Then & Now: Landman Season 1 vs. Season 2

A lot has changed for the characters of Landman since Season 1 — here’s where things started off and where they are now at the beginning of Season 2.

• We own this land. TOMMY: You own the surface, which you purchased from Daniel Pearsall. And Daniel Pearsall’s father sold the mineral rights in 1993 to the Permian Basin trust, who subcontracted the rights to Meridian Oil, which was bought by ConocoPhillips and sold to M-Tex Oil, who only recently discovered the rights.
• We don’t want your oil here. TOMMY: Well, wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up first. Maybe I slice you from your wells to your throat and hang you from a bridge, huh? See if oil companies come, then. Well, first they’ll hire Haliburton to build files on you fucking assholes that the FBI only dreams about having.
• Then they’ll send 30 tier-one operators from Triple Canopy, and they’ll bust you like a fucking pinata. And if any of you dipshits do make it back to Mexico, they’ll blow your fucking house up with a drone with your family in it. It costs $6 million to put in a new well. They’re putting in 800 right fucking here.
• That’s $4.8 billion in pump jacks. They’ll put in another billion on water and housing and trucking. $78 a barrel– that’s $6.4 million a day for the next 50 fucking years. So, yeah, the oil company is coming. So they send you to tell us fuck off? They sent me to negotiate a service lease. And we’ll build you a nice all-weather road that leads to our oil wells and to the highway and a few others if you need ’em.
• He’s gonna build us a road. TOMMY: Now, here’s the deal. And it’s the only deal. You don’t fuck with our product. We don’t fuck with yours. Because if you do, we’ll put in a DEA substation right across the fucking street. We got a deal? We got a deal. No breakfast? I’m not much of a breakfast eater. Most important meal of the day.
• You think so? Well, that’s what they say. Who’s they? I don’t know. Whoever says these things. I’ll tell you who “they” is. It’s Kellogg’s and General Mills and whoever makes them shitty little frozen round waffles. That’s who it is. – Eggo, I think. – Eggo. Exactly. Which is owned by Kellogg’s. The people that tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day are the sons of bitches that make the stuff.
• You think our ancestors had breakfast? You think cavemen sat around a fucking fire eating waffles? No. I guarantee you, if they ate breakfast at all, it was probably bone marrow and an impala they dried out over a fire. But I guarantee you, they didn’t have cornflakes. You sure you want more coffee? Y’all sell cigarettes? Not since the ’90s.
• You don’t have any secret stash back there for emergencies or– If they do, they don’t tell me. Well, I tell you what. See if there’s a busboy back there that might want to go on a scavenger hunt. Because I guarantee you, that shit right there ain’t going to get me through a Monday. There you go. Anything but menthol or those little skinny ones.
• MONTY (ON PHONE): Hey, Shepherd-Hastings is sending an attorney out there. Plane lands at noon. Can you pick him up? Sir, we’ve had a blowout. Oh. God dang it. Was there crew on location? I don’t know. I’m en route. Just tell the attorney to get a rental car. MONTY (ON PHONE): All right. Is there room at the house, or are they going to need a hotel? TOMMY (ON PHONE): There’s room in the house.
• MONTY (ON PHONE): Well, you find anything out, you let me know. – You’ll be the first one. Trust me. Fuck. [EXHALES] [SOMBER MUSIC] [GROANS] CAMI: Oh. [SPLASHING] Beautiful out today. Sure is. I love you. Love you, too. CAMI: I called this luncheon so I could introduce myself to each of you, to squash the rumors and offer you a warning.
• I’m a hunter, too. And like my husband, I don’t use a rifle. We are entering the largest energy boom of this century. For those of you coasting on your royalties, I must point out that while you sunburn on the beach in Tulum, I will be underbidding your lease offers, cornering pipeline supplies, and buying your bad debt.
• Underestimating me is how I buy you out. Now, I have no speech on the futures of energy or my commitment to innovative approaches on drilling or philanthropy or any of that other bullshit you guys like to spew at these things. I’m the largest independent oil producer in the region. The only difference between me and Monty is I’m meaner.
• Test me, and you’ll find out how much. Enjoy your lunch. I paid for it with your fucking money. REBECCA: So who besides insurance companies and county sheriff investigate this? Hell, everybody, OSHA, Railroad Commission, DPS. Shouldn’t you know all this shit if you’re litigating a petroleum liability case? My specialty is chain of liability, which applies to the TTP case, not so much here.
• This happened when I was on the plane. Maybe they should send another attorney. I understand one of them survived. No. REBECCA: Can I speak with him? Not today. REBECCA: When? How about when he gets out of the fucking hospital? Anything else? What can you tell from this? From the well, nothing. From the type of fire– there was a leak.
• A roughneck created a spark when he tried to open a valve with a hammer and a wrench. Why would he try to open it with a hammer? Because that’s how you open the fucking thing. Doesn’t seem very safe. It’s not very safe. That’s why they make $180,000 a year. That’s not enough money to risk your life on. Yeah, for you, maybe.
