Landman's Paulina Chavez Takes Us Inside Shooting Ariana's Harrowing Episode 9: 'She's A Fighter'

Warning: This post contains spoilers from "Landman" Season 2, Episode 9. Proceed accordingly.

Landman's Ariana narrowly escaped a sexually violent attack in Sunday's "Landman," an incident that portrayer Paulina Chávez says shocked her character as much as it did the audience. 

"I think she did think, 'Oh yeah, I'm unsafe from, like, men being men and making gross comments, not safe from an ass grab here and there,'" Chávez tells me over Zoom. "But I don't think you ever expect the violence."

In the final moments of Episode 9, Ariana took a break from tending bar at The Patch Café to step into the alley and phone her son, Miguel's, babysitter. She'd barely hung up when she was accosted by Johnny, the disgusting bar patron who propositioned her — and whom she doused with a drink — during her first shift at the restaurant. He hit her over the head and tore her shirt before attempting to rape her. Only Cooper's luckily timed arrival at the restaurant saved Ariana from what Johnny had planned. (Read a full recap.) Still, Ariana gave as good as she could, for as long as she could.

"It's like you see in the episode: She's a fighter," Chávez continues. "She is a fighter, and she would have fought until the very end."

Read on as Chávez takes us inside the shooting of Episode 9 and gives us a sense of how Ariana and Cooper will fare in next week's season finale.

TVLINE | My god, the last five minutes of that episode! You see that script for the first time, what's your first take?
PAULINA CHÁVEZ | This season, we were all going in blind as to where our characters were going. I have this app called Scriptation, and it highlights all my lines for me. Before I actually read the whole script, I read my parts. And sure enough, I was just like, 'OK. Easy episode. I have like that one scene with Cooper in the morning.' And then I go to the end and I read it, and I teared up a lot. Because it's a woman's worst nightmare to ever go through that, And then, you know, the state of this world, being a Latina, there is also that level of, I'm not just a woman being harassed, I'm also a Latina being harassed. There is so much depth to it.

I remember calling Jacob [Lofland, who plays Cooper], and I was just like, "Have you read the script?!" And he was like, "I'm reading it right now." We were just like, "Oh my God, we're doing this." [Laughs]

The thing I was most excited for was: I got to go to stunt rehearsals. [Laughs] So I didn't think about it. I held on to the feeling when I read it. Being an actor, and and training since I was so young, it's so easy for me to put myself in those headspaces — which is a blessing, but also a curse, because I can't watch heavy, heavy stuff anymore, because I feel it so deeply.

The guy who played Johnny, Mike [Harkins], he's a sweetheart. We built a really great space, and it was fun going to stunt rehearsals. And then on the day, we were just like, "I'm gonna let myself go through it..." We had such a great environment on set. Everybody's so respectful, and it's just so beautiful that everybody has that respect for everyone.

TVLINE | Do you think that the idea had ever crossed her mind that she was not 100% safe at work? She has that line earlier in the season where she says she's safe behind the bar. Do you think her guard was usually up? Tell me anything you want to say about that.
I think she did think, "Oh yeah, I'm unsafe from, like, men being men and making gross comments, not safe from an ass grab here and there." But I don't think you ever expect the violence. I imagined she always takes her calls out in the alley, cause nobody's there. It's very secluded. Nobody knows to go back there unless you work there. And so, I don't think she ever expected it.

But it's like you see in the episode: She's a fighter. She is a fighter, and she would have fought until the very end. She wouldn't have stopped fighting. Girl was hit by a rock over her head! [Laughs] That would have knocked me out, personally. Being tackled would have winded me. I don't even know. But it's that fight-or-flight. You're just like, "I'm not gonna stop fighting."

TVLINE | Was Johnny just lucky in finding her out there that night? Has he been looking for her? Did you have any conversations with Taylor Sheridan or the writers about that?
When I did have the conversation with Taylor, I don't even think we discussed [that]. It's a pride thing, when a man's pride is wounded very publicly. It's not something that you expect. Like, who's gonna take the time go and find someone, right? ... And that's the thing: When someone is intoxicated, you don't know what they're capable of. You don't know what they're gonna do.

TVLINE | The viewers saw Cooper get into a pretty rough fight in Season 1, but Ariana did not. I'm wondering how her seeing him pummel that guy, and having to beg him to stop, what does that open up in her or make her think about?
Initially, she's still trying to get herself together at that moment. And then she's witnessing. I remember on set, they just told me to keep yelling at Cooper to stop. And it is the fear of, "I'm so thankful that you're here, and thank you, I would kill him too, or try to, if I had the strength. I would have killed him." And to have somebody stand up for you that way is like "Thank you, but also, I can't lose you in this whole f—ked up situation." She's still very much level-headed and thinks everything through.

TVLINE | I do like that she gets a kick in, though.
He deserved it! [Laughs] But, oh my God, I remember our very last take that we did, I actually did kick Mike. And it was just like, "Oh, gotta keep going, but also, I'm so sorry!"

TVLINE | From the way the episode is edited, it seems like there was a security camera capturing this whole interaction. Does the fact that it's on film come up in the season finale?
Absolutely.

TVLINE | I'm hoping against hope that it's not somehow used against Cooper and Ariana.
And that's always the fear. Whether it is an abusive partner or an abusive stranger, there's just so much that you have to protect yourself with. You need proof with everything, and that's the hardest part about it is. OK, now moving forward, in the real world, you have to make your claims, and you have to have proof, and then you're still not believed.

TVLINE | Cooper already was pretty protective of Ariana, and I can't imagine this ratchets that down in any way. Tell me about their dynamic as they move past this.
I feel like, in a relationship with two people who decide to go in full-force, I don't think anything would break them apart. I mean, it can go both ways. It can tear them apart or it can bring them closer together. And I think everything that they have gone through? It just draws them even closer together.

TVLINE | We're heading into the Season 2 finale next week. Please give me a spoiler-free tease for the last episode.
I think the the most beautiful thing about this season is you get to see the human connections, full-force, how important family is. It's funny, the dynamics of Ariana's family versus Cooper's family and how [the Norrises are] close versus how, you know, Latinos are close. It's different, yet very similar. And so, the whole purpose of the season is the strong family bonds and reconnecting with each other and moving forward together. So I think that's all I'm gonna say.