This collection is admittedly leaning into the heavy themes, and Landman Season 1 Episode 3, “Hell Has a Entrance Yard,” doesn’t change that.
It dives deep into the oil trade’s interior workings and our difficult relationship with clear vitality, persevering with with the private toll this world takes on everybody related to it.
In some ways, it’s laying down some actual speak about simply how reliant we’re on petroleum — and the truth that even these pushing for a cleaner future don’t absolutely grasp what that transition would demand.
Tommy’s dialog with Rebecca sums this up completely.
Tommy doesn’t sugarcoat his tackle inexperienced vitality. He lays out the uncomfortable fact: these 400-foot wind generators could seem like the longer term, however they’re embedded in the identical system they’re meant to switch.
To construct, preserve, and finally eliminate them, you want numerous diesel and oil, to not point out sources like lithium for batteries, which have their very own environmental baggage.
It’s like a guidelines of all of the methods clear vitality isn’t truly so clear when you peek backstage.
And when Tommy begins itemizing on a regular basis objects made with petroleum — from lipstick to tennis rackets to cell telephones — it hits house. You possibly can’t simply flip a swap on petroleum; it’s embedded in fashionable life in methods most of us don’t even understand.
This isn’t a dialogue that negates the necessity for various vitality; it’s about not getting complacent about considering we’ve already discovered it once we haven’t.
Proper from their first alternate, you possibly can inform Rebecca’s mindset is miles away from Tommy’s.
She’s all about questioning gender roles and recognizing each signal of age discrimination, which appears misplaced within the harsh actuality of the oil fields. And, whether or not supposed or not, it’s very humorous.
When she scolds Tommy for merely asking her age, Tommy’s blunt reply highlights the absurdity of her complaints in an trade that doesn’t have a lot room for “woke” conversations.
And her squeamishness when confronted with a rattlesnake? That scene virtually writes itself — Tommy’s exasperation is hilarious as he kills the snake for her, tossing its carcass again at her as if to say, “That is the true world, honey.”
Moments like these don’t draw back from poking enjoyable on the conflict between city beliefs and the brutal actuality of subject work, one thing that usually will get misplaced in different on-screen conversations.
Whereas Rebecca’s idealism feels misplaced, her presence provides a layer of irony to the entire scenario.
Right here’s a younger lawyer attempting to convey accountability right into a world that thrives on trying the opposite method, and her makes an attempt to suit her beliefs into this rugged panorama simply don’t maintain up.
Her naïveté contrasts sharply with Tommy’s arduous truths in regards to the trade, significantly when he explains simply how deeply petroleum runs by way of every part we rely on.
Tommy’s truthful discuss hits her over the top with a actuality verify: you possibly can’t simply take oil out of the equation with out pulling the rug out from beneath fashionable life.
And her silence says all of it — there’s no comeback, no idealistic rebuttal, simply the tough actuality she’s solely starting to know.
You actually should chortle at how far aside they appear on the problem, particularly when you possibly can see that sharing their concepts wouldn’t solely be worthwhile however satisfying.
And except I’m shedding my contact, there’s something simmering just below the floor of her annoyance that appears like attraction. Knowledgeable opposition could be an mental turn-on.
However Rebecca isn’t simply right here to conflict with Tommy. She’s been introduced in by TTP to shift the blame onto him for an OSHA violation, despite the fact that Monty, Tommy’s boss, isn’t thrilled about it.
Monty’s in a tricky spot — he acknowledges that Tommy’s not precisely following the rulebook, however he additionally is aware of Tommy is the form of man who will get issues performed. Hell, he’d in all probability print Tommy’s rulebook if he may.
When Monty meets with one other govt (performed by one in all my favourite folks, Kristoffer Polaha) to debate what occurred, it’s clear he’s weighing the price of pinning every part on Tommy towards the larger image of preserving operations operating easily.
Monty’s balancing act will probably recur on Landman, the place the strain to keep up revenue clashes with the private accountability of preserving their folks secure.
You possibly can really feel his reluctance, particularly when he’s instructed that if he doesn’t maintain Tommy accountable, it’ll be Monty’s head on the road subsequent time.
