This week’s episode is titled “Almost a Home.” Perhaps it’s fitting for Thanksgiving weekend: Surely more than a few of us can find some commonality between our own family dinners and those of the Norris household. Either way, we’d be remiss not to give thanks this holiday season for Demi Moore and Billy Bob Thornton, for the dramatics they manage to cook up each week. (Our regular reminder: Landman is based on the Texas Monthly and Imperative Entertainment podcast Boomtown, and TM is an executive producer).
We open this episode on the hunt not for a turkey, but for pigs. A group of hunters are perched in what looks like a small military-grade tank, which races across the Texas countryside while the men shoot giant rifles at squealing hogs. It’s all very macho stuff, but it comes to a screeching halt when our hunters begin to cough and, in short order, pass out. The camera zooms out to show a field of dead animals. What’s towering over their lifeless bodies? An oil rig, of course.
We’ll get back to that rig, but first, let’s check in on Cami in Fort Worth. She calls Tommy and says she wants to meet to show him “how much money we don’t have.” Luckily, Tommy is already on the way to her vicinity; he’s got some other business to attend to, and Angela is ready to start her hunt for a Cowtown megamansion.
Remember when Tommy, in last week’s episode, had a brief meeting with Boss (Mustafa Speaks) and a new crew of workers and asked them to go check out an abandoned site? Well, Dale (James Jordan), Boss, and a crew are now making good on that order—but some ominous shots of wind blowing and the discovery of the bodies of those aforementioned hunters reveal that it’s the same deadly rig from the opening. Upon arriving, the men quickly start coughing and throwing up, and Dale, as he calls for help, clarifies that there’s a lethal gas leak. (The men are later rescued by chopper, and all survive; it’s a reminder of just how dangerous this work can be.)
Meanwhile, in Midland, the newly single Ariana has gotten herself a job at the Patch Cafe. She has no applicable work experience, but she knows how to pour a margarita. Her first shift is rough: When a greasy man attempts to pay her to have sex with him, she throws a glass in his face and tries to quit on the spot. Her boss then explains that keeping creeps like that offender in check is exactly what makes her the perfect fit; she decides to stick it out.
Back to Tommy. He drops Angela off to meet a realtor and then makes his second stop in Fort Worth: Gallino’s office. But wait a minute—when Andy Garcia’s character reaches out to shake Tommy’s hand, why does he introduce himself as Dan “Danny” Morrell? Maybe Gallino is just his cartel name? It’s confusing, but to make it easier for you, reader, I’ll now refer to this character as Danny.
Danny tries to get Tommy to warm up to him, but Tommy isn’t buying; he’s worried about the IRS sniffing around Danny’s curiously booming business. Recall that Danny has a less than savory background—and if the money he’s using to prop up Cooper’s oil escapades is dirty, there’s bound to be trouble. “I’m not going to sit here,” Tommy says, “and discuss the nuance of oil explorations with a f—ing drug dealer.” Danny doesn’t take this well, and Tommy leaves their spat without any closure.
Tommy then heads to the M-Tex headquarters to meet with Cami, Nate, and Rebecca. The news ain’t good: “The company has no money,” Cami says. Long story short (according to Nate and Rebecca): Monty maxed out lines of credit, and no one knows how he was covering the loans. This means that not only is the offshore drill site M-Tex needs to build an impossibility, but the company also doesn’t have money for any drilling whatsoever.
Clearly, it’s time to track down M-Tex’s accountant, Alan (Jim Meskimen). The gang heads to a private club to seek him out; on the way, Cami gets existential. “I’ve always felt like my life was fantasy, and it may just turn out to be one.” She tells Tommy she wants Monty to be remembered for something positive, not just as “another wildcatter who got caught without a chair when the music stopped playing.”. Tommy tells her the goal for everyone in this industry is to get out of it and says Monty should’ve sold out a long time ago. Once they clean up this mess, he says, he hopes she does too.
At the Cattlemen’s Club, Cami and Tommy find Alan, and things quickly get out of control. Cami throws water in Alan’s face and asks where the company’s money is. Tommy steps in and smashes a bottle across his head. While blood gushes from his scalp, Alan says the cash is in an offshore account; he’s happy to set up a meeting to talk everything out. Who’s watching the encounter from outside? Danny, of course.
Soon after, Angela shows up at the club, as does Danny’s wife, Bela. Everyone drinks and gabs about love and their spouses; Cami gets sentimental. Then they all say their goodbyes—but not before Danny and Cami express interest in (potentially) working together. Just what Tommy wanted: even more Danny in his life.
On the drive home, Angela and Tommy fight, of course—but it’s clarified that the two actually haven’t remarried, and that she’s emotional because he called her his wife. “Are you asking?” she says. Tommy doesn’t exactly confirm, but Angela is excited and jumps into his lap for an X-rated celebration. It’s a Thanksgiving miracle!
But this episode refuses to end with festivity. We see Cami back at home, and she’s having a breakdown. Outside, on her back patio, she stares at a picture of her and Monty and then collapses and screams in grief. Wild coyotes howl with her. Fade to black.
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