Landman Episode 3 recap: Lessons in oil

In Landman Episode 3, ‘Hell Has a Front Yard’, Cooper struggles to get off on the right foot with his new oil crew and Tommy’s ex rolls into town.

The two-episode premiere of Taylor Sheridan‘s Landman was a lot to handle. There were some disturbing conversations with teenage daughters, an oil well explosion, and an ongoing plane theft investigation.

Luckily, Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) is on the case. At the end of Episode 2, his son Cooper was out of hospital after the explosion and begged Tommy to put him on a new crew. As such, Episode 3 sees him struggle with reintegrating while Tommy tries to handle a visit from his ex-wife.

Here’s our full Landman Episode 3 recap, with major spoilers ahead!

There’s a boozy family reunion in Landman Episode 3

Episode 3 kicks off with the face-to-face reveal of Angela, Tommy’s ex-wife. The two have communicated only via FaceTime until now, but she’s now arriving in Midland on a plane. Tommy looks less than enthused about her being there, and his reservations are quickly justified when she wants to spend the day at the country club under Monty’s dime.

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Speaking of Monty, the oil tycoon is at the golf course, trying to get some sense out of his lawyer. He wants to know why they sent Rebecca – an aggressive young attorney – to take on their missing plane case.

Unfortunately for Monty, his legal advisor has a point: they failed to report an asset going missing which was then used for drug running. Clearly shoving the blame onto Tommy, he also encourages Monty to report his landman for not working to standards.

However, as Monty points out, if every oil company was made to report dodgy dealings, then they’d all be shut down. Still, there’s an $80 million lawsuit on the line, and Monty needs to get his ducks in a row.

Cooper meets his new crew

Cooper is back at the man camp after the fatal explosion that killed Luis, Armando and Elvio, but it’s not smooth sailing. He’s attacked by two men – Luis, Armando and Elvio’s cousins. But Cooper has high school wrestling on his side, and he quickly disarms them.

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They’re frustrated that Cooper survived while the other men died, and struggle to understand how he made it out. Thankfully, the boss of the crew (aptly named “Boss”), turns up and takes a liking to Cooper, inviting him to join his crew.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, but Boss’ crew also consists of Cooper’s attackers. Not quite the comeback he was hoping for.

Day at the country club

The rest of the Norris family is at the country club and chugging down margaritas, and Angela gives some advice to Ainsley to help her get over her now ex-boyfriend (the deplorable Dakota Loving). Meanwhile, Tommy is fighting for his life to stop Angela from getting too rowdy and getting Monty’s membership revoked.

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Tommy then gets a call from Rebecca, who wants to see the plane crash site. Tommy leaves Angela and Ainsley stripped down by the poolside, bullying a poor young waiter into not serving them any more drinks.

On the way to pick up Rebecca, Tommy calls Nate. The latter is panicking about the legal repercussions, and begs Tommy to get Rebecca on their side (even if it means sleeping with her).

On the other side of town, Cooper has arrived at Luis’ family home, where a funeral is taking place. He’s invited inside, all the while receiving glares from his new oil crew. He’s given a plate of food and a seat next to Elvio’s wife, who has a new baby in her arms. The two hit it off, and she eventually cries, leaning on his shoulder for support.

The great oil debate

Tommy and Rebecca are already clashing at the plane site. When she presses him on why he didn’t report the plane as being stolen, he schools her in oil law. As he explains it, equipment goes missing all the time, and usually gets returned after a while. From his perspective, it’s more effort to get the authorities involved.

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The two spot some wind turbines, and Rebecca is quick to slam the oil industry. But Tommy isn’t fazed. He doesn’t believe green energy is coming for oil. In fact, he tells her that everything needs oil, even the turbines.

“Our whole lives depend on oil,” he tells her. “We’re gonna run out of it before we find its replacement. We don’t do it because we like it. We do it because we’ve run out of options.”

Before they head back out, there’s a classic Sheridan encounter with a snake that leaves Rebecca rooted to the ground in fear before Tommy chops its head off with a shovel.

Kill the well

When Tommy gets back to the country club, Angela and Ainsley have passed out in the sun loungers after a margarita overload. After tossing Angela in the pool to wake her up, he drives them both back to his house. On the way in, a drunken Ainsley asks him if she can live with him until she goes to college.

In Tommy’s room, Angela goes about seducing him. She even admits that she wants to get back together with him, but the mood is instantly killed when he tells her what Ainsley said. Distressed over the idea of going back to a big house all on her own, she gets mad and laments her life choices.

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Cooper’s morning with his new crew goes a lot like his first. There’s an early morning coffee run in the pitch black, only this time, he has a knife held to his leg by Luis’ cousin, who warns him not to go near Elvio’s wife again.

Later, Tommy calls Monty with a new problem. There’s a well that’s over 35 years old and not producing anymore, so they decide to go ahead and “kill it”. Monty’s wife Cami stresses over Monty’s constant worries, and encourages him to take his medication.

On the job, Tommy rolls up and watches as Cooper and the crew begin to disassemble the well.

Landman Episode 3 is available to stream on Paramount+ now.

For more, check out our guides to Taylor Sheridan’s other shows, like Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2, The Madison, and 6666.