'Landman' season 2 finale review: Somehow, Taylor Sheridan has done it again

I went into the "Landman" season 2 finale fully ready to walk away from the series for good. The penultimate episode on Paramount Plus was a low point for the series, and I'm not the only fan of the show who felt that way. While the core drama around Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) and his career as a Texas oilman has remained a bright spot, it spent most of this season struggling to hold up a whole host of weaker storylines, despite the promising "Landman" season 2 premiere.

But then, show creator and writer Taylor Sheridan did something I thought perhaps he'd forgotten how to do: He delivered a great episode of television.

Now, it's not a flawless episode of television. Nor is it quite as good as the season 1 finale and its introduction of Gallino. But I was still impressed. Even with many of the twists being telegraphed, I still managed to be stunned, I still managed to get my blood boiling, and I still came away ready to watch more "Landman."

Yes, that's right. Sheridan has done it again. He's crafted a season finale that saved an uneven season of television. And I'm now hooked after essentially being out on the series once again. To quote someone who once acted alongside "Landman" star Andy Garcia, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

Malcolm McMillan

Malcolm has been on the Tom's Guide streaming team since 2023, reviewing dozens of shows each year so you only have to watch the good ones.

'Landman' season 2's finale fixes most problems

Spoilers for "Landman" season 2 finale beyond this point

When I say I was out on "Landman" after the penultimate episode of season 2, I meant it. I've long held that this show is at its worst when it steers away from Tommy and towards his family, specifically his wife Angela (Ali Larter) and his daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph).

In "Plans, Tears and Sirens," Sheridan crafts a truly baffling strawman — or rather, strawperson — in Paigyn (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a nonbinary sports medicine student who's Ainsley's roommate for cheerleading camp. They don't like music, red meat, shoes, leather shoes, lights being turned on; you get the idea. So Ainsley throws a fit to her mommy, who then scolds a school administrator, and then moves Ainsley and her friends into the penthouse of a five-star hotel. It's a real banner moment for the show, that basically nobody comes out looking good from.

In this final episode, Paigyn returned, and I audibly groaned. But instead of being an unsufferable liberal/vegan/LGBTQ+/figment of someone's imagination ... she's an incredibly professional sports physio who helps an out-of-shape Ainsley perform at her best. It's a humbling moment for Ainsley, which was a shocking development in its own right.

But that's not the end of it! Ainsley then returns the favor by being an ally for Paigyn when some schoolkids harass them for being nonbinary. They agree they should be human beings to each other and decide to be roommates again.

Look, is treating a non-binary person as a human the bare minimum? Sure. Is this sequence a bit too on the nose? Definitely. But it also shows that there was a plan all along, and it leads to character development for a character that, frankly, hasn't developed much over the two seasons of "Landman" so far.

Of course, this is far from the only stunning moment of the episode. Cooper (Jacob Lofland) almost gets arrested for murder, T.L. (Sam Elliott) sleeps with a stripper (OK, maybe that wasn't so shocking) and Tommy is somehow the only car not to get hit in a massive multi-vehicle accident.

Speaking of Tommy, we see him make a play for Cooper's oil leases that M-Tex technically hasn't bought. It's tough to say it's a betrayal of Cami (Demi Moore), given that she fired him in the last episode, something that Tommy failed to mention to his wife.

But, betrayal or not, it does set up intrigue for season 3. Will Cmi become the show's true villain? Will she try to outcompete Tommy on sheer talent or sue him over what seemed like pretty shady business practices? Will she simply be written out, no longer integral to the story, now that Tommy has partnered with Gallino (Garcia) and founded CTT Oil Exploration and Cattle, LLC?

All three options are on the table, and, incredibly, I'm once again awaiting with some excitement to see how the next chapter of "Landman" plays out.

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