Landman Finale Recap: Is Tommy Done With MTex For Good?

And just like that, the newest "Landman" oil venture is a family affair.

The Paramount+ series' Season 2 finale answers a major question from Episode 9 ("What's Tommy going to do now that he's been fired from MTex?") and poses another ("Is Cooper really going to be arrested for protecting Ariana from a rapist?") 

Along the way, we get a harrowing car crash, an octogenarian sleepover and discussion of a ferret bath. Read on for the highlights of "Tragedy and Flies" — and then make sure to check out what star/executive producer Billy Bob Thornton and series co-creator Christian Wallace had to say about the episode here.

Tommy sits in the backyard, watching the horses. T.L. joins him. "I got fired yesterday," Tommy says, "for trying to run the company like a business instead of a memento or a dream or whatever the hell motivates" Cami. He's not worried about his future prospects; he's got a meeting with the president of Chevron that afternoon. But he's also not sure he wants to work for another oil company. What he really wants is to be a landman again, he tells T.L., but he doesn't know if he's got the energy such a job requires.

Suddenly, Tommy gets an idea and rushes inside to ask Nate if he's executed the contract for buying Cooper's wells yet. He hasn't, but when Tommy asks him to hand over the agreement, Nate balks — after all, Tommy no longer works for MTex. They're interrupted by Cheyenne-aka-Penny coming out into the kitchen in her undies and a t-shirt; yep, she stayed the night. Tommy is flabbergasted, but T.L. says she slept over because her car died and they couldn't get it started. However, the older man seems to be enjoying the fact that Tommy can't discern whether or not the he's telling the whole truth. "We slept. That's all we did," T.L. finally says with a smile on his face. "And I got to hold a beautiful woman in my arms for the first time in 50 f**king years." They agree that snuggling with a good woman is restorative, then Tommy steps back inside to find Nate looking ashen: Cami wants the lawyer in Fort Worth. "I guess I'm next," Nate says forlornly. But Tommy thinks she's about to make Nate president, instead. Before Tommy heads out for the day, he asks Dale to halt work on Cooper's well, and Dale immediately complies.

A bruised and aching Ariana wakes to find Cooper has brought Miguel home from his abuela's and prepared a breakfast she can chew with her busted jaw. "I'm begging: Please don't work there," he says as they sit down to eat, clarifying that he fully supports her wanting to work if she wants to, but she shouldn't feel like she has to.

Later, the couple goes to the police to press charges against Johnny; Ariana is asked to strip to her underwear so the officials can photograph her bruises. While that's happening, two detectives bring Cooper into an interrogation room to ask him questions about the previous evening. They point out that Cooper hit Johnny 17 times — they know because they've watched the security footage — and they argue that the blows went on long after the would-be rapist was no longer a threat.

Ariana can't figure out why the cops are still questioning Cooper long after they're done with her. When Barney the Patch Café bartender comes in, he lets her know that Johnny died, and that she should probably contact a lawyer.

So she does... and it's Rebecca, who is surprised to hear from Ariana, given that their last interaction involved Rebecca (on behalf of MTex) trying to get the young widow to give up a lot of money. But after hearing what happened behind the bar,, Rebecca wastes no time: She has Ariana march into the interrogation room with Rebecca on speaker. After Ariana instructs her fiancé to stop talking, Rebecca announces to the officers that, since they haven't informed Cooper of his rights, everything he's said is inadmissible in court. Also? She's now his lawyer, and she'll be there in minutes. Rebecca calls Tommy on the way, letting him know what happened and urging him to call in whatever law-enforcement favors he can.

Let's take a brief break to see what's going on at Texas Christian University. Ainsley attends cheer camp and is shocked to find that the training is a lot harder than what she encountered on her high school squad. Paigyn is one of the athletic trainers assigned to the team; when Paigyn calls Ainsley over to wrap her weak ankles, they're helpful and a lot kinder than we saw last episode.

