Story Retold S02E02: Sins of the Father

In the vast oil fields of Texas, bad blood and black gold both run thick. Landman’s Season 2, Episode 2 — cheekily titled “Sins of the Father”—dives deep into the Norris family’s greatest disasters and their hungriest ambitions. This hour doesn’t bother with small problems. No, it lobs both emotional wrecking balls and million-dollar lawsuits at Tommy and the crew. So, what exactly happened in this hot-handed second episode? Quite a lot, actually. Let’s break it down.

Picking Up the Pieces

Right from the opener, “Sins of the Father” refuses to give anyone a breather. Episode 1 wrapped up with Tommy learning about Dorothy’s death and gave us our first look at his estranged father, T.L., camped out in a care home and holding old grudges close. Meanwhile, Cami stepped into a boardroom set on fire and Cooper rolled the dice on a bundle of wildcat wells. The cartel’s shadow, friendly as a rattlesnake, also lurked just offscreen.

Now, in Episode 2, threads start to tangle. There’s grief, there’s legal jeopardy, and — because this is Landman — there’s crude shooting sky-high at 3,700 feet. (The Cinemaholic)

Cooper’s Boom, Cooper’s Bust

Cooper finds himself smack in the middle of a classic “be careful what you wish for” scenario. After weeks of doubt and a barn-burning gamble on six risky wells, the last one up bursts in spectacular fashion. Oil showers the site, the crew cheers, and Cooper looks like a genius — except he’s absolutely covered in mud and regret.

You’d think he’d celebrate, but real life doesn’t work that cleanly. Ariana calls his phone endlessly, her messages piling up unanswered. When he finally returns to her apartment, covered head-to-toe in literal oil, he finds Ariana less than amused. She’s tired of being the afterthought to his ambition, of watching him hustle for dreams she never signed up for. Her leaving lands with a thud. It’s not a fight. It’s not a storm-out dramatics. It’s just a blunt, gentle, devastating line in the sand. Cooper, fresh from conquering the oil gods, suddenly looks completely lost.

• Wildcat wells: 6
• Struck oil: Yes
• Relationship status: Officially ruined

Fans online reacted with a mix of heartbreak and “I saw that coming.” Ariana made her boundaries clear last season, after all.

Tommy: The Troubles Just Keep Coming

If you think Cooper has it rough, Tommy’s week could humble just about anyone.

He’s busy lining up funeral plans for Dorothy, mumbling to the radio, and snapping at every little thing. It’s a finely drawn portrait of a man dancing at the end of his frayed rope. Then Angela calls and, for a brief second, pulls him back to earth. They chat, and you can almost hear Tommy’s pulse slow. But Landman doesn’t do chill.

Suddenly, it’s not the funeral that matters most — it’s Cooper on the phone, melting down after Ariana’s exit. Tommy could easily ignore the call, check another box, or just numb himself with busywork. But in a flash, he does the thing this episode circles over and over: Tommy shows up for his son, when it counts, even if he’s not been much for the day-to-day. He turns that old truck around and drives straight into the next fire.

M-Tex vs. The Monty Mess

While the Norris men spin out, Cami barely catches her breath. She tries to jog away from her problems — good luck with that — and gets ambushed by a lawyer right in the middle of her run. Turns out, the M-Tex insurance company (the one that paid out for that destroyed rig last season) wants a king’s ransom back. Monty, Cami’s late husband, landed a $420 million payout by promising a new rig. Problem: It doesn’t exist. And that money is missing. (The Cinemaholic)

So begins a frantic conference call. The new core trio:

• Cami: Reluctant head of a crumbling empire.
• Tommy: Trying not to self-destruct on two fronts.
• Rebecca Falcone: Legal cavalry with claws out.

Nathan, tech support with morals, drops the news: Monty hid a lot more than cartel secrets. He’s buried M-Tex in an impossible contract — and now, with money missing and no rig, the lawsuit threatens to obliterate them. Tommy barks orders. Rebecca, strangely, enjoys the chaos.

Angela and Ainsley: The Retirement Rumble

If the episode was all oil dramas and funerals, it’d be one note. Enter Angela, masterminding a wild, booze-fueled “retirement party” for the care facility. Seniors groove to music; chaos reigns. Inevitably, the health inspectors arrive and toss a grenade into the party. Residents close ranks. The no-snitch vibe is strong. But when an inspector gets pushy, Angela cold-cocks him, on principle and with style.