• For a felon with an eighth-grade education, it’s a fuckin’ lottery ticket. And for an oil company whose manager knowingly sends employees to faulty wells that violate OSHA standards, it’s a nine-figure lawsuit. Well, then the whole goddamn industry’s guilty. REBECCA: I’m on your side, Tommy. You need to understand that.
• TOMMY: Yeah, I understand plenty. You’re the farthest thing from being on my side. [TENSE MUSIC] Look, we all know Monty. And we’re not exactly sure how he got them to pay out the entire claim at once and directly to him. But it has set a precedent my client is very serious about reversing. We need to make a bit of an example here.
• Well, if a claim was improperly paid by your client, that is a violation of the contract which nullifies any subsequent damages clause. It doesn’t matter that my client didn’t apply the funds as stipulated. The contract states that the funds be sent directly to the drilling company as expenses are incurred.
• Your client violated that agreement. Your damages are not real. And even if they were, your client’s intentional violation of the contract suspends the damages clause. How do we know your client didn’t misrepresent the funds? Well, he certainly misrepresented something, didn’t he? And your client bit to the tune of $400 million.
• So if you want to take whacks at a dead man in front of a jury and his widow, [EXHALES] I’m in. I’m ready. I like that kind of party. I don’t hear a proposal. You will, as soon as you concede one. You have no damages. And two, your client’s violation of the contract supersedes our violation and negates any damages you would have been entitled to if there were damages to begin with.
• I still don’t hear a proposal. We will issue a press release announcing the drill and endure all the scrutiny that entails to publicly satisfy your client’s bruised ego. Timeline? I need a geological survey and a feasibility report before I can even begin to– Don’t feed us that bullshit. Now you’re playing in our sandbox.
• You know exactly where you’re drilling because you already had a rig there. And if it wasn’t for a hurricane, you’d still have a rig there. You need to lease a rig, two tugboats, and hire a crew. We want weekly progress reports. And in those reports, I want progress. Under those terms, we will submit a request to dismiss.
• Agreed. ANGELA (ON PHONE): You have Ainsley. Ainsley? ANGELA (ON PHONE): Yeah. It’s your weekend. You just told me my weekend’s Wednesday and Thursday. ANGELA (ON PHONE): Yours is. But the rest of the world takes Saturday and Sunday off. That world includes me and your daughter. Victor and I are going to Cabo.
• And I can’t leave Ainsley alone in this house. Honey, she’s 17 fucking years old. ANGELA (ON PHONE): Have you seen her new boyfriend? God damn it. Hold on. I’m pulling over. [TIRES SQUEAL] Look at this kid. I mean, she could get pregnant from the fucking photograph. OK, I see your point. Do you trust her driving to you? To Odessa? Yeah.
• Are you shitting me? Have her go to Meachum. I’ll put her on the flight with the engineers. OK. You changed your hair color. Yeah. The redhead experiment is over. Well, I always preferred your natural color to tell you the truth. Baby, you’ve never seen my natural color. So what time are you and Vernon going to– ANGELA (ON PHONE): Victor. – Victor.
• What time are you all leaving for Cabo? Not till tonight. Well, how come you to be dressed that way at 8 o’clock in the morning, then? What? You think this is dressed up? TOMMY: Uh, yeah. I do. And so do you. ANGELA (ON PHONE): Do you like it? Yes, I do like it. ANGELA (ON PHONE): You see, one of life’s great pleasures is showing you what you’re missing.
• You don’t have to show me to know, honey. I already know. How’s our baby? Uh, it’s his first day. First days ain’t easy. ANGELA (ON PHONE): Another Norris in the oil patch. What a waste. Wasn’t my idea. Apple don’t fall far, does it? Well, you’re half of the tree, in case you forgot, darling. Anyway, just get her at the airport there by 3:00, all right? Or fucking hang up on me, either way.
• What do we need a realtor for? Do you really think I’m going to stay in Midland while our daughter is at college all alone in some strange city? Strange city? Hell, honey, she was raised here. I’m sorry. You’re under the impression that we’re having a discussion about this. I will live by my baby. All right. Hire a goddamn realtor.
• Is it too much to ask that you don’t bankrupt me again with some fucking mansion that we can’t afford and don’t need? I didn’t bankrupt you the first time, number one. Number two, you are president of an oil company. It’s time we start living like it. We’re on a fucking Gulf Stream. I am living it. I mean, we’re flying back to our fucking frat house in Midland.
• Do I have to wear a seat belt? Yes, baby. You have to wear a seat belt. Mm-mm. All that shit stopped the minute she got accepted to TCU. In four years, she’ll graduate. She’ll get married and move away. Next thing you know, I’m a grandmother with tits hanging down to her stomach. And I’m all alone because all you do is work.
• I’m definitely going to start drinking again. TOMMY: The difference in me and Monty is I don’t have a fucking trust fund. I didn’t quit. I bled out. And besides, I don’t see you speculating or banging on doors or hustling mineral rights. No, you’re the worm on a drill crew. Excuse me. You were. And your crew is fucking dead on day one, so take the fucking hint.
