Episode 4 of the neo-Western drama is a first for the entire series: a chapter where emotions run higher than ever. In Landman season 2, episode 3, the pace was fast, and the stakes were high, with Gallino and Tommy clashing, M-Tex's problems rising, and Cami once again being put to the test and proving she’s capable. The new episode slows down a great deal.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Landman season 2, episode 4
Episode 4 focuses chiefly on Dottie's funeral and all the emotions that it brings into Tommy's family. It also significantly expands Ainsley and Angela's character development, proving they can be more than just the fun amid the intensity. They have their own nuances, as the new episode makes clear.
Landman season 2 episode 4 has Tommy and T.L. reconcile
Episode 4 is a mix of emotions, from Tommy being on edge, to Angela trying to cheer things up, and T.L. seeming actually sad to have to say goodbye to his wife, despite everything she did.
It's also a treat to see more of T.L., understanding his character, and the dynamics between him and Tommy. At first, when everyone gathers at the assisted living facility where T.L. lives, he's glad — happy to see Ainsley, whom he hasn't seen since she was little, to talk to Angela, to meet Ariana.
But soon, the tension between him and his son takes over, prompted by their different feelings about Dottie. Tommy tells everyone at the table about the day he left home, when he saved her life, and she didn't even recognize him, kicking him away as you would a stranger.
T.L. knows a different Dottie, one who was sunny and full of life at 17. But Tommy thinks his father is weak for not leaving her once things turned sour. He's glad his mother is gone. While T.L. claims he wasted his life on hoping she would go back to her old self, Tommy is certain he wasted it on hiding from her.
Tommy leaves without as much as a 'goodbye' said to his father, but after Angela insists, he goes back. He sits with T.L., watching the sunset together, and tells him he's come to take him home. Tommy gives T.L. a second chance, and his father takes it.
Cooper wins Ariana back — just because she wants it
When Ariana goes home in the small hours, after her shift at the bar, she finds Cooper sleeping on her doorstep. She jokes that he’s acting like a stalker. But seems touched that he worried about her. And when Cooper mentions his grandmother's funeral, she offers to go with him.
She was mad at him for leaving and staying gone instead of fighting to make things work. After the funeral, by the time they get home, Cooper starts to get it, and she understands him a little better, too.
They finally patch things up when he realizes she can’t uproot her life. It matters to her to stay home, close to all her relatives. Everything is back to normal once he realizes he'll only have to ask her — about everything.
Angela and Ainsley show unexpected depth in Landman season 2 episode 4
After the funeral, when they get back home, Tommy finds Ainsley on the couch, crying. She's upset about what he had to go through because of his mother. To set her mind at ease, Tommy tells her about his baby sister, who died at four months old, in her sleep, with no medical explanation. That was what broke Dottie. Ainsley doesn't think that excuses anything, and neither does Tommy. But it helps explain why she changed.
Angela, too, shows her empathy when she urges Tommy to make up with T.L. She feels for him being alone in his old age, because she sees that daily at the nursing home. Angela thinks T.L. deserves peace after mulling over his mistakes for so long, and makes Tommy cave in.
Episode 4 trades spectacle for sincerity, digging into the wounds, regrets, and rare moments of tenderness in Tommy’s family. It’s a quieter installment, but one that deepens the characters in meaningful ways. Landman proves it can deliver emotional weight as effectively as action.
Landman airs at midnight ET on Sundays on Paramount+.