At the outset of Landman Season 2, TL Norris was painted in a rather unflattering light. However, Episode 5 sheds new light on his story with the intensity of a scorching Texas summer day. The scene is set at the funeral of Tommy’s troubled mother, Dottie, in his childhood town of Canadian, nestled in the Panhandle near Oklahoma. Dubbed “The Oasis of the High Plains,” this is where 14-year-old Tommy left behind a turbulent life, sporting a bloodied nose after his alcoholic mother ousted him. With TL absent, as was often the case, Tommy had to rely on himself, even learning CPR over the phone to save her. TL’s long absences were fueled by fear, leaving Tommy to fend for himself, a point he makes clear at the post-funeral gathering, pulling at his necktie as he reflects, “He was too weak to leave her, so I left all of ‘em.”

While Tommy grappled with his past, Rebecca Falcone found herself on an unexpected journey. On an M-Tex corporate plane that resembled more of a party bus than a business flight, oil and gas professionals celebrated with Bud Lights. The plane executed a complex short-runway takeoff, leaving Rebecca uneasy. It’s during this flight that she meets Charlie (Guy Burnet), a charming rig worker who offers her a sip from his thermos to ease her nerves. His concoction of vodka and watermelon juice, sweetened with a touch of simple syrup, complements his retro hairstyle. After the flight, Rebecca wakes up at Charlie’s place, discovering his penchant for aromatherapy discs in the shower.

Everyone made the journey for the funeral: Tommy, Angela, Ainsley, Dale looking polished, Nathan donning his signature black cowboy hat, and Cooper, who brought Ariana along at the last minute. Determined to support Cooper as he had supported her, Ariana plays a crucial role at the gathering. She manages to coax out a glimpse of the TL Norris of old, the one before years of regret and time took their toll. TL is drawn to Ariana, sensing her familiarity with funerals and recognizing in her a kindred spirit. As he observes her alongside Cooper, TL realizes his grandson is unaware of the magnitude of the game he’s in. With a warm smile and a knowing wink, Sam Elliott brilliantly brings TL to life, advising Cooper to truly listen and learn from Ariana. “She might even tell you the rules,” he suggests, offering wisdom only an experienced elder can impart.

TL’s interactions with Cooper are genuine, as is his affection for Ainsley, whom he hasn’t seen since she was five. He shows grace toward Angela, and while the funeral is rife with uncomfortable silences, and Tommy may not mend years of estrangement with a single meal at the local eatery, TL’s choice of corn dogs speaks volumes. Beneath their conflicts, Angela’s deep care for Tommy is evident. Observing TL’s natural rapport with his grandchildren, despite not knowing them well, Angela calculates all these nuances, concluding that peace and resolution are the ultimate outcome.

TL’s way with Cooper is true, as is his love toward Ainsley, who he hasn’t seen since she was 5. He’s gracious with Angela. And while the funeral is full of stinging silences, and Tommy won’t bridge a lifetime’s worth of bad blood with one lunch at Canadian’s version of The Patch – his father orders the corn dogs – what’s done is done. Underneath all their combat, Angela cares deeply for Tommy. She sees TL’s ease with his grandchildren, even though he doesn’t know them. And she builds an equation in her head, deciding the sum of all these parts is resolution. 

We’ve suggested it a couple of times this season, that the elder Norris would escape being forgotten, would avoid dying alone as the sun goes down, and it’s Angela who finally makes it happen. Tommy is at first apoplectic – “Are you out of your fucking mind?!” – then resigned, the way Tommy always gets with harsh news. He just knocks his hat back and pivots, especially when it’s about obeying his wife’s wishes. TL will come to live with the Norrises in Midland, or wherever the family ends up in the M-Tex executive level extravaganza.

Cami went to a cemetery, too, but not in Canadian. They placed Edward Montgomery Miller’s headstone, and she visits her husband’s fresh grave with a cigar and a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. (“You can have this again.”) It’s decision time, and though she tells Monty it’s hard not to be mad at him, the grief that roared out of her last episode has been replaced by pragmatism. It’s time to protect his legacy. Their company. Cami tells her assistant she’s selling the Millers’ enormo-mansion, and she meets Gallino for a business lunch. That business with the gas well in the Gulf? The one M-Tex got sued for not drilling? Which might have financed Monty’s last wildcat streak? Cami asks Gallino to finance hundreds of millions in experimental drilling. 

One thing Cami doesn’t ask is where Gallino’s funding comes from. Nor does she flinch when he says it’s not because she’s a woman that he wants to finalize their negotiation with Tommy. Cami lets Gallino go on a tangent about how he’s a snake, snakes only eat other snakes, she’s not a snake, and Tommy’s a hawk, which also eats snakes. That’s fine. He can weave metaphors, suggest he’s protecting her from the darker arts at work behind his largesse. She owns M-Tex, and selling her mansion to finance this loan from Gallino is the right play to buoy the entire business. Cami is not a snake, but she’ll shake a snake’s hand if it gets the job done.

“Listen Pop, second chances don’t come around that often. And this one ain’t ever comin’ around again, for either one of us.” TL is taken aback when Tommy arrives at his facility the day after the funeral with a plan to take him home. But the shock on his face is from habit. There is hope dawning there, too, maybe for the first time in decades. He’s not sure if he deserves this chance. Maybe Tommy isn’t sure, either. But they know Angela was right. Tommy pushes his father’s chair out of the frame at sunset, toward their second chance together. 

Landmania for Season 2 Episode 4 of Landman (“Dancing Rainbows”):

• We haven’t mentioned the music in Landman Season 2 just yet, but when it doesn’t sound like the Georgia Satellites, who open Episode 4 with their 1986 single “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” it sounds like loyalty. Feels like we’ve heard Charlie Crockett’s deep lonesome baritone in every episode, including this one (“Hard Luck & Circumstances”). The Texas musician’s Sheridan affiliation goes back at least to Yellowstone, and proves the creator can be just as loyal to an act as he is to his actors, who either call him Shakespeare or have become everyday Sheridan-O-Verse Players. Like James Jordan as Dale, who we also know as Two Cups in Lioness, or from supporting roles in three more Sheridan shows plus two of his movies.

• And while one family comes together after years of trauma, hard luck and circumstances threaten the future of another. The saga of Jerrell (Elijah Collins), the member of Boss’s workcrew injured in the H2S leak, continues here in Ep 4. He’s recovering in the hospital and stable, but with sensory damage including to his sight. Boss has to tell Jerrell it’ll be OK while knowing it sure as hell might not. “How’s a man supposed to take care of his family if he can’t see?”

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.