Critic’s Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
2.5
Well, I finally understand the frustration some of you experience watching Landman.
Without a doubt, Landman Season 2 Episode 6 is my least favorite entry of the series so far.
However, it was not without its bright spots. Let’s see how it all played out.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Let’s just get this out of the way. Angela and Ainsley were intolerable. Brief hints of compassion and intelligence earlier in the season aren’t enough to sustain us during episodes like this.
It pains me every time they suggest that money and looks are the most important things in life, and it was like a knife in my heart every time they opened their mouths.
I have no idea how much money Tommy is rolling in, but it’s clearly far more significant than how he portrays it. He’s living in a house like he’s a fraternity guy, but he barely flinched when he said, “One hundred grand won’t scratch the surface of this shit.”
Excuse me? If you have that kind of petty cash padding your wallet, why are you still living with the fellas?
He didn’t need an additional reason to venture out on his own, but his scantily clad ex-wife and daughter are two reasons, and the addition of one very unhappy father is another.
Granted, Angela thought moving out meant a mansion grander than she needs, but Tommy is the breadwinner. Sure, he loves them, but they’re over-the-top antics and demands aren’t reality unless he makes them so.
Does the guy have a pair or not? I’m beginning to wonder.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Angela and Ainsley go on a weekend trip without luggage because, in their minds, you aren’t supposed to arrive with luggage, but leave with it. Is this how Taylor Sheridan sees women?
And let’s not get started on “Buying new clothes is so rewarding. It’s like purchasing hope.” Or this winner, “My grip is fully around the scrotum of life, and I will never let go.” Excuse me while I vomit.
It’s easy to grab life by the balls when you don’t pay for it. But it’s still not a good or enjoyable message to send to the masses, and it’s not a good look for the women of Landman.
Look, I know Sheridan is writing this for the boys, but I don’t know many men who find women like Angela and Ainsley attractive. Of course, I only associate with intelligent men with a lot of common sense. I guess even my friends aren’t the audience Taylor is writing for these days.
Angela’s suggestion to Cooper that he needed to spend a minimum of $25 grand oon an engagement ring or he might as well not even propose also rubbed me the wrong way. The view of women on this show is atrocious.
Although Cooper isn’t much better. Has he learned nothing from his parents’ disastrous marriage? Tommy is practically begging him to pull back and get to know Ariana a bit before committing.
But then Ariana set up Cooper to talk with her grandmother (what is with her setting up Cooper like that? So uncool), who determined that having a fuzzy feeling in your gut and only wanting to make someone happy is… yes, love.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
What kind of bullshit is that? That’s infatuation. There is a HUGE difference between love and infatuation, and Cooper and Ariana are firmly entrenched in the latter.
They know almost nothing about each other. Yes, living together isn’t great if you’re Catholic, but I assume Ariana was kidding about that just like she was about Cooper’s need to request her hand in marriage.
Yes, in the end, Angela decided to give her engagement ring to Cooper for Ariana. But let’s not pretend it was anything other than it was — a way to push Tommy into buying another.
And what mother would want her ring, tainted with bad memories of a failed marriage, to be the beginning of her son’s marriage?
There are so many things wrong with this duo during this episode that I can barely stand it.
And while we’re here, we might as well bring TL into focus. The guy spent decades wishin’ and a hopin’ that the woman he married would emerge again, but it was a lost cause.
All of the stuff about how he gave her space to do that because even though he loved the child they lost, he didn’t carry or nourish it made me sick, too. To think that women aren’t strong enough to carry on for the others in their lives and themselves is insulting.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Clearly, mama was dealing with serious mental illness, but instead of getting her help, he just powered through. Well done, sir. Well done.
Part of me almost felt sorry for him because of how Tommy was talking to him, but then I remembered he gives as good as he gets. And honestly, my mother and I talk similarly.
But this is the man who tells Tommy that if Angela is pushing, he’d best give in, lest he lose her. And here’s me wondering, is losing her really such a bad thing? Other than repeated opulent, festive dinners and blow jobs, what, exactly, does Angela offer other than frustration?
I also know I’m not a man, so I don’t know the power of a good blow job. Maybe you can clue me in.
Tommy also knows better than to take advice from his father. He’s struggling to put up with him, let alone understand him.
