Warren Martin, Kansas Strong, reviews and reacts to the latest episode of Landman, streaming exclusively on Paramount +. In Landman Episode 8, ‘Clumsy, This Life’, Ariana and Cooper finally get the best of M-Tex Oil in their settlement, and Monty has a major scare after weeks of stress and anxiety.
In the last episode, Cooper and Ariana finally got together against Tommy’s advice, Monty took a big gamble with a new drilling deal, and Angela finally found a purpose by entertaining the folks at a retirement home. Oh, and Ainsley found a new beau in the town quarterback, Ryder.
Rebecca is going over the details of the explosion with Cooper in excruciating detail. Clearly, she’s looking for any tiny fact that could clear M-Tex of liability for the accident. She also tries to convince Cooper to get Ariana on their side and sign the agreement that’ll let them off the hook.
If that’s not enough, she also chastises him for sleeping with Ariana and accuses him of knowing the explosion was going to go off. This, plus the threat of a criminal investigation, sets Cooper rightly on edge. (“I reject your truth. I think I’ll invent my own,” she tells him.)
Elsewhere, Monty meets the Governor for lunch. (Which kicks off with a prophetic conversation about whether taking pills and medication can save your life. Keep that in mind!) Monty has an agenda for the meeting: he wants help with the cartel problem on the patch. He suggests the Texas National Guard trains in their territory, which could serve as a defense tactic and put the cartel off.
Back at Ariana’s house, Nate is trying to help her pick out some potential investment options. But Ariana doesn’t want to go ahead with anything without Cooper’s approval, and even after Rebecca’s hounding of him, he tells them she shouldn’t get anything less than $1 million.
He knows none of the the pumps would pass official safety reviews, so he holds that over their head. Nate quickly calls Monty to tell him about the counter price. There’s dispute between them: Monty wants them to sign an NDA in exchange for the $1 million, and Cooper and Ariana think the other family members should get it too.
Monty then turns his attention to Rebecca, yelling at her and throwing his phone on the ground. When all is said and done, Cooper quits and Monty relents on the $3 million settlement.
When Nate and Rebecca leave, Ariana gets emotional over her desire to be with Cooper and feels guilty that Elvio had to die for her to get this money. But she goes about setting up the spare room for him to sleep in, and the two agree to wait to get together until it’s the right time.
At the main house, Tommy and Angela are getting frisky. Afterwards, he finds Ainsley outside, who tells him that she and Ryder are going to “bible study” that night. He also gets a call from Monty with confirmation about the National Guard assistance. However, there’s a new problem. After Monty hangs up, he gets a pain in his chest and redirects his car to the hospital.
Over on the patch, the National Guard commanders shows up to assess the area. Tommy shows them around, and they agree to use the land for training. Hopefully, this will deter the cartel from going anywhere near them.
He gets another phone call from Monty telling him about Cooper’s resignation. While in the hospital, Cami snatches the phone from Monty and tells Tommy to contact her directly going forward as to not bother her overly-stressed husband.
Angela and Ainsley make another stop at the retirement home. When they spot a transport van in the parking lot, they decide to take the old folk on a field trip to a bowling alley.
Later that evening, Tommy gets an urgent call from Rebecca, who’s clearly still pissed about Cooper’s rebellion. Before he heads out to meet her, Nate warns him about the seriousness of Cooper and Ariana’s relationship.
There’s also another awkward encounter with Ryder, who turns up to collect Ainsley for their “bible study” session. (But really, once they leave, they decide to head out to the new reservoir to go swimming.)
At Ariana’s house, Tommy turns up unexpectedly to see for himself what’s going on with the kids. As they sit down for dinner, he asks them point blank what the situation is. But Ariana and Cooper don’t have an answer – they’re still just finding out for themselves. She does, however, insist their feelings are real.
On the other side of town, Ainsley and Ryder are going for a swim. They’re happy together, and Ainsley then tells him she wants to “test” him with an unknown task.
Meanwhile, at the bar, Rebecca argues with Tommy over Cooper’s interference. She brings up the bad optics: Cooper survives an accident on his first day that also killed the husband of the woman he’s now with. “What are the odds?” she asks him.
But Tommy fights back, insisting they can’t be stingy when it comes to paying out bereavement costs. He warns her not to come for his son, kicking over a chair when he storms out in anger.
It turns out Ainsley’s test for Ryder is to see how he’ll treat the older people at the retirement home. He passes with flying colors, playing around with a lady and getting loving stares from Ainsley.
The next day, trouble strikes the patch. A group of trucks lugging tires pull up, revealing packages pull of drugs when they’re cut open. But the drop-off is halted when blasts from missiles crash into the scene, hitting one of the trucks and sending the others speeding off.
Above, a National Guard helicopter flies. They spot the wreckage below, having mistaken the trucks for training targets. On the ground, a dead man’s body is sprawled.
Landman Episode 8 is available to stream on Paramount+ now.
From Sheridan and co-creator Christian Wallace, the series is based on the podcast “Boomtown” and follows the upstairs/downstairs battle for land, oil and fortune in a West Texas boomtown. “Landman” stars Billy Bob Thornton alongside Demi Moore, Jon Hamm, Andy Garcia, Michael Peña and Ali Larter, as well as Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland, Kayla Wallace, James Jordan, Mark Collie and Paulina Chávez.
Paramount Plus is the only way to watch the series. Following the premiere, one new installment will arrive every Sunday through Jan. 12.
Series Schedule
Episodes 1, Landman: AVAILABLE
Episode 2, Dreamers and Losers: AVAILABLE
Episode 3: AVAILABLE
Episode 4: AVAILABLE
Episode 5: AVAILABLE
Episode 6: AVAILABLE
Episode 7: AVAILABLE
Episode 8: AVAILABLE
Episode 9: Jan. 5
Episode 10: Jan. 12
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Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm, Ali Larter, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chávez, Mark Collie, Colm Feore, James Jordan, Kayla Wallace, Demi Moore, Mustafa Speaks, Robyn Lively, J.R. Villarreal, Octavio Rodriguez, Gareth Williams, John Patrick Jordan, Alexis Ren
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