Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, we spent the majority of Landman Season 2 Episode 8 clowning around with Angela and Ainsley.
When they slowed down, Cami picked up the slack, and trust me, that’s not a good thing.
From now on, when you look up “sophomore slump” in the entertainment dictionary, Landman’s logo will be staring back at you.
And in case you thought, hey, Billy Bob Thornton and Sam Elliott are still part of this show, so it’s a win either way, right?
Wrong.
The very last thing I want to see is one of my heroes breaking down on TV. Look, I’m getting old, and every day presents another challenge I don’t want to deal with.
I’m probably not alone in wanting to be entertained, rather than drowning in a screwed up reality I’d rather run away from than toward.
But here we are. Angela and Ainsley live is a frakked up dream world where money grows on trees as long as your tits and hips are showing, and where getting old folks drunk doesn’t lead to serious injury.
Meanwhile, Tommy is buying his dad, who isn’t on the party bus and is woefully unhappy with life, a stripper to do “physical therapy,” which may include nudity and the occasional handjob. Or not.
There’s not really anything to recap here because the story is about as stagnant as you can get at this point.
Every female character is disastrous, and the men are more or less too morose or depressed to be entertaining.
Billy Bob Thornton still tries to land zingers, but when they’re coming by like tumbleweeds in the desert, all alone and moving swiftly, they cannot carry the show.
The highlight continues to be Guy Burnet‘s Charles, who has sex appeal and intelligence, both emotional and intellectual. Maybe he and Tommy can run away together and live in an entirely different show, and the pleasure will return.
Rebecca is the latest female casualty on Landman.
Instead of her encounters with Charlie giving her much-needed dimension, now we see her pushing back tears (of anger, granted) when Charlie won’t lie to Cami about the possibility of finding gas in the vast ocean.
The story is that it’s a 50/50 bet on whether drilling or litigation is the way to go. If that’s the gist of it, then why not gamble with gas? Yes, gambling is the theme this time out.
Whether gambling at a casino, with drilling or litigation, if a six-for-six kid with no industry experience can manage a field project, or whether a pretty stripper can help an old man work out the creaks better than a physical therapist, it’s all a gamble.
And let’s not forget that Galino is playing his own long game with cartel money.
Tommy actually thought he could talk the guy out of supporting Cami, but Galino set up the deal so that he’d win, whether M-Tex wins or loses.
I have no idea why Tommy didn’t expect that Galino would take advantage of the opportunity. And I also have no idea why anyone thought a wildcatter wouldn’t want to wildcat.
As if things couldn’t get stranger, Tommy has suddenly become a shoulder to cry on.
Cami, who was practically ready to fire him just a week ago, is literally crying on his shoulder about losing her husband and her friends, too boot. She won’t listen to his advice about anything else, but life in general? Sign her up.
Rebecca sees the writing of her lonely future on the wall, and she, too, wells up with tears, looking for comfort from Tommy.
If anyone was confused that Landman went from a unique and interesting take on an industry that fuels every level of our daily lives to a lame soap opera, you need look no further than a character we don’t even know making out with her husband after a two-bit makeover from Angela.
Nothing happened on Landman Season 2 Episode 8. Nothing. We are now eight episodes into a ten-episode season, and the story hasn’t moved an inch.
And if relationships are the way of Landman’s future, we didn’t move any mountains there, either.
Angela still isn’t engaged. Rebecca still can’t allow herself to relax. Cami is still alone. But hey, TL seems to be making passes at the stripper, so that’s something.
When the credits rolled, I couldn’t think of a single thing that deserved praise. How does that even happen?
Is Taylor Sheridan deliberately trying to kill Landman? He gathered up an enviable cast and lots of critical and viewer praise, and just what? Tosses it in the toilet?
We have two more episodes remaining in Landman Season 2, and all I can say is thank God.
There is nothing to look forward to. There are no stakes. There isn’t even much of a story. We’re just chugging along without a destination.
This has become a thing with Sheridan, though. Yellowstone Season 5 was a bust. We waited five seasons for Beth to exact revenge on Jamie, and it took under 30 seconds. It was underwhelming.
We waited as long for 1923 Season 2, which lived on a beautiful relationship between Spencer and Alexandra, only to wait an entire season for them to share the screen again before tragedy tore them apart.
Others have torn down Tulsa King Season 4, but at least it knows what it is. It’s a hootin’ and hollerin’ good time. It’s not trying to be anything, but it still manages to tell a complete story arc in each season.
I’ve had my say about this waste of 50 minutes. What about you? Did you see things differently?
Vote in our poll below, and drop your comments — whether commiserating with or berating me, I don’t care which — down below.
Let’s struggle through the rest of this disastrous season together.
Best of 2025: 11 Couples Who Delivered Peak Chemistry
Some TV couples have IT, and we’re talking about that chemistry that lights up the screen. We’re chatting about 2025’s hottest couples here!
Landman Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Forever Is an Instant Is the Very Definition of Filler
Landman Season 2 Episode 7 pauses the action to focus on love. Was it successful? Actually, it was more filler than anything else.
Landman’s Guy Burnet on Playing Charlie, Taylor Sheridan’s Rule-Breaking World, and Why This Might Be His Favorite Role Yet
Guy Burnet opens up about playing “Charlie” on Landman, breaking rules in Taylor Sheridan’s world, and filming the airplane scene fans can’t stop talking about.
The post Landman Season 2 Episode 8 Continues the Downward Slide of This Sophomore Slump appeared first on TV Fanatic.