Landman Season 1 Finale Review: The Ending Isn’t Big Enough

The following contains major spoilers for Landman Season 1, Episode 10, “The Crumbs of Hope,” now streaming on Paramount+.

The Landman season finale is an ending for the Paramount+ show — yet it never feels like a conclusion. Season 1, Episode 10, “The Crumbs of Hope” gets the story of Tommy Norris and M-TEX Oil to a place where it can stop. But there’s not enough closure, plot-wise or emotionally, for it to be completely satisfying. It seems more like Taylor Sheridan is thinking ahead to the second season that doesn’t exist yet.

“The Crumbs of Hope” primarily revolves around Tommy taking over the operations of M-TEX after the incapacitation of his boss Monty Miller. At the request of Monty’s wife Cami Miller, Tommy joins forces with his colleagues to make one last business deal. Elsewhere, Tommy’s children Cooper and Ainsley both move their lives forward, but all of that feels like an afterthought in an episode that lacks the big season-ending impact TV viewers have come to expect.

Landman Season 1, Episode 10 Somewhat Concludes Its Story

The Resolutions Never Feel as Big as They Could Be

The Landman season finale does technically serve its intended purpose. It resolves Monty Miller’s fate, deals with the drug cartel, and points most of its characters in a general direction. But none of these things feel effectively concluded. Instead, it seems like Sheridan has fallen into one of the oldest and most tiresome TV traps: leaving a certain amount of things vague in hopes of campaigning for another season. Up to and including Tommy’s final scene staring at a coyote outside the oil house, many things are left up to interpretation or imagination.

The crux of the episode is Tommy being named president of M-TEX, and being asked by Cami to wrap up the deal that her husband struck in order to bring in one last windfall. Part of the episode involves Tommy trying to do that, but then he gets abducted by the cartel, so the fate of the deal and the fate of M-TEX are left up in the air. Then after a bloody sequence of events, the cartel sets Tommy free, wanting their two sides to be “friends,” so that’s not finished either. On the business side of the story, there’s no distinct idea of where Season 2 will pick up. There are too many possibilities. It’s fine to have some loose ends, but the best season finales provide at least some sense of completion.

Tommy Norris: There’s way more oil men that went bankrupt than became billionaires.

Ironically, the part of the show that’s been a weakness all season is the one that feels the most well-developed in the finale. The personal lives of the Norris family are in brand-new places. Ariana begins to get closure on Elvio’s death, which also signifies hope for her and Cooper. And while Ainsley’s relationship with Ryder is partly played for laughs, it resonates more when looking back at how her previous boyfriend treated her in the series premiere. She finally has someone who seems to fully appreciate her and is willing to stay with her.

As for Angela and Tommy, there’s not a huge turning point for them, but Angela supports Tommy when he needs her the most. It’s good to see that part of the show finally have a major impact. Yet if the series isn’t able to come back for another season, this finale isn’t the best place to leave anyone who’s not in the Norris family.

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Landman’s Season Finale Shortchanges Some Characters

Monty Miller Gets a Delayed, but Inevitable Sendoff

Outside of the Norris clan, “The Crumbs of Hope” winds up pushing many characters to the sidelines. Demi Moore is given her meatiest scenes yet, as Cami Miller talks to Tommy about what she wants for her future and that of her own family. It’s a little bit laughable when Cami talks about wanting to have enough money to be remembered, because as Tommy points out, that’s more about ego than anything else. But the scenes between Moore and Billy Bob Thornton do feel like world-weary conversations between old friends. It’s a shame that their friendship wasn’t able to be explored further throughout the season.

Jon Hamm’s character Monty Miller is dead, but he doesn’t pass until a silent scene late into the finale. He may as well have died at the end of Episode 9, because his wishes are executed once he becomes legally incapacitated. Having the character in surgery off-screen doesn’t add or change much plot-wise. Tommy still has to rally the M-TEX team, and there’s limited screen time for both Rebecca Falcone and Nathan. If the series does get renewed, Colm Feore deserves much more to do as Nathan, because he’s quietly been fabulous all along. The big winner in this group is James Jordan, because Dale gets a hilarious extra scene in which he torments Ryder when Ryder comes to the oil house to see Ainsley. It might be the funniest scene in Landman, period.