It lands both Angela and Ainsley in cuffs. Tommy’s patience frays thinner. He calls the sheriff, smooths things over, and gets them out of trouble — again. These antics drive some viewers wild, but at least they’re a palate cleanser between betrayals and lawsuits.

Rebecca Goes to War

Rebecca refuses to let M-Tex sink — not without a fight. She storms into a tense meeting with the insurance company’s team, wielding the contract like a weapon. She points out they skipped basic safeguards, paid Monty everything upfront, and left Cami holding the bag. Her other argument? No jury is putting a sobbing widow out on the street to save a billion-dollar insurer money.

The company relents. They’ll drop the lawsuit — if Cami and Tommy agree to get that new rig built immediately. No more delays. This kicks the can (and a mountain of new problems) straight into the heart of M-Tex’s battered operations. (The Cinemaholic)

The Norris Men Face Their Past

With legal brushfires contained — for now — Tommy and Cooper visit T.L. at the retirement home. First, they select a casket for Dorothy in an agonizing but oddly mundane scene. Tommy holds everything in, picking out details as if it’s just another problem to solve.

At the care home, T.L. and Tommy leave nothing resolved. Their conversation loops round trauma, disappointment, and missed chances. Dorothy’s mental health, T.L.’s belt-wielding discipline — these are subjects Tommy has carried since childhood. Nothing gets softened by time, not really. But both men, for a flicker, seem to recognize the cost of that distance.

It’s here, with Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton sharing a table, that “Sins of the Father” lights up. Old wounds bleed through every syllable, but neither man backs down. For Cooper, it’s a lesson by proxy — about what to repeat and what to avoid.

The Long Drive Home

The real emotional hammer falls on Tommy’s drive home with Cooper. Here, Tommy spells it out, more open than we’ve ever seen him. He admits T.L. beat him. Tommy, by contrast, avoided violence but checked out as a dad. Work swamped him. He tried, but he failed in a different way. (“I didn’t raise a hand, but I didn’t really raise you, either.”)

Cooper, battered by heartbreak and his own guilt, gives his dad something rare: grace. “You’re here now. That counts.” There’s no forgiveness, not really, but there’s understanding. The show’s not yelling about sins, it’s showing how they echo — sometimes louder, sometimes softer — down generations.

Cartel Money Slithers In

Landman threads the criminal world into every scene. Tommy, fueled by suspicion, has Nathan research Sonrisa — the company funding Cooper’s six-well bingo. The terms make no sense. The numbers are generous for a reason, and it’s not charity.

By episode’s end, Nathan delivers what Tommy feared all along. Sonrisa’s owner, Dan Morrell, links straight back to the cartel. Cooper’s new oil deal didn’t just expose him to business risk — it put him in the crosshairs of a criminal syndicate Tommy’s already tangled with.

• Six wells, one winner, a devil’s handshake.

Fans online pieced this together before the credits ran cold: Cooper, in trying to outmaneuver Tommy and finance his dream, invited the biggest snake in the grass right into their home. (Reddit)

Why “Sins of the Father” Works

So, what makes this episode click? For one thing, it balances plot mechanics with honest, sometimes bruising family writing. Every big oil win is chased by a loss at home. Cami’s corporate grind runs parallel to Angela’s slapstick, but both women move their brands of chaos forward. Most importantly, Sheridan’s script refuses tidy reconciliations. Fathers don’t magically hug sons. The truth bubbles up only because there’s nowhere left to hide.

A few highlights worth remembering:

• Cooper’s instant success breeds instant solitude. Money can’t buy him Ariana’s patience, or her love.
• Cami and Rebecca make a formidable — if uneasy — team. They’re cleaning up Monty’s mess with only spit, grit, and a legal argument.
• Tommy’s biggest growth isn’t with money or business. It’s when he sits still, listens, and names his failures out loud. No matter what, he keeps showing up.
• The cartel storyline lingers in the background, promising season-defining blow-ups. There’s no overt threat yet — just the promise that someone will eventually pay.

Riding into the West Texas Sunset… Or Not

When the credits roll, Landman has changed the board for everyone:

• Tommy faces his father’s legacy, but also forges a shaky new road with his son.
• Cooper finds fortune and heartbreak welded together. He also wakes up, too late, to the cartel strings now attached to his every dollar.
• Cami and Rebecca emerge battered but undefeated. Their next battle? Actually building that rig, knowing full well Monty sabotaged the ground beneath their feet.

One thing is certain: in West Texas, your old ghosts always ride shotgun. And after “Sins of the Father,” those ghosts just got a lot closer.