Sumith Prasad
The third episode of Paramount+’s drama series ‘Landman,’ titled ‘Hell Has a Front Yard,’ follows the aftermath of the multiple tragedies that occur under the watch of Tommy Norris. Monty Miller is under pressure to resolve the affairs without much damage to his business empire, but he does not want to do anything by harming his trusted landman. While the protagonist deals with these predicaments, he is forced to welcome his beloved ex-wife, Angela Norris, who cannot stop giving him headaches. They confront a significant decision their daughter, Ainsley, makes. Meanwhile, Cooper adjusts to life in the patch after the life-threatening blowout! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Angela Norris Cannot Stop Giving Tommy Norris a Hard Time
Angela arrives in Odessa to check in on her family. Tommy Norris is not enthusiastic about the arrival since he knows she won’t stop giving him a hard time. Soon after she lands in the city, she makes her ex-husband take her and their daughter, Ainsley, to a country club. The mother and daughter cherish margaritas paid for by Monty Miller, who apparently likes the length of her short skirts. While Tommy rushes to handle business, she spends time with her child, who wants to take revenge against Dakota Loving for breaking up with her.
Ainsley’s motivation to hurt Dakota evaporates when she learns that her ex-boyfriend is dating one of her friends. While she immerses in sadness, Angela orders margaritas as the cure. When Tommy returns to the country club, he sees his beloved ex-wife and daughter drunk and passed out. With the help of a waiter, he takes them to the car and drives to the company house. They are welcomed by Dale Bradley, who is still furious about the attack he suffered from Ainsley. Still, he helps Tommy take them to the house. Meanwhile, the daughter tells her father that she wants to stay with him, even though Angela has custody.
Tommy tells Ainsley that her decision will break Angela’s heart. Regardless, she wants to be with the landman to protect her heart. While he ponders about the decision, his ex-wife becomes extremely flirty. She seductively gets in bed with him, but he wants to break the news first. He tells her how Ainsley wants to stay with him, which leaves her sad and distraught. She does not want to live alone in a big mansion but understands the decision made by her daughter. Tommy asks Angela whether they should get back together, but she does not want to tolerate him prioritizing work over family no longer.
Tommy Norris Accepts the Reality That He May Become a Scapegoat
After the crash between M-Tex Oil’s airplane and a TTP truck and the blowout that kills three employees of the oil company, Monty Miller is having sleepless nights. An acquaintance asks him to fire Tommy and put the blame on him. However, the businessman knows he cannot run the company without a realist like Tommy. He replies that every major firm he knows operates efficiently because of executives like Tommy, who knows how to handle every predicament that arises out of nowhere. Therefore, he does not wish to lose an invaluable asset by making him a scapegoat.
Still, Monty asks Tommy to take care of the predicaments they are dealing with, starting with the one involving TTP. With the deposition on the horizon, the businessman wants his landman prepared for his appearance in the court. That is when he receives a call from Clay Chandler, the attorney he asked for instead of Rebecca Falcone. The lawyer lets him know that he should enter the good books of his replacement, who has the potency to blame him for every tragedy that occurred on the company property. He even asks the landman to sleep with her if that’s what it will take to be friends with her.
After listening to Chandler, Tommy tries to form a friendship with Rebecca, but the interaction does not go well. They end up having arguments on their way to the crash site, where the landman lectures about stolen trucks and airplanes always turning up for him to report them on every occasion and let federal agencies seize them. While they fight an ideological war against each other, Rebecca becomes motionless after seeing a rattlesnake. Tommy kills the venomous reptile to save her life. Maybe they cannot be friends, but she definitely owes her life to the landman.
Cooper Norris Finds a New Crew to Continue Working at the Patch
Cooper is committed to working at the patch despite losing three colleagues to a blowout. As he comes to terms with the deaths, he nearly gets beaten up by the cousins of the deceased roughnecks. The young man fights back and settles the predicament. After seeing him defend himself, “Boss” decides to take him under his wing and asks him to join his crew, which includes the two men who try to beat him up. Cooper then meets Luis’ wife to make amends with the family of the deceased men. He expresses his sadness and survivor’s guilt to the woman, who accepts and feeds him.
As Cooper struggles to tolerate the peppers in his food, Ariana, the widow of Elvio Medina, laughs while watching him suffer. She even gives him a dessert to make him comfortable. Her interaction with him takes her mind off the death of her husband, which makes her seek comfort in his presence. This newfound friendship, however, provokes Elvio’s cousins. One of them even threatens to stab him if he continues to spend time with Ariana. Regardless of his hostile colleagues, Cooper goes to work with Boss, who shows his authority over the crew at the patch by making them wait while he gets his coffee order for his men.
