In Landman Season 2, episode 5, Angela attended her own fake birthday party at Western Skies retirement home and followed it up by organizing an insanely detailed pirate-themed party at her own home in order to commemorate Thomas’ reunion with Tommy. That said, before Tommy attended that second party, he had to deal with a barrage of curveballs. The first one came in the form of Cooper, who had not only entered a deal with Dan, which would have left him under a mountain of debt if it had gone through, but he had also decided to marry Ariana. Tommy didn’t meddle with Cooper’s romantic life too much, but he did state that M-Tex would buy the leases to the land on which Cooper was currently drilling. That meant that Cooper would be working for M-Tex as a landman, and Sonrisa would not be involved in this matter in any way whatsoever, which was conveyed to Dan later on. That was followed by Tommy receiving the news about the truck colliding with the pickup truck in which somebody had tried to die by suicide as well as the stuff about the H₂S leak that had rendered Jerrell blind. As if that wasn’t enough, he then had to deal with the insurance issue where Blanton’s attorneys had compelled M-Tex to start drilling with that offshore rig within the next 45 days or get sued into oblivion. Since drilling needed money, there were two options: filing for bankruptcy and using some complicated financial maneuvers to finance the project, or shaking hands with Dan. Tommy was against both of these routes; however, since it was impossible to solve the issue instantly, he chose to chill out at Angela’s pirate-themed party. What happened next? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Cooper Wants To Marry Ariana
Landman Season 2 Episode 6 opens with Thomas asking Tommy if he could tag along with him while he does his job, because he’s tired of being alone at home. Tommy likes to do his job all on his own, and he knows the complications that can arise if he takes Thomas with him. So, he rejects Thomas’ request almost immediately, which leaves Thomas crestfallen. That’s when Tommy realizes that Thomas doesn’t actually have any interest in Tommy’s work; he just wants to spend some time with his son, since he hasn’t done so for the past few decades. Hence, he retracts his initial decision and tells Thomas to get ready so they can hit the road. Before heading out, though, Tommy, Thomas, Nate (I almost called him Neil), Angela, and Ainsley have a hilarious discourse about the ladies’ choice of clothing and Angela’s plan to do a Mexican-themed dinner. Tommy knows that nobody can win against Angela in a verbal battle, so he chooses to hit the road with Thomas. En route to Fort Worth, Thomas and Tommy engage in a brief conversation about how the planet has been turned into a pincushion where the pins are the oil rigs. This subtle commentary on humanity’s greed and inability to only take what’s needed is almost immediately shot down by Tommy as he points out that Thomas used to be in the business that he’s currently critiquing. Before they can engage in a healthy argument on this topic, he gets a call from Cooper, who is returning from Corpus after meeting Ariana’s dad, and he wants to have a chat with him about his salary. Why does he need the money? Because he wants to buy a wedding ring for Ariana.
Since this is a matter of the heart, Tommy acts a little leniently and asks him how much he needs. Neither Tommy nor Cooper knows how much a wedding ring costs, so Cooper calls Angela, because she knows more about this particular topic. Now Angela, who is usually very eager to spend unimaginable amounts of money on unnecessary stuff, surprises everyone by saying that she doesn’t want Cooper to spend anything on a wedding ring. She is going to give her wedding ring to Cooper, which is somewhat of a tradition all around the world, thereby preventing Cooper from starting his married life in debt, which is something that happened when Tommy bought that ring for Angela. Cooper is obviously happy with this idea, and he says that he’ll swing by the house to collect it. While conveying all this information to Tommy, Angela reveals that while she’s being frugal with Cooper, she has no intention of being frugal with Tommy. So, once she has given her ring to Cooper, she’ll need a new one with Tommy’s money. Tommy obviously has no option but to give in to Angela’s demands. Also, when Angela learns that Tommy will be in Fort Worth, she essentially orders him to meet her at Cattlemen’s so that they can spend the weekend partying. Does Tommy reject that proposal? Of course not, which allows Thomas to crack a joke at his son’s expense, and Tommy has no option but to laugh at his own misery.
