Nothing about Landman should work. I’ve said this already, in my coverage of the first outing and indeed Season 2, but it’s worth reiterating since this is such a weird show that I find the fact it works at all to be genuinely fascinating. It breaks all the rules about how to structure and pace a season of television. It’s constantly indulgent and oftentimes ridiculous, but also occasionally tender and deeply profound. Episode 8, “Handsome Touched Me”, embodies all of these warring qualities really visibly, perhaps more so than even a typical episode, especially one like last week’s, which gives the impression of nothing happening at all.
But stuff is happening here, for sure. It’s just happening through the lens of a few different character arcs. What could be considered the main A-plot, M-Tex’s ongoing dilemma about whether to risk drilling at sea or instead litigate against the insurance company, is being filtered through Rebecca’s relationship with Charles, Cami’s grief, and Tommy’s rivalry with Gallino. The characters aren’t driving the plot; things are happening that are developing the characters.
And it’s working. There’s a bunch of quite specific high-level finance and geology in “Handsome Touched Me”, but when you boil it all down, it’s simple enough. The previous drilling platform was sitting in what is undoubtedly a lucrative gas field, but actually finding a pocket of that gas is a $400 million gamble on a 10% chance of reward. But the potential return on investment is huge. Tommy takes Rebecca and Charlie, and beams Nate in via Zoom, to see Cami in an effort to convince her that the odds are too low, but Charlie’s romantic description of the potential yield compels her to accept the risk. It’s an emotional decision, not a business one, but emotional decisions can pay off, too. It keeps happening constantly throughout the episode.
When Tommy goes to see Gallino to try to persuade him to pull funding based on the low chance of a return on his own investment, he’s unwilling. Sure, it helps that Cami has secured the loan with royalties that’ll pay him back in a year or two anyway, whether the well is dry or not. But I think there’s a touch of the gambler in Gallino. He repeatedly counters Tommy’s cynicism with a “what if?” proposition. What if the well hits the first time? What if the yield is, as Charlie claims, several times what the previous platform was producing? What if it all works out?
Tommy has seen enough to know that this is incredibly unlikely, and that what will probably happen is Cami will bankrupt the company, be forced to sell the pieces off, and live out the rest of her days in luxurious disgrace. Gallino agrees with this, but doesn’t see it as too much of a downside for her. But he wouldn’t, would he? He’s not privy to how she really feels. After lashing out at a man in a bar and then settling on this ill-advised business decision, a tearful Cami takes Tommy aside to tell him that she only wants success. This is her grieving process. Gallino thinks that M-Tex’s failure will be Cami’s retirement strategy. But it’s much more complicated for her than that.
In some instances, Tommy sees the value of romanticising risk. In a brief scene in Landman Season 2, Episode 8, he rounds up Boss and the crew to look over Cooper’s wells, promoting his son to project manager. When Boss expresses some reservations about the sudden, unearned appointment, Tommy says, simply, that Cooper is six for six. And that does the trick. If someone’s on a run of luck, that has to be respected. The concept of luck is returned to again and again in “Handsome Touched Me” — it’s called “wildcatting” in the drilling business, a concept Charlie has already laid out to Rebecca — and is constantly reinforced as a viable solution to problems.
It’s in this way that the recurring subplot of Angela and Ainsley volunteering at the old folks’ home finally feels meaningful. For a day trip to the casino, Angela borrows $10,000 of Tommy’s money and wins over $300,000 at roulette and craps. The geriatrics, and even Margaret, who undergoes a makeover that immediately improves her relationship with her husband, have the best day of their lives. Angela becomes symbolic of having the bravery to throw all the chips down and see where things land. Even Tommy is pleased to see the stacks of cash waiting on the dinner table when he gets home. It’s an unconventional way to learn a life lesson, but just like T.L. advised him to slow down a bit, maybe it’s a lesson he needs.
Speaking of T.L., “Handsome Touched Me” opens with him in the pool in tears, having fallen in and remained there for hours, unable to get back out. It’s a tender stretch of acting from an endlessly brilliant Sam Elliot, but it gives Tommy an idea. He hires a pole dancer named Cheyenne to be his physical therapist twice a week. She has no idea what she’s doing, so she freestyles some aquatherapy, floating a stripped-down T.L. in the pool all afternoon. Both of them seem to benefit from it. Landman is really good at turning these silly scenes into meaningful emotional sentiment. I hope we get more of these two.
Maybe Rebecca should try the aquatherapy thing. She seems like she could stand to relax a bit.
