Landman – Season 1 Episode 7 Recap & Review

All Roads Lead to a Hole

Episode 7 of Landman starts with Cooper’s discharge from the hospital. Tommy is waiting to take him home, but Ariana swoops in and makes Cooper choose to go with her instead. Tommy tries to make Cooper change his mind, but Ariana feels responsible and insists on caring for him. The nurse makes a joke about the couple being like Romeo and Juliet, but Tommy sarcastically reminds her that the infamous couple destroyed their families first and then killed themselves. At Ariana’s house, she decides to give Cooper her bed and sleep on the couch.

Next, Angela continues to pass on her principles to Ainsley at the gym. While working out, Ainsley suggests that Angela should start working at the gym as an instructor, to which Angela replies that she will never work a day in her life. Her only job is to make her man happy so he can buy her things and take her to places that make her happy. 

Elsewhere, Monty is having another one of his business lunches. This time, some entrepreneur asks him to invest in a new drilling project that will cost him 300 million dollars. The man is quite convincing, so Monty asks to step aside and gives Tommy a call.

One would think he was calling to ask if he should make the deal, but Monty called to inform him that regardless of the risks Tommy mentions, the deal is going through and it is his job to handle the groundwork. Tommy raises concerns about cartels and smugglers in the proposed area, and Monty promises to handle it. At the cafe, Boss and Dale were just discussing the same issue where Boss feels that their job is dangerous enough and they should not have to worry about being killed by the cartels while working the fields. 

Back in Midland, Angela and Ainsley are cruising in Angela Bentley, heading home after their workout. Angela mentions Ainsley starting school and Aisley says she will wait another week to build anticipation. They pass by an old folks’ home and Ainsley is shocked to learn that old people are taken to such places to live out their last days as they wait for death.

Mother and daughter decide to make a pit stop and check on the old people, which ends with Angela making a run to the store to buy a bunch of games, snacks, and drinks. Angela and Ainsley end up having a fun time with the folks and leave when it’s time for their afternoon nap. Angela seems to have found her career path since the nurse follows her to make an appointment for the following day. 

At the oil patch, Tommy, Dale, and Boss’s crew continue to work over the wells. Dale is angry that Monty has only hired one very ineffective security guard to guard the place. The threats from the cartels soon come knocking on their door. They confront Tommy, saying that their boss has ordered them to stop working on any new wells until he gets compensation.

The cartel attempts to threaten Tommy with a gun but the whole of Boss’s crew are reformed drug dealers and criminals and they are all packing heat. The cartel men are wise enough to see they are outnumbered and decide to leave. 

While Angela and Tommy enjoy some drinks and dance at the Patch Cafe, Ainsley gets her chance to attend a patch party with her new friend. As expected, her stunning beauty captures the attention of every boy at the party. Ainsley shows interest in the local quarterback, Ryder Samson. The two quickly get along with Ainsley, effortlessly impressing Ryder with her ideals and plans for the future.  

Elsewhere, Cooper convinces Ariana to sleep on the bed, saying he will be a perfect gentleman. Ariana agrees, but she soon talks Cooper into hugging her to sleep, saying that she has not been hugged to sleep since Elvio’s death. Meanwhile, Angela wakes up a snoring Tommy and makes him go and pick up Ainsley from the party.

Using the GPS locator on Angela’s phone, Tommy finds Ainsley having some steamy make-out at the back of Ryder’s truck. Tommy aggressively gets Ryder off Ainsley and gives him a stern warning. A cartel member is tracking Tommy, and he watches the incident through night vision binoculars.

Tommy and Ainsley head home in an uncomfortable argument about Ainsley being a sexual being. Tommy has had enough of Ainsley’s sexual honesty and her trying to justify her actions by reminding him about how his relationship with Angela unfolded. Father and daughter make peace in the end with Tommy asking Ainsley to not be so honest about some things with him since he is her father. A father’s greatest wish is for his daughter to be a virgin all his life and if she one day gets married and is pregnant, a father wishes it was through artificial insemination. 

At Ariana’s house, Cooper and Ariana are making out in the morning when they are interrupted by the doorbell. Nate and Rebecca are at the door and are here to urge Ariana to sign the settlement agreement. Rebecca decides to threaten her by saying that without her signature, the company will not make payment to the other widows even though they already signed.

Their conversation is interrupted by Cooper and Ariana asks him to look over the agreement. After Cooper introduces himself and Rebecca realises he is Cooper Norris, she sits back and, with a cunning smile on her face tells Cooper that they have been looking everywhere for him. 

The Episode Review

Tommy and Angela’s relationship is a rollercoaster with a moment of happiness as they dance and drink beer and the next they are at each other’s throats. Ainsley’s conversation with Ryder paints her in a new light. She has the beauty and the brains and has a life mapped out.

She can make a very supportive and knowledgeable wife to a lucky football player. One thing to look forward to in the next episode is the Cartel’s plan with Tommy. They have taken a new approach and they might go after his family. Also, what is the meaning behind Rebecca’s statement at the end of the episode? Who has been looking for Cooper and why? Will Ryder be back in the picture in the next episode?