In a pre-release interview with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley, Chávez and Lofland explained the difficulties between Ariana and Cooper’s relationship in Landman season 2. The pair emphasize their characters’ romance as having “ups and downs,” but that their feelings for each other mean they’ll be willing to work through whatever difficulties come their way. This seemingly includes their breakup:
ScreenRant: Your characters’ relationship really blossomed in season 1. Going into season 2, where are we at?
Paulina Chávez: Where are we? I mean, we’re learning the ropes. Relationships are hard. There’s a lot of conversations that need to be had, and like every relationship, it has its ups and downs, but their connection is very strong, so me as a viewer, I’m rooting for them.
Jacob Lofland: Yeah, I mean it’s a continuation, so we’re just working through it and still figuring everything out. It is still new and it’ll continue to throw its roadblocks in the way, and we’re figuring out other pieces of life and aspect of life at the same time. So it’s a lot for the characters to build on or to understand.
Based on Chávez and Lofland’s statements, it sounds like Landman season 2 hasn’t doomed the young couple yet. While Ariana kicked Cooper out of the house, he ended up talking to Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton) to get some advice. Based on their conversation, it sounds like he’ll be trying to hear her out and find a middle ground.
This seems especially apparent given the actors’ tease of how the pair will interact with the larger Norris family over the course of the season. Chávez in particular spoke about the idea of more interactions happening between her and other members of the family. However, she didn’t reveal anything concrete about how those possible interactions will play out:
ScreenRant: Yeah, there’s a great scene you have in season 1, that being Ariana meeting Ainsley at the hospital and that acclimation to the Norris family. What do you think a scene like that means for Ariana’s relationship going forward with Cooper and to her acclimation to the Norris family as a whole?
Paulina Chávez: I feel like we were just reaching the surface from those interactions. I feel like this next season, I don’t know, maybe we’ll see more of all of them together. Maybe they get to actually formally meet, but I think it’s very interesting, the dynamics of every character. Ariana is obviously very different from the Norris family and their norm, but I think the connection that they do have is that they’re both family people.
It seems this tension won’t subside right away, though, as Tommy learns that Sonrisa, the company responsible for lending Cooper his money to drill, is owned by cartel boss Gallino (Andy Garcia). This puts Cooper and Ariana in danger, especially if there are any monetary stipulations in their contract that Cooper’s drills aren’t able to fully meet.
While tension’s in the air, it seems like Cooper and Ariana aren’t done for in Landman season 2 just yet. Their love story is a complicated aspect of the show, something that will require plenty of development and trust before they can be fully comfortable with one another’s ideas for their futures. But, in time, it sounds like they’ll heal.
New episodes of Landman season 2 arrive Sundays on Paramount+.
