Episode 3 of Landman Season 2 plunges us deeper into a world where every victory comes with a price, every deal hides a trap, and every character finds themselves stretched to the brink. Following Cooper’s stunning discovery of a massively profitable site last week, and the emotional wreckage it created, this episode shifts gears. What starts as a straightforward environmental emergency quickly spirals into a tangled web of corporate collapse, manipulated alliances, desperate decisions, and a brewing war with the most dangerous man in the oil patch.
Deadly Air in the Oilfields
The episode opens with what seems like a routine hunting trip, men tracking wild boars through remote land. But the moment the animals fall, something feels off. One hunter approaches a carcass to grab a celebratory selfie, only to drop to the ground in violent coughing fits. His friends rush toward him but collapse in the same eerie stillness.
Then the camera pulls back: the bodies lie just behind an oil well, and the surrounding silence confirms the truth, something toxic is leaking into the air.
That’s when Dale, Boss, Ben, Jerrell, and Russ roll up on Tommy’s orders to inspect the well. They immediately notice the machinery is in rough shape, but the real horror begins when Jerrell climbs the silo and looks out over the site. Bodies, human and animal, are scattered everywhere.
As the group approaches the scene, their shirts start screaming warnings. The wind has shifted, sending the unmistakable alarm of an H₂S leak shrieking through their sensors. Within seconds, they’re gagging, eyes burning, heads throbbing as they sprint to safety. They yell up to Jerrell to stay put since the gas hasn’t risen high enough to reach him.
Emergency services are called, but as the wind pushes a fresh wave of the gas toward the silo, Jerrell finally succumbs and collapses. Dale, the only one fully suited up in time, charges back into the poison cloud to secure a mask onto Jerrell’s face. A state trooper helicopter arrives just in time, lowering a harness to lift him away from the deadly fumes.
Jerrell and Ben are airlifted to Midland General, while the others drive themselves through pounding headaches and nausea. Later that night, Dale updates Nathan: Ben is home resting, but Jerrell is staying overnight for monitoring. The well is a mess, yes, but according to Dale, the oil sitting underneath it is worth a fortune or more accurately, salvation.
And that’s exactly what Tommy needs right now, even if no one knows just how dire the situation truly is.
Ariana Hits Rock Bottom
After cutting ties with Cooper in the previous episode, Ariana finds herself on the brink of financial free fall. With no money, no backup plan, and a son depending on her, she walks into a gritty bar called The Patch Café looking for work.
The staff doesn’t sugarcoat anything. This is a place where the regulars push boundaries, and most days feel like a slow-motion dance around harassment and chaos. Ariana admits she won’t tolerate being touched, and the staff essentially shrugs, it’s the reality of the job.
Still, she’s desperate. Barney, the head bartender, tosses her behind the counter without any training. Sink or swim? Ariana chooses to swim until a customer pushes her too far. After enduring his sleazy comments, she finally snaps, breaking his nose with one swift, furious blow.
Rattled and ready to quit, she’s stopped by Barney, who surprisingly gives her permission to handle harassment however she sees fit. The only rule is that anyone who crosses a line gets thrown out. Period.
For the first time in a long time, Ariana feels like someone has her back. She ties her apron again and returns to the bar with renewed resolve.
Tommy Faces the Devil in a Suit
Tommy spends this episode hurtling from crisis to crisis, starting with a trip to meet the man behind Sonrisa, the shadowy investor backing Cooper’s oil venture. Cooper had no idea who he was dealing with, but Tommy does. When he arrives at the sleek Fort Worth office, Gallino introduces himself by a sanitized new name: Dan Morrell.
Dan is all charm and polished politeness at first, congratulating Tommy on Cooper’s success. But when Tommy refuses to celebrate, rightly worried that the IRS and probate courts will tear the operation apart, Dan’s mask slips.
Tommy calls him what he is; a drug kingpin using the oil industry to launder his empire.
Dan doesn’t take rejection well. His voice stays calm, but his words reveal the truth: if he can save Tommy’s life, he can also take it.
Tommy leaves with one objective, get Cooper out before Dan gets his hooks in any deeper.
The Falling Tower of M-Tex
Meanwhile, M-Tex is fracturing from the inside. When Tommy meets Cami, Rebecca, and Nathan later that day, the financial autopsy begins and it’s even worse than expected.
M-Tex isn’t one company but a maze of small LLCs funneling revenue into a holding company controlled by Monty. Except the money isn’t being redistributed. It’s simply… vanishing.
The LLCs are surviving entirely on massive credit lines. Loans on loans, interest piling up. Offshore drilling funds frozen. The $420 million settlement from the insurance company locked behind conditions they can’t meet.
And who controlled the holding account? Alan.
Who is suddenly impossible to reach? Alan.
It doesn’t take a genius to see the pattern.
The Confrontation & a Dangerous New Alliance
Tommy and Cami track Alan to the exclusive Cattlemen’s Club. Cornered, he finally agrees to come clean the next day.
But while they’re there, Tommy spots Dan. The two lock into a tense verbal chess match. Dan positions himself as the solution to all of M-Tex’s problems; Tommy refuses to dance with the devil.
Before Tommy can drag Cami away, Angela barges into the club; buzzed, opinionated, and oblivious to the danger swirling around her. Her antics force everyone to stay, which gives Dan the opportunity he’s been waiting for.
By the time Tommy leaves, Dan has already begun cultivating Cami offering himself as a potential “investor” in M-Tex’s rescue. Cami is too overwhelmed, too heartbroken, too desperate to see the trap being laid at her feet.
The episode ends with her collapsing in grief, clutching Monty’s photograph, terrified that she’s about to lose everything he built. And the haunting truth settles in; if she accepts Dan’s offer, Tommy could lose both Cami and Cooper.
Final Thoughts: Tommy Is Running Out of Time
Episode 3 is a slow-motion freefall for almost every character. Tommy is the only one trying to hold the line, but with M-Tex drowning, Angela overspending, Ainsley needing tuition, and Dan tightening a noose around Cooper, Tommy is trapped.
Because unless Tommy finds a strategy to break Dan without breaking himself, the entire Miller legacy might go up in flames and take everyone he loves with it.
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