This episode additionally retains the human aspect of the story, significantly with Cooper, who’s attempting to make peace with the households of these misplaced within the premiere.
His go to to the widows is awkward and oddly endearing. Younger widow Ariana feels it, too, they usually discover odd solace collectively in his presence. You possibly can really feel Cooper’s discomfort and respect, in addition to Ariana’s try and distract herself, if just for a second.
Cooper will not be household, however in that lounge, sharing a meal and a quiet second, he’s displaying up in a method that feels deeply human and in contrast to something Ariana has skilled earlier than.
And in typical cleaning soap opera trend, the encounter units up extra bother for Cooper, because the air between him and Ariana crackles with electrical energy. I believe he gained’t be capable to steer clear of her, and he or she gained’t need him to.
Hopefully, the beatdown he took gained’t be an episodic factor and the tide will flip for him. The actual fact he retains standing when the others need him to vanish speaks volumes.
Then there’s Angela, waltzing into Tommy’s life once more with what we already know is her signature drama. She’s a twister, pulling in her daughter Ainsley, who’s caught between her mother and father’ messy previous and sophisticated current.
Angela disrupting Tommy’s routine along with her horny flirtations and reminiscing is sort of entertaining for us, however that form of on-again-off-again emotion have to be exhausting.
She balances being damaging and undeniably charming, which makes it simple to grasp why Tommy can’t let her go. She’s rather a lot just like the oil enterprise — the highs are mesmerizing, and the lows can crush your soul.
If she’s hoping her mere presence would be the lynchpin of their getting collectively once more, she may be proper. She’s needy and intoxicating and makes use of her sexual confidence as a weapon in battles she nearly at all times wins.
Angela’s chaotic presence and Cooper’s have to nonetheless his pained coronary heart by reaching out to the household of these he feels answerable for killing give Landman sudden vary.
However for me, the conflict of ideologies between Tommy and Rebecca actually will get on the coronary heart of Landman. Whenever you draw back from its soapiness, there’s a dialog we actually have to have.
It’s not only a present about oil rigs and company battles; it’s in regards to the real-world penalties of our demand for sources, the toll it takes on everybody concerned, and the uncomfortable truths that don’t match neatly into an “various vitality” narrative.
This sort of ethical complexity will get me each time.
It’s what I hold hoping will seep into our real-world discussions, however it’s at all times simply past our attain. Confronting our limitations and selections we’ve made and have to make is hard however obligatory.
The mix of those components — the trade critique, the human fallout, and the messy private relationships — is why I’ve already fallen in love with Landman.
The story doesn’t simply concentrate on the risks of drilling oil however digs into the psychology and each day lives of those that hold this machine operating.
Tommy’s no saint, however he’s a straight shooter.
He could also be incomes a paycheck from a extremely contested trade, however he additionally sees the larger image and isn’t afraid to speak about it.
Notes from The Patch:
- When Calls the Coronary heart star Kayla Wallace works arduous to indicate her edge on this new position with nice success. Fiona who?
- Cooper’s bodily prowess shocked me nearly as a lot because the cousins who wished his head on a platter.
- After Demi Moore’s wonderful comeback not too long ago, particularly with The Substance, it’s arduous to observe her as a decorative spouse. Hopefully, she’ll have extra to do in future episodes.
- In the meantime, Ali Larter is displaying off her unimaginable expertise and physique, proving that being middle-aged isn’t the tip of the world. I dare any of at the moment’s ingenues to compete with that highly effective drive on display screen.
- Individuals are at all times questioning Taylor Sheridan’s politics, and these frank conversations about various vitality will solely gas the hearth. Unbiased thinkers for the win!
Landman doesn’t provide simple solutions, which makes it so compelling. We’re reminded that each resolution has a value, and generally, the folks attempting to convey accountability to the desk — like Rebecca — discover themselves in method over their heads.
It form of leaves you with a lingering sense of dread, as if it’s all main as much as one thing inevitable. I can’t wait to see the place this tangled net of alliances, grudges, and harsh realities takes us subsequent.
For those who’re digging Landman, let me know within the feedback beneath. I’m particularly focused on what you consider Hurricane Angela and the frank dialog about inexperienced vitality!
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