Paulina Chavez doesn’t have an awful lot to do in terms of the story, but the scenes of Ariana packing up the last of Elvio’s belongings and reviewing their old photo album are some of the episode’s most poignant. Ultimately, however, the episode belongs to Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris. He’s the thread running through almost everything going on in the episode, and in a way he’s come full circle, as the premiere and the finale both involve scenes of Tommy being held captive by the cartel. Thornton is excellent as Tommy is roughed up (in a sequence that goes on too long) but he remains defiant. He’s vulnerable and in pain that makes the viewer cringe, but he also feels like he’s going to keep going, no matter what. That seems to be the message Sheridan wants to leave Landman’s audience with.

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What Does the Finale Leave for Landman Season 2?

Episode 10 Provides Plenty of Room for Viewers to Theorize

Landman Season 1, Episode 10 does a lot of looking ahead, but that could mean any number of things. The potential Season 2 could pick up from exactly this spot, with Tommy in charge of closing the farm-out deal and selling M-TEX, but that story is obviously finite. There could be a time jump in which he goes to work for a different oil company, but that would likely require getting rid of half the cast. So what comes next? Sheridan has left almost too many possibilities.

The cartel threat still very much exists, and while it’s not likely to go away permanently, it has to be dealt with somehow or Landman risks repeating itself. Season 2 doesn’t need more scenes of a menacing-looking cartel enforcer threatening Tommy. In fact, the most distracting part of “The Crumbs of Hope” is all those shots from Tommy’s point of view, where the camera is looking out through the hood placed over his head. And with Monty gone, which character fills his role in the show of representing the “upstairs” business issues that Tommy doesn’t deal with? Is that Rebecca, or does Tommy have to shift his way into the white-collar world? Will there be something new for Angela and Ainsley to do, now that they’ve settled into their new lives? And then there’s Cooper and Ariana — not just together, but both characters individually have beautiful stories of pain and recovery.

Cooper Norris (to Ariana): I’ll walk through every memory with you, if you want. Every one.

The one thing that’s absolutely clear is that Landman has earned a second season, based on the strength of its entire cast — and the show’s beating heart. Billy Bob Thornton ought to receive an Emmy Award nomination for his work as Tommy Norris, but he’s not the only standout. The whole main cast has had at least one special moment for each of their characters, and underneath all the violence and the bickering, there’s a touching story about families trying to make their way in the world. Landman is Taylor Sheridan’s best work since Yellowstone, which is why it’s a shame that the finale isn’t on the epic level it deserves to be.

Landman Season 1 is now streaming on Paramount+.

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Landman Season 1, Episode 10

TV-MA

Drama

Tommy and Cami discuss whether to gamble or play it safe. The cartel makes a move.

Release Date November 17, 2024

Creator(s) Taylor Sheridan , Christian Wallace

Cast Billy Bob Thornton , Ali Larter , Jacob Lofland , Kayla Wallace , Mark Collie , James Jordan , Demi Moore , Jon Hamm , Colm Feore , Robyn Lively , Drake Rodger , Brook Sill , K.C. Clyde , Rosemary Dominguez , Mustafa Speaks , J.R. Villarreal , Octavio Rodriguez , Michael Pena , Emilio Rivera , Alex Meraz , Alejandro Akara

Seasons 1

Where To Watch Paramount Plus

Pros Billy Bob Thornton continues to be wonderful in the role of Tommy Norris. Demi Moore gets more screen time as Cami Miller. The episode does get some story points to a decent place.

Cons Several characters have relatively little screen time. The episode leaves quite a few things unresolved for a potential second season.

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