Thankfully, TL made it out of the yard, but in doing so, he managed to get in a fight with an old employee who apparently insulted his dead wife. So, by all means, get into a fist fight like a teenager. That’ll show ‘im!
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Sheridan can write really great stories that touch on topics many are too afraid to discuss, but then he has these duds that make me cringe. “Dark Night of the Soul” was one cringe after another.
Which brings me to Cami and her new bestie, Gallino. Or whoever the hell he is. I so wanted Demi Moore to have an increased presence on Landman Season 2, but not like this. She’s a shrew. She’s playing a game with her life and the lives of others, but she’s too dense to see it.
She thinks Tommy is a loser for losing his fortune and working with Monty. Monty, who left things such a mess, she’s getting into bed with a drug lord to fix it. Yes, I can clearly see the stark line she draws in the sand. What’s it about? You guessed it — money.
She plays like she’s interested in legacy, but she’s risking everything with her game.
When I was actually interested in Gallino and trusting him more than Cami during this hour, we know there’s a problem.
Gallino is giving Tommy advice to save his career for fear that other parties will poison Cami even more when it comes to Tommy, to the point she’ll chuck him out of the business.
And yet I’m pretty sure that with a measly $42 million in debt, Tommy just brought M-Tex much more through absorbing Cooper’s company. Sure, Cooper failed to do things right regarding his business, but he did spot something the pros overlooked, and it will make bank.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
But, screw Tommy the loser, right?
And did you see the looks she was flashing him from the dance floor? What the hell was that? I. Just. Can’t.
We went from Beth Dutton to Angela, Ainsley, and Cami. And while I don’t watch Lioness, I understand those women are badass. And yes, Margaret on Tulsa King is wicked smart and a worthy asset. So why is Landman such a mess with its women?
There is an outlier, and one that got a little more well-rounded this time out.
Rebecca continues to stomp on my nerves with things like, “I’m reporting you to HR,” (although, wicked comeback, Nate!), but all the stomping she does couldn’t prepare her for Charles “Charlie” Newsom, and thank God for that.
She is in over her head, but she knows how to ask for help. Little did she know that the man she slept with after the wild plane ride wasn’t a dipshit, but just the person she needs to help her cut through the mud and get a well going.
And he’s the perfect match for her. He doesn’t take her crap. Instead, he calls her on it and pulls her out of herself to someone far more pleasant.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
When she refused to enter the trailer for fear he’d inspire wickedness, he offered her the bed of his truck and a beer. When she said he was breaking HR policy, he reminded her that she’s his superior, so she’s the one in breach.
And he does it all with enough charm to bring her to her knees without the intention of doing so. He sees something in her, and he wants her to embrace it. Allow herself to enjoy life.
He’s not wrong in asking her if she works 24/7, how she plans on meeting someone. The obvious answer is that you meet someone at work. If you’re open and honest and not dashing around under the cover of darkness, there’s nothing wrong with it, either.
That’s coming from a former HR director who had a relationship with an employee. As long as everyone knows and it’s on the up-and-up, it works.
I spoke with Guy Burnet this week (the interview will be up tomorrow), and he’s as engaging in real life as he is on screen.
The very best thing to come out of this episode was the dynamic between Rebecca and Charlie, and if I were a “shipping” kind of gal, they’d be my new ‘ship.
Kayla Wallace has been almost unrecognizable in this role, outside of the early conversation Rebecca had with Tommy when they first met. Then, Rebecca still had a spark. Lately, she’s been far too stern.
(Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
I suppose it’s to tone down the other women. They need a counterweight to pull the embarrassment away from women who only see fortune and looks.
Ariana began that way, but her latest games with Cooper have not impressed me.
So, the idea of seeing a woman who can better balance life and find happiness is right up my alley. And this has nothing to do with anything, but Kayla looked so lovely with her tanned face and the smattering of freckles.
Maybe she’ll become a woman on the show I can imagine being friends with. It’s not a bag of clothes from Nieman Marcus, but it gives me a little hope nonetheless. And Wallace has proven she can pull it off.
Oh, I know you’re all going to put me through the wringer over this one. And it will mostly be folks on Facebook who don’t read anything more than the blurb on the post.
But you tell me. Am I on the money with this or way off base? Am I too tired and in a bad mood? Unable to see the joy Angela and Ainsley bring?
Have your say in the comments below… and Merry Christmas! See you when it’s over!
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