Review: Landman Season 2 Episode 10: Billy Bob Thornton Carries Landman to the Finish Line in Season 2’s Finale
- Kae
- 22 hours ago
- 6 min read
Did they really just save the best for last? If you have spent any time on the Patch this season, you know it has been a rather circuitous road to get to the series’ most well-rounded episode — that is, the season 2 finale of Landman.
The gritty, over-the-top oil drama from Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, originally inspired by the podcast Boomtown, brings its sophomore season to a close with a wrap up that puts characters back in the lane they know best and hints at new beginnings.
In the neo-Western drama series, starring Billy Bob Thornton as the central character, a seasoned oil man grapples daily with the frenetic chaos that drives his work, permeates his family, and underscores the harsh realities of life mired in the business of big oil.
For much of the season, Tommy Norris (Thornton) has had to navigate one personal and professional battle after another while serving as president of the fictional M Tex Oil company. The series’ titular character assumed the position following the heart attack that called the bluff of his former boss, Monty Miller, at the close of season 1.
In the lead up to this week’s finale, Tommy is unceremoniously fired by his new boss, Cami Miller (Demi Moore), whose clashing perspective on how to run a billion dollar oil company diverges severely on the bank’s of the Louisiana Bayou at the launch of a new rig. If “go big or go home“ was a cause for termination — Cami just rewrote the playbook on flawless execution. Once the Texas socialite who had no idea how the sausage was made in her late husband’s line of work, Cami has become quite the quick study on how to be the leader of the pack in a dog-eat-dog business. She moves quickly to find Tommy’s replacement.
Nevertheless, Tommy Norris, as the no-nonsense roughneck-turned-oil executive, has lost the luxury to find anything that happens from one day to the next shocking. With no time to wallow in self-pity, he rallies his connections in the industry to forge a path forward to his next chapter — which could mean a return to what he knows best. After all, there’s simply too many people in his life counting on him to tell them what comes next.
To start, his vivacious ex-wife/second go-round live-in partner, Angela (Ali Larter), is still all up in her feelings about their daughter going off to college in the fall. To establish her own relationships in Fort Worth in preparation, Angela has scheduled a lunch with, of all people, the wife of Tommy’s nemesis, Danny Morell (Andy Garcia). The two women became fast friends over impromptu cocktails with their guys in this season’s episode 2. However, unbeknownst to Angela, the Morells seem to know more about Tommy’s employment, or lack thereof, than his own wife. When Bella Morell lets it slip over Mojitos, Angela explodes over the phone to Tommy, imagining this latest setback to be a rerun of the financial calamity in their first marriage.
Calm and resolute, Tommy assures Angela he is working out his Plan B.
Just across the Trinity River from her parents, Ainsley Norris (Michelle Randolph) comes to terms with the seriousness of her own craft when she gets her first taste of Division 1 cheerleading with her new squad at TCU. I should say, Toto, Ainsley is not in high school anymore. The young co-ed learns quickly that workouts at this level of collegiate sports are no joke. While on the field, Ainsley has a run-in with her short-lived roommate, first introduced in the preceding episode, who is conveniently a sports medicine major. No incessant demands this time, but when the two have an opportunity to come to each other’s aid on the field, they unexpectedly find common ground. Maybe odd couples can make the best roommates.
Back in Midland, Cooper Norris (Jacob Lofland) and Ariana Medina (Paulina Chavez) wake to a new day to assess the emotional and physical damage from the shocking activities of the night before. When Cooper encourages Ariana to file a police report on the unruly bar patron who tried to assault her in the back alley of the Patch Cafe, the younger Norris finds himself facing his own legal consequences for his actions defending his fiancée. It seems the security cameras outside the bar captured every gory detail of Ariana’s assault and Cooper’s hands-for-weapons response. One punch is a legal defense; multiply that by 15, and you just might have crossed into criminal territory, son.
This was not the reception Ariana and Cooper expected from the local authorities.
Now that Cooper is in the hot seat, Ariana calls in reinforcements from an unexpected source. Though taken aback herself that she would be Ariana’s first call, Rebecca Falconea (Kayla Wallace) shifts into overdrive, literally and figuratively, to step in to defend Cooper, but not before alerting Tommy. While we have seen far more of Rebecca’s vulnerable side this season with her new love interest, Charlie, her tenacious drive as an attorney is where the character shines. With her stealth mode activated, Rebecca, perched on four-inch heels, bursts into the interrogation room to eviscerate the detectives on the case for questioning her new client without his attorney present. In no time at all, the fierce litigator has the lawmen questioning their life choices as she begins painstaking laying out her defense strategy — one that could call into question every skeleton in their own closets.
As the deputies and detectives grapple with to charge or not to charge Cooper, the storyline puts characters on opposite sides of the debate of who the law sees as the victim in this scenario.
Back in Fort Worth and now with Cooper’s legal woes hanging out in the back of his mind, Tommy continues his search for a benefactor to underwrite the drilling of his son’s lucky strike wells. With options running dry (no pun intended), he finds himself in the office of Danny Morell. Yes, that Danny Morell - the aforementioned thorn in Tommy’s side. Understanding that big business sometimes makes for strange bedfellows, Tommy buries his pride and disdain for the drug lord now dabbling in oil, who nearly took out his life in season 1. The former oil executive-once again landman lays out his financial needs; why backing a Norris Family operation makes sense; and what Cami’s offshore drill for gas on a hunch and a prayer could cost him, as an angel investor.
In a job that has often times ceased being about securing leases and minerals rights for oil drilling exploration, and more about crisis management, family therapy, grief counseling, and hoarding cats, Tommy Norris’ firing returns him to his roots and reasons for being in the industry.
The landman’s day comes full circle back in Midland. On the way to see his son and check-in on his future daughter-in-law, Tommy drops in to chastise the police chief and put in his own two cents about Cooper’s interrogation and victims’ rights regarding Ariana’s assault. With Cooper and Ariana now in tow, he gathers his father, T.L. (Sam Elliott), Rebecca, and their motley oil crew under the setting Texas sun in the middle of the Permian Basin. There, under the stone and steel of a West Texas pumpjack, Tommy lays out his plans for the future — their shared future.
Compelling and nuanced, Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of Tommy Norris remains the standout takeaway of Landman’s season 2. The veteran actor’s performance continues to showcase his distinct acting style and depth as a performer, capturing the complexity of his character's struggle with keeping his head from exploding with the minute-by-minute decisions he must make in any given 24-hour period. Perhaps, his popping antacids like Tic Tacs underscores the character’s seamless blending of vulnerability with grit. Thornton’s own blend of dry humor and drama adds layers to how he has masterfully conveyed Tommy’s emotional journey over the course of this season and the weathered oil man's determination to live to see another sunrise (whether he takes a moment to enjoy it or not), and despite facing numerous daily obstacles — whether from family legal difficulties, needy relatives, skepticism from those he serves, or deals with the devil.
Without a doubt, Thornton carries the series, reminding us of the importance of resilience and the pursuit of our own envious day in the sun, no matter how long the winding and oil-slicked road it takes to get there.
With Landman’s mid-season renewal for a third year already in play, we will get a chance to see how the new C.T.T. Exploration…and Cattle fairs among its competition next fall. (Just watch and you’ll understand.) Until then, catch all 10 episodes of season 2 of the big oil drama, streaming now on Paramount+.
What did you think?
Loved it
Hated it
So/So