During cheer practice, some stupid high school boys show up to catcall the cheerleaders and make mean comments about Paigyn. This doesn't sit right with Ainsley, who marches over and humiliates the teens so badly that they leave.

After practice, Paigyn opens up a conversation that leads to the two of them agreeing to try being roomies again. Then Ainsley breaks it to her mom, who's waiting outside the stadium. Angela wonders if Ainsley and her roommate can actually compromise on what they each want. "If we can get the ferret smelling better," Ainsley says, "then we have a chance."

Back to the MTex drama! Bella meets Angela for lunch in Fort Worth, and that's how the former-and-future Mrs. Norris learns that her husband lost his job the day before. She immediately slips out to call him, angrily (and justifiably so!) and wondering why he hadn't bothered to tell her. He counters that he doesn't like to bring up problems until he has potential solutions on deck. "Honey, it's not 2008. I ain't trying to drink my problems away," he reassures her. "I'm gonna solve this. I'm gonna solve it for you and for me and the kids... I give you my word. We're all gonna be better off for this." He asks her to trust him, and, miraculously, she does. After they hang up, he mutters, "I forgot to mention your son's being charged with murder, but I'll fix that, too."

A frustrated Tommy has just vocally challenged God to dump whatever else He's got on him when two cars ahead of him on the highway get into an accident that has a cascading effect ultimately involving a 16-wheeler. Another miracle: Tommy somehow gets through it unscathed — but he's MAD. "That was low, God," he snarls, surveying the damage spread across the roadway. "That was f**kin” dirty."

Sheriff Joeberg and Rebecca arrive at Cooper's interrogation room at roughly the same time. The detectives play the footage of Cooper pummelling Johnny, but Rebecca has them rewind the tape to the part where Johnny knocks Ariana down and climbs on top of her. "That's what I'll be showing a jury," the lawyer states. Then she points out that one of the detectives in the room once shot a man armed with a pipe wrench 11 times, which seems far beyond the amount of force necessary to neutralize the threat. Also? Our girl has Pipe Dude's autopsy report, which suggests that he was dead after the first shot... though the cop kept on going anyway.

Rebecca threatens to find Pipe Dude's family and offer to file a civil suit for wrongful death. "Then I will go through every officer-involved shooting in this county and file a class-action suit on behalf of the family members of every suspect killed in a similar fashion," she continues, really warming up. "You getting my drift?" Once she ascertains that Cooper isn't being detained, she tells him to go home, then tosses her card at the detectives and instructs them that all communication now will go through her. "I am a life-ruiner," she warns them all before striding outta there. "You go after that kid for saving his fianceé's life? Ruin lives is exactly what I'm gonna do, starting with yours."

When she's gone, Joeberg wonders why the cops are picking the fight. Turns out, Johnny was a major pipeline supplier, and important people are mad about his death. Still, are people really going to make a stand over a would-be rapist? "Take it up with the chief," one of the cops suggests, and Joeberg says he plans to.

Nate arrives at Cami's office to find her poring over boxes of files; she says that she found them in the basement, and they contain all the information that they've been looking for all season. She wonders why Monty chose to go old-school with the format. "So if there was a criminal investigation or civil litigation, he could destroy the evidence without leaving an electronic trail," Nate says flatly, adding that he did not approve of this choice.

She wants to know what he thinks she should do with the files, and he says he has no opinion. She counters by offering him the role of MTex president, but he offers his resignation instead. "Monty didn't design this company to outlive him," Nate says. "He designed it to be sold. Tommy can help you with that. I can help you with that. I sure hope you'll give us the chance, for your sake. For your family's sake. Let us sell this thing, before it's the end of you, too."

While that's going on, Tommy meets with Bob to try to get him to back Cooper's wells. Bob points out that it's a shady area, given that MTex paid for the drilling, so he can't be part of it. He advises Tommy to walk away from MTex, and he'll happily make him a vice president of production the very next day. Tommy thanks him but declines, saying he's got to find out "if I got one more homerun in me."

