The Sting of Second Chances – As the fourth episode of Landman begins, Nathan (Colm Feore) finds Angela (Ali Larter) and Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) exercising in the morning. Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) contacts Nathan to ask where they’re meeting. Nathan complains about Tommy’s family twerking in the living room. Nathan briefly speaks to Angela after the call before walking in on Ainsley exercising. He grabs his files and flees. Ainsley says old men are cute when they’re shy. Arty Roberts (Gareth Williams) questions Tommy about reporting the theft of the King Air. Nathan shows Arty a report filed with the FAA. Tommy didn’t report it to the local authorities because they do not have jurisdiction. When Ian Crowley (John Patrick Jordan) objects, he argues with Rebecca Falcone (Kayla Wallace). Once the recording is paused, Arty asks the counsel to step into the conference room.

Rebecca and Ian continue arguing in private. Rebecca points out that their driver used a private road owned and constructed by her client without permission. Arty claims they had verbal permission from Tommy Norris. He says a verbal agreement is legally binding in the State of Texas. Rebecca asks Tommy if he gave permission for TTP to use the cutoff to Highway 285. Tommy admits he let them use the bypass when 302 was closed for night construction. They did not ask for that to be extended beyond the closure of the highway. Tommy was not aware that they continued using the bypass. Rebecca says TTP had restricted permission that had expired. Rebecca tells them everything they have going against them and suggests they take their eight-figure settlement like men. She tells them to draft the settlement and have them sign it. Tommy leaves with Rebecca.

She warns him that he’s in the fall guy position and could face future problems. Tommy invites her out for a drink so they can talk. He doesn’t think he gave her enough credit. Rebecca suspects she knows what he wants. She agrees to follow him though. Ainsley and Angela hang out near the pool. They talk about going to the country club. Tommy and Rebecca talk at The Patch Café. Tommy stops Bailey (Alexis Ryan) from selling herself to Dan. He speaks to the bartender, Barney (KC Clyde), about getting rid of her. Tommy and Rebecca discuss whether the girl had a choice. Tommy thinks she did. They also talk about a possible bust. Tommy talks about the price of crude oil and how $78 a barrel is about perfect. He says the place became a ghost town in 2020 because a barrel of oil was worthless. Ainsley and Angela go to the country club. They’re told it’s closed for a private event.

Angela tells Ainsley they have to go somewhere else. Cooper (Jacob Lofland) works alongside Manuel (JR Villarreal) and Boss (Mustafa Speaks). Angela and Ainsley go to a pub. Meanwhile, Tommy continues speaking to Rebecca about the oil fields and such. He also tells her about Monty Miller (Jon Hamm). Ainsley and Angela walk in seconds later. Ellie (Robyn Lively) serves them. Ainsley and Angela notice Tommy sitting at the bar with Rebecca. They confront him. Tommy introduces them to Rebecca. Angela and Ainsley try to get them to stay for supper. Rebecca eventually says she will. Tommy warns her this has the potential to become a real scene. One of the men gets hurt on Boss’s site. They yell to ask Antonio (Octavio Rodriguez) what is going on. Boss yells for Cooper to get on the blocks. Cooper and Manuel work together to help him. Cooper lowers him down after he’s passed out.

Dale Bradley (James Jordan) rushes over to help him. Dale yells for Boss to get the rig running before he drives Antonio away. Cooper soon learns he’s going to have to serve as the derrickhand. Meanwhile, Angela tells Rebecca and Ainsley about old times. Angela explains that Tommy lied to her about going to Mexico. Instead, they stayed in Lubbock where George Strait was playing a private event. Weeks later, the markets crashed and they lost everything. Tommy says he has to go check on a rig. Rebecca offers to give the women a ride. Ainsley says Tommy doesn’t like talking about the bust. Cooper and the others continue working to get the rig working. Tommy arrives and learns what happened with Antonio. He’s not thrilled to learn that Cooper is up there, but Manuel says it’s going smoothly. Angela tells Rebecca about her new husband who builds hotels. She tells Rebecca that she’s not Tommy’s type.

Angela says Tommy likes blowouts. Rebecca questions why she’s jealous at all because Tommy is not her husband. Tommy returns home and checks on Nate who is working on the settlements with the Medina family. He speaks to Ainsley who says Angela is a quitter because she left him after the market crash. Tommy insists they would’ve ended even if there wasn’t a bust. Then, he finds Angela in his bed crying. She claims they were great together. Tommy says they had a terrible marriage. Angela says she’s going to leave her husband. Tommy doesn’t want to be a side piece. Angela tries to convince him to say otherwise. Ainsley scares Nathan in the morning. Tommy tells her to get some clothes on. Ainsley gets happy when she learns that Tommy and Angela might be back together. Angela makes Tommy kiss her before he leaves. Dale checks out the rig. Tommy arrives and learns they just got it going.

Tommy calls Monty to tell him it’s running. He believes she’ll pump over 250 a day. Boss tells Tommy that Cooper stepped up when they needed him the most. Tommy tells Cooper he wants him to come and see Angela. Cooper can’t believe he’s going to give it another shot with Angela. Ariana (Paulina Chavez) ends up calling Cooper to say she needs to see him. He agrees to see her.

 

Landman Review

Landman’s fourth episode was okay although it’s hard to know exactly where this is going and what it’s actually about. There’s no real substance here with scenes just happening and being thrown together for whatever reason. There are lots of silly bits throughout the series and many of them are just gross.

The series is full of stereotypes and it really takes those to the extreme. All the women in the show are super thin and they’re ready to raw dog anything that moves, including a near 70-year-old man. It’s like someone tried to mix a strip club with the Permian Basin thinking eye-candy and partial nudity scenes would be enough to maintain viewer interest.

There is no real story here although Cooper’s scenes almost resemble one from time to time, but he’s about to take the romance turn as well. We’re still only getting glimpses of the oil field and the work that actually happens there. Most of those scenes are probably the same rig on repeat. We haven’t seen anyone hauling or delivering oil. Where are the fracks in this show and the complex compounds guarded closely by gate guards?

The characters are here to deliver educational points via five-minute monologues that are getting old by this point. It’s unfortunate that the cast is let down by a typical Taylor Sheridan script that has no real story, no real significance, and no real direction. Sadly, a book for preschoolers would likely have more purpose and more meaning than the script here.

Landman is for viewers who like seeing pretty things no matter how superficial those things may be. This episode scores a 4 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.