Landman Season 2, Episode 9 Review: Sheridan’s Messy Misfire Hits New All-Time Low

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WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Landman season 2, episode 9.

The ninth episode of Landman‘s second season, “Plans, Tears and Sirens,” is a disappointing episode that highlights the show’s overall decline this season. What started as a promising Western drama from Taylor Sheridan has unfortunately lost its way.

The biggest issue with this episode is Ainsley’s confrontational and ill-informed political argument with her non-binary roommate at TCU. However, I’m even more puzzled by the timing – why did it take nine episodes to finally show Ainsley in college? This season, she’s mostly served as a spoiled version of Angela, and now she arrives on campus only to leave immediately when things don’t go her way.

We could spend time analyzing the most pointless scene in Landman, but it’s just one of many problems with this season. Overall, the second season of the series is unfocused, lacks inspiration, and simply doesn’t work.

Landman Season 2’s Penultimate Episode Has More Cons Than Pros

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Season 2, episode 9 of Landman does have some intriguing plot twists. Notably, after Gallino cautioned Tommy about Cami’s doubts in episode 6, the episode culminates with Cami firing Tommy from his position as President of M-Tex. Throughout the season, Cami has become increasingly assertive, driven largely by her ambition and overconfidence.

Tommy attempts to explain to Cami the dangers of her reckless plan – a long-shot gamble with a very small chance of success – but she refuses to acknowledge the risk, acting like someone addicted to high-stakes betting. If the M-Tex operation is a disaster waiting to happen, Cami is the captain stubbornly going down with it, while Tommy is simply trying to survive. Ultimately, the show relies on Tommy, so he’ll likely find a way to come out on top eventually.

A highlight of Landman season 2 is Cooper stepping up as a leader, even taking charge of his old boss. While he can be arrogant, his journey feels more hopeful this season after struggling so much previously. However, both Cooper and Ainsley benefit from having connections, which makes it harder to fully connect with or support them in this episode.

The final scene of Landman season 2, episode 9—where Cooper defends Ariana from an attacker—was a surprisingly powerful moment, injecting some much-needed energy into a season that had been struggling. Unfortunately, the rest of the episode felt like more drawn-out, pointless storylines, irrelevant side plots, and unfulfilling romantic drama.

Landman’s Divisive New Character Is Uninspired & So Unnecessary

The second-to-last episode of Landman season 2 makes it clear that the show has a persistent problem with how it portrays women, both young and old. Characters like Ainsley, Ariana, and Cheyenne are defined almost entirely by how men see them, and lack the emotional strength to be fully developed individuals. They feel fragile and one-dimensional.

In Landman, the female characters who aren’t portrayed as traditional Southern belles—like Cami, Rebecca, and to some extent, Ariana—often feel they have to be very forceful to get their points across. However, their strong exteriors tend to crumble when they experience strong emotions, whether it’s sadness, as we see with Cami and Ariana, or falling in love, which affects both Rebecca and Ariana.

Angela stands out as exceptionally forceful, often acting impulsively and dramatically, making her unpredictable. In contrast, male characters like Tommy, Cooper, Nate, and even Monty, are consistently shown reacting to the women around them – either trying to change their behavior or simply accepting it. Even T.L. finds himself helpless when faced with Dorothy, requiring Cheyenne to intervene and help him.

Including a non-binary character like Paigyn in Landman is likely to cause strong reactions and create a rift among viewers. The scenes with Ainsley – her most extensive all season – clearly favor one perspective, whether she’s speaking with Paigyn or attempting to change dorms with a similarly progressive admissions counselor. While Ainsley may be motivated by empathy and have different expectations for herself, Angela rescuing her ultimately portrays her as privileged and immature.

Paigyn, as portrayed in Landman, comes across as deliberately unlikeable and designed to create conflict with Ainsley. Instead of offering a genuine challenge to Ainsley’s views, Paigyn feels like an exaggerated stereotype meant to represent a specific viewpoint. While Paigyn’s behavior – being rude, controlling, and inconsiderate – is certainly unpleasant, anyone is capable of acting that way. The problem isn’t her actions, but that the show built her entire personality around a simplistic and one-sided political argument, which wasn’t helpful to the story at this point.

It’s strange that Sheridan chose to spend so much time on these difficult topics within what’s meant to be an exciting episode of his popular show. Whether or not people are upset, this conflict between Ainsley and Paigyn isn’t interesting after nine episodes, and it highlights how little compelling content or clear purpose this season of Landman has left.

Sheridan’s shows usually offer a fun escape, relying on familiar genres and a sense of nostalgia. But this recent episode feels like a misstep, tackling a pointless argument that would be better suited for an internet forum than a major television show. I’ve lost confidence in the quality of Landman and don’t anticipate enjoying future episodes.

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2026-01-12 01:59