The Age of Robots Is Upon the Oil Business
Dale, Boss, Ben, and Russ attend the Permian Basin International Oil Show (PBIOS) in Odessa. Surprisingly enough, the focus of this whole scene is the replacement of manual workers at oil rigs with robots. It seems to have been shot at the actual PBIOS event and features a real company called Forum Energy Technologies (FET), whose salespeople present that robot. Now, I am sure Taylor Sheridan and his team got the permission to do all this because it’s essentially a massive advertisement for the expo and that company. But the subtext of the scene is how robots are taking away the jobs of humans, and hence it’s a bad thing. So, I don’t exactly know how Sheridan and co. convinced the people behind PBIO and FET to feature in a scene where they’re being painted in a negative light. Or maybe in everybody’s eyes, this isn’t such a bad thing? I mean, over the course of these 2 seasons of Landman, we have seen several mishaps happen at oil rigs. The pay is good, and companies earn a lot by selling oil. However, CEOs always have and always will feel the need to earn more and pay less to their employees. And automation is apparently the most lucrative alternative.
They can use the excuse of “saving lives” and replace human rig workers with those robots. That said, you are putting people out of jobs, and that too in an economy that is harsh as hell. I mean, if only there was a way to integrate robots into the risky parts of the oil business while promoting the people who have worked on oil rigs to a desk job, thereby rewarding all the work they’ve done so far for the company; if only. To be honest, I think this scene got the green light from all parties concerned because it can be interpreted any way you like. If you are pro-humans-doing-jobs, you can see it as a scathing indictment of robots. If you are pro-robots-doing-jobs, you can see it as an endorsement. Everyone’s happy (except for the people who are losing their jobs in real life). With all that said, I do hope that this particular idea is fleshed out in the next few episodes or future seasons of the show because it’s interesting and relevant. Every single job in the world is at risk of being occupied by a machine or an AI program. So, even if you know nothing about oil or running a business, you’ll find something to relate to if you see these characters competing against robots to make a living.
Cooper Gets Isabel’s Approval
Ariana is seen having a chat with Isabel, Elvio’s mother, about Miguel, her job, and her future. Okay, so, a lot of people have been wondering where the insurance money that Ariana supposedly got from M-Tex after Elvio’s death went. Fans are confused that, despite getting thousands of dollars, Ariana is working as a bartender at The Patch. Well, apparently Isabel has the same query too, and the answer to it is pretty simple: Ariana has set that money aside for Miguel. When he grows up, that amount will pay for his education and other costs. Ariana is still young and healthy. Hence, she is using her strength and energy to do a job and add more money to the pool, instead of lounging around and burning through the money that she got because her first husband died on the job, because that’s just immoral. Isabel understands that, and hence, she jumps to the topic of Ariana’s budding romance with Cooper. Ariana admits that she is in love with Cooper, and Cooper is in love with her, and if everything goes right, they are going to marry each other. Ariana thinks that Isabel is going to react to this information with anger because it seems like Ariana is replacing Elvio, but Isabel says that Ariana is still young and full of passion, which is why she doesn’t want to see her living the rest of her life loving a memory. She is glad that Ariana has found love again; at the same time, she wants to make sure that Cooper is the right fit for her. So, she essentially orders Ariana to tell Cooper to meet her, and only if she approves of him will Ariana go ahead with the marriage. Ariana is glad to accept this condition, because she knows that Isabel means well.
