Alright, fellow landmen and oil patch enthusiasts, let’s talk about the raw, gritty, and often brutal world of Paramount+’s Landman. If you’ve been following Tommy Norris’s rollercoaster ride through the Permian Basin, you know things were bound to get messy. And boy, did they ever. So, grab your hard hat, because we’re about to spill the crude oil on everything that went down in the first season, especially that explosive finale.
The Heart of the Matter: Monty Miller’s Fate
Let’s start with the big one, the question that hung heavy like the West Texas dust: What happened to Monty Miller? Jon Hamm’s character, the shrewd and ailing owner of M-Tex, had been teetering on the edge for a while with his heart issues. In the penultimate episode, things took a turn for the worse with a ruptured aortic aneurysm, landing him in the hospital needing a heart transplant.
Well, prepare for the gut punch: Monty Miller flatlined. We see his wife, Cami (Demi Moore), and their daughters weeping by his bedside as his monitors go silent. While there’s a sliver of ambiguity that he “technically” wasn’t explicitly pronounced dead by a doctor on screen, the visuals are pretty clear. Monty, it seems, has drilled his last well. This immediately shifts the power dynamics at M-Tex, putting Tommy Norris in a precarious and pivotal position as the acting head of the company.
Tommy Norris, our titular landman played by the incomparable Billy Bob Thornton, had his hands full throughout the season, but the finale cranked the tension to eleven. His ongoing rivalry with Jimenez, the local Midland drug cartel manager, reached a terrifying boiling point. Jimenez, furious after a National Guard operation (invited by Tommy, no less) accidentally blew up a drug van, decided it was time to send a message to the oil companies.
That message? Kidnapping and torturing Tommy. Jimenez subjected Tommy to some seriously old-school cartel-style intimidation, even driving a nail into his leg. Just when it looked like Tommy’s landman days were numbered, a new player arrived on the scene: Galino (Andy Garcia), the real authority, a senior member of the cartel. Galino quickly put an end to Jimenez and his men, dispatching them with brutal efficiency.
But Galino wasn’t there to simply rescue Tommy out of the goodness of his heart. His motive was far more calculated: he wants to establish a “friendship” with the oil companies based on mutual benefit. He suggests the cartel is interested in getting into the oil business themselves. Tommy, battered and disgusted, is clearly reluctant, but Galino’s proposition hangs heavy in the air, hinting at a very dangerous and complex future alliance for M-Tex.
The Future of M-Tex and the Norris Family Dynamics
With Monty gone, the future of M-Tex falls onto Tommy’s shoulders, acting as the company president and effectively managing Monty’s estate. Tommy, knowing the immense hazards of the oil business (and witnessing what it did to Monty), advises Cami to sell the company and live comfortably off the fortune. However, Cami, driven by a desire to fulfill Monty’s wish for a lasting legacy, insists on moving forward with a high-stakes “farm-out” deal. Tommy, ever loyal, reluctantly agrees to try and make it happen, enlisting the help of Rebecca Falcone. This puts Tommy in an even more precarious position, as he’s now risking Cami’s inheritance on a deal that could make or break them.
Meanwhile, the younger generation of Norrises is also navigating their own paths. Cooper (Jacob Lofland), Tommy’s son, continues his journey to make a name for himself in the oil business, even trying to sway another oilman away from solar power to work with him. His relationship with Ariana, the recently widowed mother, also saw significant development. Despite her apprehension and grief, Cooper remains a supportive figure, and their connection seems poised to deepen in future seasons.
As for Tommy’s home life, his ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) shows concern for his visible injuries, but Tommy, in a Godfather-esque move, makes it clear there are things about his work he simply cannot tell her, drawing a firm line between his dangerous profession and his family.
The Symbolic Coyote
Throughout the final episodes, there’s a recurring motif of coyotes. In Episode 9, Tommy’s neighbor shoots and kills one. In the finale, Tommy spots another outside his fence and tells it to “run away,” warning that “coyotes get shot around here.” This seems to be a clear metaphor for Tommy himself. With Monty’s death, Tommy is now firmly at the top, but also more exposed and vulnerable than ever. He’s trapped deeper in the cutthroat world of oil and now, potentially, in bed with the cartel. The coyote is a potent symbol of his diminishing freedom and the constant dangers lurking just beyond the fence.
Looking Ahead
Landman‘s first season finale leaves us with a dizzying array of unanswered questions and a clear path for future conflict. Monty is gone, leaving a massive void and a company on the brink. Tommy is now caught between fulfilling Cami’s risky legacy and navigating a terrifying new relationship with a powerful cartel boss who wants a piece of the oil pie. Cooper is building his own empire, which could put him at odds with his father. And the coyotes are still running.
Get ready, because the oil patch just got a whole lot more dangerous, and Tommy Norris is right in the thick of it. Season 2 is bound to be a wildcat.
