SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Landman Season 2, Episode 1.

The Landman Season 2 premiere doesn’t fully capitalize on how good the Paramount+ show was in Season 1. “Death and a Sunset,” written by series co-creator Taylor Sheridan, has some good ideas and some great performances. But it also has some sizeable pitfalls.

The fact of the matter is that Landman Season 1 was incredible; it was Sheridan’s best show. That creates an even higher expectation for the second season, which picks up not long after the Season 1 finale. And there are a lot of good things in the Season 2 premiere. Chief among them is the promotion of Demi Moore to the main cast as Cami Miller, who has taken over control of oil company M-TEX after her husband’s death. This means Moore gets far more to do than her guest spots in Season 1, and she shows that she’s perfect for the role of Cami from her very first scenes. Cami is teased in the bathroom by a pair of girls who brag about how they’re cozying up to rich executives—then walks out and delivers a speech that puts both those would-be sugar babies and the executives in their place. It is a classic Taylor Sheridan scene, and Moore lands it perfectly.

The friendship between Cami and Tommy Norris is a big part of “Death and a Sunset,” and Moore and Billy Bob Thornton have that bond of mutual respect and genuine care between their characters. One of Tommy’s early moments is standing up for Cami with another guy in a suit who doesn’t think she’s fit for the job. Seeing the balanced and nuanced dynamic between Tommy and Cami makes how the Landman Season 2 opener handles Tommy’s ex-wife and daughter more disappointing. Both Angela and Ainsley have regressed compared to where they were at the end of Season 1.

Angela and Tommy are still making another go of it—in fact, she has a very big ring on her hand—but there are a bunch of jokes about Angela’s menstrual cycle that aren’t funny, before she has an angry, plate-throwing meltdown at dinner. Along similar lines, Ainsley interviews at Texas Christian University and is made to look completely clueless. She doesn’t know what certain words mean, and talks to the university employee about how important it is that cheerleaders are allowed to date football players. Landman viewers will be just as confused and possibly offended as Greta. Actor Michelle Randolph made Ainsley into a young woman who may not have been brilliant, but she wasn’t dense and she had real heart. Perhaps Sheridan is using Angela and Ainsley’s scenes as comic relief for this episode, but it comes at the expense of both characters.

Things look better for Ainsley’s brother Cooper, as his new business takes off. Cooper is still with Ariana, which is great news. Everyone else is largely on the sidelines in “Death and a Sunset,” as both Dale and Nathan only pop up for the aforementioned dinner scene. Kayla Wallace is credited in the main cast, too, but Rebecca doesn’t have a reason to turn up yet. And that’s the other sticking point with the Landman Season 2 premiere: the first season opened with a massive accident and a fireball. Season 2 doesn’t have that one big jaw-dropping scene that foreshadows what the season’s going to be about. This episode is mostly a slice of life hour, except for Cami putting everyone on notice.

Yet while the script is lacking, there are some breadcrumbs for the future that are intriguing. Eureka‘s Colin Ferguson makes an early appearance as his character negotiates business with Tommy. And viewers learn quickly why the legendary Sam Elliott has joined the series: he plays Tommy’s father T.L., who mourns the loss of his wife and Tommy’s mother. Elliott doesn’t turn up till the end of the episode but he only needs that one scene to fit right in. That moment reveals a lot about T.L. and Elliott is heartbreaking. Plus, the loss of Tommy’s mom provides story potential not only for him, but for at least Angela, if not the whole Norris family.

“Death and a Sunset” is an imperfect premiere, yet Landman still has an amazing cast and Sheridan has given them a decent amount to work with. At the center of it all is Billy Bob Thornton, who continues to play Tommy Norris so effortlessly that watching him is a masterclass on its own. This is the kind of episode that hints at even bigger and better things on the horizon. And Landman is still must-watch television in its second time around.

Landman streams Sundays on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.