The Billy Bob Thornton-led hit television show Landman just aired its penultimate episode on Sunday (January 11), which means that just one episode remains in Season Two to wrap everything up nicely.
Luckily for fans of the show, like us, it has already been picked up for Season Three, although we are unsure when filming will begin.
If you have not watched the Landman episode titled “Planes, Tears and Sirens,” consider this your spoiler warning! To catch up on the latest recap, read our Episode 8 recap here.
The episode begins with Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton), Dale (James Jordan), and Nate (Colm Feore) all on the phone, trying to obtain approval from several different agencies for their upcoming offshore dig.
Angela (Ali Larter) joins the chaos as she tries to get Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) preferential treatment at a cheer camp at TCU, where she will be attending college and joining the cheer team. Once the chaos dies down, Tommy goes outside to greet his father, who is already sitting outside watching the sunrise.
From here, we will break down the episode by each character.
TL
Tommy is surprised his dad, TL (Sam Elliott), isn’t asking about his day or asking to come with him.
“I might watch that View later. I think they’re pretty funny. They’re not trying to be, but they are,” he said. This is a callback to Episode 5, where Tommy jokingly suggested his dad watch The View at the house.
TL says he doesn’t want to go because he has physical therapy with his new therapist, Cheyenne, who is actually a stripper Tommy paid very well. They share a laugh over the fact that Cheyenne doesn’t actually have a degree.
Later, TL is asleep on the couch when Cheyenne arrives for physical therapy and undresses to her bathing suit. The two share a deep conversation during their session. Turns out, Cheyenne is exactly what TL needed.
M-Tex
Rebecca (Kayla Wallace) arrives at Charlie’s (Guy Burnet) house, and they talk about the fight they had at Cami Miller’s office. Rebecca apologizes and asks for their relationship to continue, even though Charlie will be on a rig for the next six months. They agree to be together and make the long distance work.
Tommy, Rebecca, and Cami board the plane, and several scenes later, they land in the Louisiana Gulf to meet Dan Morell (Andy Garcia) and his wife at the airport, marking the start of the first day of their offshore dig.
“30 years in this business, I have never seen a viewing party for a rig launch,” Nate says to Tommy.
At the launch party, Rebecca sees the lawyers who are suing M-Tex, who commend her for putting the project together so quickly and honoring their deal.
Cami pulls Tommy aside and reveals that she understands what drove her husband into this line of work. “There’s a rush,” she says.
Tommy reveals that he doesn’t feel that rush because it once cost him everything, and he is trying everything he can to never feel it again.
“The president of my company can’t be averse to the very thing that built it,” she tells him before firing him. She walked away and Tommy just sat there in shock.
Ainsley and Angela
Angela drops Ainsley off at TCU for a one-week cheer camp, and Angela is having trouble saying goodbye. After Ainsley walks up the campus steps, Angela sits in her car and cries.
Ainsley finds her dorm and meets her new roommate, Paigyn, a Sports Medicine student who has a pet ferret and uses they/them pronouns. Paigyn gives Ainsley a laundry list of rules: no animal products as they are vegan, no music, no air fresheners, and already criticized the way Ainsley said Paigyn’s name. Ainsley left the room emotional.
Ainsley goes to the Admissions Office, where she complains about Paigyn, but the counselor tells her that she has to tell Paigyn what she needs to feel comfortable as well. Instead of taking her counselor’s advice, she calls her mom for help.
When Ainsley returns to her dorm, she turns the light on, which angers Paigyn, who says Ainsley is “invading their safe space,” and storms out. Angela arrives at the Admissions Office to speak with the counselor and express her concerns.
Angela convinced the counselor to let Ainsley live off campus due to her medical reasons: allergies. Angela booked them a suite at a nearby hotel where they could stay for the week and said she would get Ainsley an apartment off campus for when the fall semester starts.
The Norris ladies host the cheer team at their hotel pool, enjoying Ainsley’s new life as a college freshman.
Cooper
At Ariana’s house, Cooper (Jacob Lofland) and his new fiancée (Paulina Chávez) talk about their long days. Ariana reveals she is working a double at the bar, and Cooper offers to come visit her.
At Cooper’s dig site, he is already asserting his leadership, which Boss has some trouble with. Cooper chose a spot for them to dig, and Boss didn’t agree with it. In fact, Boss wanted to call Dale to confirm, but Cooper wouldn’t let him.
At the Patch Cafe, Ariana steps out to call her mother-in-law to check on Miguel, her son. As she’s on the phone, we see a man walk towards her in the alley. We find out it’s the man from her first shift who was banned from the bar for mistreating her.
He calls her a racial slur and is clearly there to hurt her. She punches him, but he tackles her to the ground. She fights back, but he knocks her nearly unconscious and begins ripping off her shirt. Inside, Cooper arrives. He walks in the back to find the man attempting to r*pe her. He pulls the man off of her and starts to punch him in the face repeatedly.
The bar manager comes outside and finds the man lying on the ground, but he is still able to speak. He calls the police to come. When we see a security camera in the alley, hopefully Cooper will not face any jail time, as he was stopping a crime.
His fate will unfold in the Season 2 finale, which will be available to stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, January 18th.
The trailer shows Ariana calling Rebecca for help, Tommy meeting with Morrell about his job with Cami, and more.
