Landman season 2 brings back Taylor Sheridan's latest hit series, but it is not without its flaws. Landman steps outside Sheridan's Yellowstone universe to explore the world of oil drilling, which is just as dangerous and dramatic as ranching. Along with Billy Bob Thornton's stellar lead performance, Landman season 2 also has the exciting addition of Sam Elliott to the cast.
However, the second season of the show has also earned considerable backlash from fans, specifically in regard to the characters of Angela (Ali Larter) and Aynsley (Michelle Randolph). The wife and daughter of Tommy (Thornton) have been criticized for being empty stereotypes, but the poorly written characters point to a more persistent issue in Sheridan's work.
Landman highlights that Sheridan can't do comedy
Even among the biggest fans of Landman, the scenes with Angela and Aynsley are consistently pointed at as being the obvious weak link in the show. Many have criticized the characters for being one-note and ever-offensive depictions of women. However, Taylor Sheridan has proven he can write strong women, including Demi Moore's role as Cami Miller in Landman.
What the characters of Angela and Aynsley signify is a more serious flaw in Sheridan's writing, as he doesn't have much talent for comedy. It feels odd to criticize Sheridan's writing, as he is clearly a very talented writer. Along with the best moments of Yellowstone, he has also written fantastic movies, like Wind River, Hell or High Water, and Sicario. However, all of those movies are quite light on comedy.
It has only been more recently that Sheridan has tried to infuse more comedy into his shows. The final season of Yellowstone featured an almost standalone episode focusing on Travis (played by Sheridan himself). The episode was filled with broad humor, one-liners, and silly hi jinks in the cowboy world. It was also one of the most disliked episodes of the series among fans.
Sheridan's skills lie in bringing humanity to seemingly ordinary people living extraordinary daily lives. His famous monologues are filled with moments of beauty, heartbreak, thrills, and inspiration. All that nuance and depth disappear when he begins looking for a laugh. Sheridan overexplains jokes, resorts to oddly slapstick moments, and leans into the kind of comedy that felt played out a decade ago.
Landman needs to settle on its tone
Landman continues to be a compelling show with some terrific acting and a fascinating world. However, the conflicting tone of the series is really holding it back and could begin to turn fans off. The fault in the characters of Angela and Aynsley is not in the actors, as their performances are committed despite the weakness of the material.
Landman season 2, episode 4 was the most emotional episode to date as it dealt with the death of Tommy's mother and his own tragic backstory. This allowed Angela and Aynsley to be portrayed in more grounded ways, with Ali Larter and Michelle Randolph more than up for the challenge. However, after seeing them be cartoon characters for so long, these emotional beats felt odd.
Landman is stuck between being the kind of intense and gripping drama Taylor Sheridan is known for or being a madcap soap opera about a dysfunctional family. Clearly, one avenue would be more popular than the other, but if Sheridan doesn't pull back on the ill-suited comedy soon, the show may be beyond repair.