His next stop: Gallino. Tommy reiterates that the drug kingpin is going to lose the money he's invested in MTex. He says Monty was a blackjack player of a businessman, "and now he's gone, and his wife's holding all your chips, and she don't even f**kin' know how to play." Tommy goes on to point out all the ways that the gas well in the Gulf could go badly.

All of that sets up what Tommy is really there to ask — and it's ironic in the extreme: He wants Gallino to honor the original contract with Cooper AND to extend an additional $18 million for the next three wells. "Your first check, for just under $6 million, will arrive in less than a week, and they don't stop coming."

Gallino agrees, writing the checks right then and there. "If you lose this, and you try to f**k me in any way, the thing you love most? That's the first thing I'll take," Gallino warns. "What a great way to start a partnership," Tommy deadpans.

Tommy has Angela meet him at the airport for another not-quite-sanctioned ride on the MTex jet. Nate is there, too; Tommy is very happy to hear that the lawyer resigned, and that he didn't put Cooper's paperwork through before he cut ties with the company. Tommy asks him to draw up a limited liability company, create a bank account for the LLC, and deposit Gallino's money into it.

Tommy's next order of business: Drop some intel on the Odessa P.D. He shows up and announces that he's learned that Johnny died of a heart attack at the emergency room. When one of the detectives raises the idea that the heart attack was precipitated by the beating he took, Tommy wheels around and eviscerates him: "My back is to you for a reason, bud. Because you don't make the decisions here." Tommy is on FIRE. "Now is there a man in this room that would've done anything different if you'd have come in and caught somebody attacking your wife or your kid?"

Tommy exhorts everyone in the room not to press charges; if they do, he threatens, the press might get wind of what's gone down. "This feels like a situation where mayors start firing police chiefs and county attorneys don't get re-elected," he adds. By the time Tommy leaves the room, the problem has gone away. Outside, he pops a few aspirin and does some deep breathing before driving to Ariana's house.

"I swear, trouble finds me like flies at a picnic," Cooper says when he sees his dad, who assures him that the county attorney won't press charges. Still, young Norris is guilt-ridden about the fact that he continued hurting Johnny when he really didn't have to. Tommy tells him not to say that ever again, not to anyone, and also? They've got other business to attend to.

Tommy drives Cooper, Ariana and Miguel to one of the wells, where Nate, Dale, Boss and the crew, Rebecca, Cheyenne, and T.L. meet them. Tommy announces Gallino's deal, which will finance the existing wells and cover exploration costs. "You know what that means?" he asks the assemblage. "We've got our own oil company." Tommy introduces Cooper as president of the board of this new venture, then adds that he'll be senior vice president. Nate will be treasurer, and Rebecca will be chief operating officer and chief counsel. Dale will head up exploration, and T.L. will oversee drilling. Boss will run the crew. The employees will share 25 percent of the profits made by the new company, which is named CTT Oil Exploration and Cattle. (The "CTT" stands for Cooper, Tommy and Thomas. The "Cattle" is there for some legal reason. Don't worry about it.)

Everyone is in, including Ariana, who likely will work as the new company's office manager. "All right, when do we start?" Cooper asks. Tommy grins: "We already started, son."

That evening, Angela stands in the backyard, watching the horses; that's where Tommy finds her. "You know, honey, the time is coming when tragedy is going to dominate our days," he says, momentarily harshing the pastoral moment by listing all the terrible things that could happen to them. But then he brings it around again: "But not today. Today, we win." She points out that she wins every day, and so does he. "You just don't see it, but it's there. It's all around you. You've just gotta take the time to notice," she says. Then she announces her intention to go upstairs and take a bath. "Nothin' on but my birthday suit," she teases, walking into the house. "It's worth watching."

Tommy lingers a moment, looking out over the land, and that's when he sees the coyote that sometimes stops by. "No, you can't have today, bud," he tells the creature. "Today is mine." 

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