Therefore, before heading out for her shift, she tells Cooper to take Miguel and drop her off at Isabel’s house, as that’ll give her former mother-in-law the opportunity to confront Cooper. She doesn’t give Cooper a heads-up, because if he knows what he is walking into, he might not speak honestly about his feelings. Cooper is understandably surprised by Isabel’s line of questioning, but since he truly loves Ariana, the words that spontaneously come out of his mouth underscore the fact that he actually does love her. Given how Isabel invites Cooper into the kitchen to teach him how to cook, I think that’s a solid sign she approves of Ariana’s choice. I quite like the way the show is building this romantic subplot. Usually, “young romance” goes from zero to a hundred really quickly, thereby not allowing you, the viewer, to have any emotional investment in the relationship. Therefore, no matter how passionate the characters are about each other, it doesn’t click. By putting Cooper through this gruelling ordeal, the seriousness of his love for Ariana, and vice versa, is settling in, and you can root for the couple without the writing forcing you to do so. Since I’m engineered to be wary of anything nice in a show where death is round the corner, I’m afraid that the writers are giving so much buildup to Ariana and Cooper’s relationship so that they can use it to engineer a tragic plot twist. I hope I am wrong.
Rebecca Reunites With Newsom
Nathan and Rebecca are seen having a conversation about how they can get the rig up and running in the next few days to avoid getting sued for insurance fraud. Once Rebecca has understood the pros and cons of drilling at a spot in the Gulf (of Mexico or America is up to somebody else to decide, not me) that’s adjacent to the well, which was functional before Hurricane Francine destroyed the rig, she asks if they have an offshore geologist who can oversee this whole project. Nathan says that he has a guy called Newsom, and Rebecca thinks that she should meet him and go over the details of this mission, because this situation is really dire. Nathan doesn’t understand why a lawyer has to talk to a geologist, and at the same time he is in no mood to explain why Monty or Tommy failed to handle the revenue of this offshore rig properly. So, he just sends the location from where Newsom operates to Rebecca, and she takes off.
Of course, Newsom turns out to be the guy with whom Rebecca had a wild one-night stand. He starts flirting, she cites rules, and then she gives in; you know the drill. So, if you were expecting Rebecca to have a borderline problematic romantic subplot of her own, well, there you have it. Anyway, coming to the much more important matter at hand: Rebecca wants Newsom to lead the offshore drilling project. Of course, Francine was an unprecedented event, but even without hurricanes, there can be so many other complications that a rig in the middle of the Gulf can face. And Rebecca thinks that Newsom is knowledgeable enough to weather such storms. It’s unclear if Rebecca is thinking rationally or not because she is very obviously infatuated with Newsom. For her sake, let’s hope this gamble of hers turns out to be a success, because if Newsom turns out to be a case of “all talk, no show,” then there’s no limit to how much criticism she’s going to get. I mean, Cami has already shaken hands with Dan. He is investing in M-Tex. The only way to honor the deal is by making sure that that drill works properly. Who does that hinge on now? That’s right; Newsom and his crew. If he fumbles the bag, there are going to be consequences, and it’s highly possible that Rebecca and Newsom will be first in the firing line. If he succeeds, Rebecca and Newsom will get a pat on their backs.