• If I’m gonna run an oil company one day, I need to know how every aspect of it works– the surveys, making the drill pad, moving the gear, housing the crew, setting the drill, capping the well, maintaining the well, all of it. So running an oil company, that’s your plan now. That’s the dream. I don’t have a plan yet.
• Well, you’re closer than most. I need a favor. You do me a favor? Depends on what the favor is. Put me on another crew. You know a lot of people are gonna blame you for what happened. Anytime something goes wrong, they always blame the worm. Let me. All right. I’ll find you a crew. [GENTLE MUSIC] Listen, your sister’s in town.
• You’ll run by the house and see her? I’d rather you drive me to the hospital, stick another catheter back up my dick. Fair enough. Then we’ll go by the café and get a beer. It’s 8:00 in the morning. It’s Sunday. What else you got to do? Why not? What do you know, Bud? I know that your son is the luckiest son of a bitch I ever met.
• – That a fact? – And I met a few. Lucky how? This is mine. Yours? Cobbled together some leases. Put together a crew. We drilled six so far. Six? And this one hit. They all hit. Marty, you worked these over? We drilled new ones. These was all shallow. Tommy, we started hitting just shy of 6,000 feet. This one’s 6,700.
• And she’ll push 3,500 barrels a day. All in, how much? About 7,000 barrels a day. See my problem? Can I have a minute, Marty. – Yeah. – Good to see you, Marty. Good to see you, Bud. So what do I do now? You’re $8 million a well to drill here. Who paid for this? Well, there’s a company in Odessa that finances spec wells 50/50 to recoup and 18% after that.
• On what fucking planet does a company finance drilling at 50/50 and reduce to 18? What did you put up? I don’t have anything to put up. So they financed the whole thing? Yeah. What is this company? COOPER: Sonrisa. Never heard of it. I sure as fuck ain’t heard of Esteban Galvez. You got a contract? In the truck.
• You get a lawyer to go over it? Well, son, why didn’t you come to me? I’m coming to you now. It’s too fucking late. What were you going to do? If I came to you, at best, you would have had me tied up in geological surveys for the next year. You’re goddamn right I do. Good lord almighty. You spend $40 million drilling holes in the ground, not having a fucking clue what’s underneath.
• A new restaurant has a better success rate than blind drilling. Well, I want to have a look at this contract to see how they fucked you. I’ll take you to their office. Oh, I’m going to their office. You can bet your ass on that. But not today. I got to pick out a casket. I should pick out one for you. Here. You drive. I’ll read.
• Hey, Cooper. Why here? All these old wells were shallow, 1,500, 4,000 feet, and all still producing. Not much, but something. This field was drying up, they wouldn’t be all producing. It means pressure’s pushing it up. It just made sense to go deeper. Made sense to you. That’s what I said. So what would you kids like to do tonight? Well, do you have a car could borrow? No, I don’t.
• What about this one? This one’s mine. [COUNTRY MUSIC] My girlfriend had too much whiskey last night I can’t remember what I said We can watch the spring game. Yeah. Dakota’s a football fanatic. I’m not a fanatic, honey. A phenom. AINSLEY: Oh, sorry, baby. Phenom. He’s a phenom. You know, he made ESPN’s top 50.
• – Is that so? – Mm-hmm. Did you pick a school yet? Uh. Alabama. A little far from Tech, isn’t it? Well, I applied to Alabama as soon as Dakota accepted their offer. It’s just a tough school to get into. Oh, but I– you know, I talked to Coach Saban, told him how much I wanted her there. I play better when she’s watching me.
• You know Coach Saban retired, right? What? Uh, no. – Did he retire? – No. That’s rumors. You know, maybe we should go to this game. Did you talk to him? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Let’s go to the game. Seems like you’ve been given priority walk-on status with the cheerleading corps. Were you going to cheer for Tech? Well, I was just going there for my boyfriend, who scored a 17 on his ACT, so off to junior college for him in Kilgore.
• And my daddy won’t let me go east of I-35 unless it’s a shop in Dallas. Not that I would go to junior college for a boy. If he was playing at a junior college in the Maldives, I wouldn’t go. None of that is what I asked you. I asked why you weren’t cheering for Tech, but you are cheering for TCU. TCU doesn’t have a policy against cheerleaders dating athletes.
• And that was an issue for you? Very much. If it were in my power to deny you acceptance to this university, I would do it with an enthusiasm professors in our psychology department might wish to study. However, as a priority walk-on, you must only meet the minimum requirements, which, sadly, you do, to gain acceptance.
• Your application does not go before the admissions board, where I would have taken great joy expounding on all the ways you are an abysmal candidate for this university. You’re using a lot of words I don’t fully understand. I’m doing it on purpose. OK. Now that you have satisfied your in-person interview, your acceptance letter will be mailed in the next 7 to 10 days.
• You must register for freshman orientation. Wait. I got in? I got in. [GASPS] And it has a stereo function. Oh, my god. What are you doing? AINSLEY: I’m a hugger. UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL: Let’s not. AINSLEY: Oh, my god. [SQUEALS]