But I digress. Out of the pool and back on solid ground, the often gruff T.L., played by the incomparable Sam Elliott, softens considerably, offering his son a show of gratitude with an impromptu hug — a surprise to all involved, including us as small screen voyeurs.
Sunrise rescue aside, Tommy is now on the road to impending mayhem with a scheduled early morning meet-up with his son, Cooper, (Jacob Lofland), fresh off a successful marriage proposal himself with his girlfriend-now fiance Ariana, played by Paulina Chavez, in episode 7. Not two minutes out of the neighborhood, Tommy gets a FaceTime call from his own bombshell of an ex-wife -now fiance, Angela, played by Ali Larter. A crass compliment, I’m sure, if it were not steeped in truth as she greets her husband in the stringiest of bikinis to ask for some mad money to take her nursing home friends to a casino for the day. You read that right. Stay with me, it gets better.
Now $10,000 lighter, Tommy makes an unscheduled stop on the way to meet his son, to arrange for some so-called private duty physical therapy for his father. Never mind that he is searching for this expertise in a strip club from a dancer, ahem therapist, whose regular “patients” pay in ones. When you consider how much stretching is needed in this line of work, it does start to make perfect sense as a pseudo therapy.
Finally at the man-camp, Tommy informs his oilfield crew that M Tex Oil has taken over Cooper’s spec wells. With his son’s success with the recent promising discoveries, Tommy names Cooper as project manager to continue to work them, much to the team’s chagrin, given this abrupt reversal of hierarchy. Remember, Cooper was working on this very crew as a “worm,” read newbie, not but a few months before. But, hey, hit with six wells in row, and you, too can call the shots.
Now, to really get the day started, Tommy finds himself at the tarmac ready to jump on a private jet headed back to Fort Worth, this time with attorney Rebecca (Kayla Wallace) and her new geologist bestie-come-bed buddy Charlie (Guy Burnet), brought in to explain the drilling odds on the off-shore well to Cami Miller, the new head of M Tex Oil who is hell-bent on making good on the insurance claim payout.
While one may feel Cami is way out of her league as the oil exec widow whose found her way to the corner office to pick up where her dead husband left off, Demi Moore as the actress portraying her is not.
Moore continues to showcase her maturity of talent for embodying characters with depth and sophistication. With her captivating presence, she conveys the complexity and nuance of the high-life as the Fort Worth socialite thrust into the fire with her husband’s untimely death, seamlessly balancing elegance with vulnerability. Her ability to exude confidence and grace allows us to believe in her status, while her emotional range brings authenticity to the character's struggles — both with the loss of her husband and her subsequent new role at the helm of M Tex Oil.
Moore's expressive facial features and command of her familiar scotch-and-soda voice enhances her performance, capturing the dynamics of social power and relationships. She navigates the subtleties of her dialogue and body language, portraying the intricate layers of the socialite's persona—whether it’s the façade of perfection, the pressure of expectations, or the underlying personal conflicts. This blend of charisma and emotional depth enables Moore to establish Cami as a character that is relatable, even if her lifestyle feels unattainable. Her only character flaw is that we do not get to see more of Cami’s life play out on screen.
On the road to New Mexico, the odds prove to be forever in Angela’s favor as her gamble of taking her band of octogenarians to the casino to play with Norris house money pays off. Despite the residents getting sauced on in-flight frozen margaritas on the drive, Angela’s lessons to both her charges and the dealer on the best bets at the Roulette tables marks the day as a rather lucrative success. And for anyone who’s wondering — you always bet on black.
In downtown Fort Worth, the meeting with Cami convenes with Tommy, Rebecca and Charlie in tow, and Nate radioing in via Zoom. Charlie does his best to walk Cami through the history and probabilities of retrieving gas from the damaged well off the Texas Gulf. Just when Tommy and the two attorneys think they have Cami convinced to choose the path of least of resistance with taking their chances on litigation with the insurance company, Charlie drops a knowledge bomb on the discussion suggesting that he can find the larger gas field surrounding the well. Abandoning her deference to the other experts in the room, Cami globs onto following Charlie’s hunch. She greenlights the drill. Yes, you could almost feel the oxygen evaporate from the room.
Believe me, if looks could kill, no doubit, it would be daggers through the heart for the handsome geologist.
Needless to say, Charlie going off script in the meeting seems to have done more damage to his personal relationship than his credibility, imploding the burgeoning situationship with Rebecca. Believe me, if looks could kill, no doubt, it would be daggers through the heart for the handsome geologist. Rebecca was less than impressed. Harsh words shared between the two on the way out the door and again on the plane merit that out.
Before heading back to the plane, himself, Tommy makes another unscheduled stop at the office of Danny Morell, played by Andy Garcia. Having come to Danny for assistance, Tommy asks the drug cartel boss-turned-oil executive to cancel funding of Cami’s dream to drill off shore, explaining that the gamble could have him losing his upfront dollars. Little does Tommy know, Danny signed on with Cami not just to be her drilling fairy godfather, but more so an angel investor in Monty Miller’s former company. Cami secured the loans to drill as royalties. For Danny, that’s a win-win. For Tommy, the thorn in his side has just gone deeper.
Back in Midland, Tommy’s gamble of the pole dancer moonlighting as a “physical therapist” for T.L. pays off in spades. Initially skeptical of the beautiful young lady come to offer him aqua-therapy, T.L. buys in, recognizing both the medicinal and mental benefits of her services. When Tommy arrives home to find the success of his handiwork, he knows he’s done a good thing. The day was not a total loss. The pound of money sitting on the coffee table from his wife’s gambling acumen certainly raised the stakes on that truth, as well.
Co-created by Christian Wallace, and also starring Michelle Randolph, Colm Feore, James Jordan, and Mark Collie, only two more episodes remain in season 2 of Landman. Streaming now on Paramount.+
What did you think?
Loved it
Hated it
So/So