Landman – As the opening episode of Landman begins, Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) has a bag over his head and he’s being held captive by two Spanish-speaking men. When several other men arrive, one fatally shoots another man. One man begins speaking to Tommy about who owns the land. Tommy explains why he owns the land. He tells them what the oil company intends to do with the land. Tommy says he was sent to negotiate a surface lease. He says they won’t mess with their product and vice versa. The man eventually agrees to Tommy’s deal. Tommy’s hands are cut free and Jimenez (Alex Meraz) leaves with his men. Tommy says the oil and gas industry makes $3 billion in a day in pure profit. He goes on a rant about the industry and how large it really is. Six months later, a white van follows a plane that touches down.

Several packages are unloaded from the plane. A TTP truck crashes into the plane and the van causing a fiery explosion. Cooper Norris (Jacob Lofland) gets ready for work in the oil field. Armando (Michael Pena) and Luis Medina (Emilio Rivera) pick him up. Cooper gets into the back with Elvio Medina (Alejandro Akara). They stop at a coffee shop with women in bikinis. Cooper tells Abilene (Brook Sill) that he wants a latte. Armando tells him they don’t have time for a latte. The others begin blowing their horns. When they drive away, Luis says he can’t drink it because it’ll make him sick. He throws the latte out and they continue. Tommy speaks to Dale Bradley (James Jordan) who claims gang members are part of the drilling crew now. They allegedly had a gunfight in the man camp last night. Nathan (Colm Feore) comes in moments later.

He reminds Tommy that he needs to be at the courthouse today. After Tommy receives a call, he tells Nathan he’ll have to depose him tomorrow. He thinks he’s found their plane. As Tommy reaches the scene, he tells Nathan over the phone that it’s their play. It’s on the road they built by the Pyote field. Tommy speaks to Sheriff Walt Joeberg (Mark Collie) before getting out to check the crash. Tommy says the plane went missing months back. They were using it to transport drugs. Tommy asks what a TTP truck is doing on their road. He didn’t report the plane because stuff like that usually shows back up. Walt tells him he won’t be using this road for a while. Tommy says he’s going to need him to change the date on the police report. Walt says he won’t backdate anything. Tommy just wants him to note that the FAA was notified last month. Walt agrees to do that. Tommy wants to build a road around the crash.

There’s evidence on both sides of the road so it’ll be hard to build a detour. Tommy calls to say they’re going to need enough caliche for about a mile to get around the mess. In his truck, Tommy tries to call Monty Miller (Jon Hamm). He is interrupted by a call from Angela Norris (Ali Larter) who reminds him he has Ainsley Norris (Michelle Randolph). He learns about Ainsley’s boyfriend, Dakota Loving (Drake Rodger). They also talk about Cooper’s first day on the job. Chubby (Greg Dorchak) speaks to Monty Miller. Monty steps away when he gets a call. Tommy tells him they’re going to hit him in three directions, including the insurance company, the victims’ families, and TTP. Tommy says they’ll file in Houston and the first one to hire Shepherd-Hastings wins. He says Clay Chandler is an assassin. Luis and Armando play a trick on Cooper. On his way down the ladder, Cooper hurts his hand.

Elvio climbs up and reminds him he has a harness on. Cooper learns they were messing with him. Tommy goes to The Patch Café where Ellie (Robyn Lively) serves him. Patrick Ramsey (Bart Johnson) and another man join him. They talk about a fire caused by a faulty switch on a pumpjack. Tommy argues it was an act of God. Patrick says M-TEX has been a good partner. That’s why they didn’t join the class action. Patrick says they won’t let him drill another well until this is handled. Tommy offers to pay him $300,000 but it’ll be for a solar lease. He explains he can justify payment on solar rights or wind. Patrick thinks he can make that happen. Tommy ends up arguing with the client. Desmond Trotter (Joseph Meissner) will be glad when people like Tommy are gone. Next, Tommy picks up Ainsley and her boyfriend, Dakota. In the truck, they talk about watching the football game.

At the game, Ainsley tells Tommy she’s going to die if she doesn’t get into Alabama so she can be with Dakota. Tommy asks her whether they’re having sex. Ainsley tells him something nasty so he leaves to get a drink. Tommy calls Luis to ask him how his son did. Tommy admits he put him with Luis to keep him out of trouble. Back at the game, a girl gets excited when she sees Dakota Loving there. Luis invites Cooper over for supper since he doesn’t have any food in his pod. Armando tells Cooper he has to learn how to speak Spanish because he’s not speaking English all day. Armando gets a call from his daughter. Cooper speaks to Armando about Elvio who is his little brother. Armando reveals his uncle was in prison for ten years. The only way for a felon to make six figures is to either steal it or work the patch. Armando says Elvio skipped prison and went straight to the patch. Now, he owns his house and his his truck paid off.

They play another joke on Cooper by giving him hot food. At home, Tommy makes Ainsley go to bed and Dakota sleep on the couch alone. Ainsley tells her dad he’s just postponing what will happen. She insists she loved Dakota. Tommy doesn’t think the relationship will last. She says she’s never slept with Dakota. Tommy eventually agrees to let Ainsley sleep with Dakota as long as they don’t have sex. When Dakota finds out, he asks if they can dry hump. Then, he gets upset and makes Ainsley cry. Ainsley admits her dad was right about Dakota. Cooper heads out on the job the next day. Luis works near a pumpjack. He asks Cooper to get a 24-inch pipe wrench. Luis keeps trying since it takes Cooper so long to get it. An explosion occurs.

 

Landman Review

The opening episode of Landman felt directionless to the point that it’s hard to know where this is going, what it’s actually about, and what the core story is. Are viewers supposed to stick around for a potential showdown between Tommy Norris and a drug cartel? Or, should we be interested in Tommy’s personal dramas? It’s really a long, drawn-out episode that didn’t achieve a great deal in the long run.

Instead, the episode was more about Tommy’s family dramas and those certainly weren’t great. Cooper was fairly interesting although typical and the representation of the job only skims the surface. What is his actual job here? Where are the folks hauling the oil? Where are the 18-wheelers? It’s like the budget wasn’t high enough to authentically cover the industry.

Instead, we just got a big monologue from Billy Bob Thornton to prove to us that the writers did their homework. In typical Taylor Sheridan fashion, the story bends reality a bit too much and the father-daughter relationship is super creepy. The whole Ainsley character doesn’t work well because the actress looks too old for the role and the dialogue is so far over-the-top.

The final scenes focusing on the explosion were a bit silly considering Luis is supposed to be experienced and in charge of teaching Cooper. Plus, everyone disappeared when the thing went up in flames. Ultimately, the opening episode had little purpose and no real hook. It started interesting enough before branching off into multiple storylines with varying degrees of success. There are too many storylines and not enough focus on whatever the purpose is supposed to be here.

As a result, this was pretty much void of any personality or purpose. That may change in the second episode though. This one scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Landman can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.