Tommy Sees Cami Falling Into Dan’s Trap
Tommy and Thomas reach the relatively rural side of Fort Worth, and after settling Thomas down in a seat in a small rodeo arena, Tommy goes off to meet Dan and Cami. Of course, the choice of the setting isn’t random; there’s some subtext to the rodeo arena, the riders, the horses, and the cattle. From what I understand, Dan is the rider, his company is the horse, and M-Tex, and everyone associated with it, is the cow that’s going to be wrangled. Dan makes it seem like the rider and the horse are there to save the cow from some kind of a crisis, even though the truth of the situation is that the rider is the crisis. Tommy joins this conversation and alleges that the only reason why Dan is even remotely interested in M-Tex is because he wants to launder some money. Dan defends himself by saying that if he did indeed want to launder money, he would have invested in a franchise that made tanning salons and called it a day. But doesn’t he essentially expose his hypocrisy here by comparing tanning salons with the oil business? I mean, in what world are tanning salons more profitable than oil? Maybe in a world that’s devoid of oil? Hence, yeah, it seems like there’s something iffy about Dan’s intention to work with M-Tex. However, Tommy can’t do anything about it because Cami is way too determined to shake hands with him. So, he gives in and starts negotiating the terms of M-Tex’s deal with Dan. Tommy tries to keep M-Tex in the safe zone, but Cami bypasses his judgement to accept the shifty offer that Dan is making. Tommy is understandably miffed, but he has no option but to shake Dan’s hand because, at the end of the day, Cami is his boss. To add to his frustration, Thomas picks a fight with Nash, an old acquaintance of Thomas’ who is doing community service there for some kind of financial fraud, because he was supposedly bad-mouthing Dorothy. So, Tommy drags Thomas out of the arena, ensures that nobody is pressing any charges on his father, accepts Dan’s offer to join him and his wife for a night of celebration to commemorate the deal with M-Tex, and then checks on Thomas. When Tommy learns about the reason behind the tiff, he initially takes Nash’s side, because he feels that if Nash insulted Dorothy, then he must’ve been right. Thomas underscores the fact that Tommy shouldn’t be supporting a two-bit criminal just because he never got to see his mother prior to his sister’s death. Tommy understands yet again that he is letting the hatred that he has been nurturing for decades do the talking, and, after calming himself down, he empathizes with Thomas and understands what kind of pain his father is in. Since there’s nothing much to do or see at the rodeo arena, the father-son duo head to Cattlemen’s bar to have a few drinks and chill out until Angela and Ainsley reach Fort Worth.
Tommy Is Unsure About Working With Dan
While waiting for the ladies, Thomas advises Tommy to remarry Angela and focus on making memories with his family instead of prioritizing his work over his loved ones. Thomas is speaking from experience when he says that dedicating one’s life to work whilst not spending any meaningful time with those who care about you is no way to live at all. When you grow old, and you’ll have nothing but memories to latch on to, all you will have are work stories and only a handful of familial anecdotes. Thomas points out that Tommy’s ratio of work to family memories is already lopsided, and he can’t remedy that in a leisurely fashion because, well, he’s old. Given how Tommy’s relationship with Cami and M-Tex has started to crumble, it’s possible he might just heed Thomas’ advice, retire from his roles as the president and a landman of the company, mentor Cooper and other budding landmen, and dedicate the rest of his waking hours to “creating memories.” In the ending of Landman Season 2, episode 6, while Thomas, Angela, Ainsley, Cami, and Bella are busy partying, Dan and Tommy are spotted having a conversation about work. During that, Dan slyly brings up the topic of Cami’s lack of trust in Tommy. Tommy says that since he lost everything during the financial crisis of 2008 and then came to Monty for a job, Cami thinks that he is incapable of handling M-Tex. Dan suggests that he do something about it, because if anyone who hates Tommy realizes that Cami doesn’t trust him, they’re going to manipulate her into getting rid of him.
The episode comes to a close with Tommy and Cami staring daggers at each other, but isn’t it kind of obvious that Dan is the one who is trying to cause a rift between them? Even though Cami is too desperate to realize that, I am sure Tommy can see through Dan’s deception. If he truly cares about Cami, he might just go all in on saving her from Dan’s clutches. But how? Well, for now, he has to wait and watch how the deal between Dan and Cami plays out. If he keeps pestering Cami to stay away from Dan, she’ll do the exact opposite. So, he has to let Dan show his true colors and then turn Cami over to his side. That does sound like a lot of effort, and if Tommy spends so much time on Cami, he’ll be going against Thomas’ advice. That’ll definitely further his internal conflict of retiring and enjoying some family time instead of burning out for Cami and M-Tex. However, that’s what will make the show interesting in the coming days, because if Tommy is reluctantly doing his job and isn’t all that interested in entertaining his family, then things might get boring. If his urge to save M-Tex from Dan becomes as strong as staying home with his family, that friction will lead to some good drama. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the show. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
