Landman season 2, episode 8, “Handsome Touched,” may be an improvement on last week’s filler episode 7, but there still doesn’t seem to be much direction to this once-promising Taylor Sheridan series.

With its various music drops and choppy editing style, this latest Landman episode felt like a feel-good comedy movie out of the 2000s, making for mild entertainment at best. The latter half of Landman season 2 has insisted on taking scenic routes and detours around the main Tommy and M-Tex narrative, but it’s starting to feel like the series has completely lost its way.

Landman Season 2 Is Having A Major Identity Crisis

Landman season 2 has become an entirely different series from season 1 in its general tone, switching from a dramatic thriller to a feel-good soap opera, but somehow, things have generally stayed the same. Between the forced dinner parties and the occasional corporate legal drama, Landman is starting to feel like it’s playing the same song over and over again.

Landman’s previous strengths – its long sprawling episodes, its sharp genre blends, its signature character traits – are turning out to be its downfall in the late stages of season 2. Angela’s still reduced to showing the local nursing home dwellers a good time, a joke that got old even before season 1 ended, and Ainsley’s character has somehow regressed beyond her one-dimensional season 1 composition.

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Landman season 2, episode 8.

Landman season 2, episode 8, “Handsome Touched,” may be an improvement on last week’s filler episode 7, but there still doesn’t seem to be much direction to this once-promising Taylor Sheridan series.

With its various music drops and choppy editing style, this latest Landman episode felt like a feel-good comedy movie out of the 2000s, making for mild entertainment at best. The latter half of Landman season 2 has insisted on taking scenic routes and detours around the main Tommy and M-Tex narrative, but it’s starting to feel like the series has completely lost its way.

Landman Season 2 Is Having A Major Identity Crisis

Landman season 2 has become an entirely different series from season 1 in its general tone, switching from a dramatic thriller to a feel-good soap opera, but somehow, things have generally stayed the same. Between the forced dinner parties and the occasional corporate legal drama, Landman is starting to feel like it’s playing the same song over and over again.

Landman’s previous strengths – its long sprawling episodes, its sharp genre blends, its signature character traits – are turning out to be its downfall in the late stages of season 2. Angela’s still reduced to showing the local nursing home dwellers a good time, a joke that got old even before season 1 ended, and Ainsley’s character has somehow regressed beyond her one-dimensional season 1 composition.

As for the new characters, namely Sam Elliott’s T.L., it’s nearly safe to say that his purpose, or lack thereof, in the series has been mostly disappointing. It was initially heartbreaking and fascinating to learn about his tortured relationship with his ex-wife, Dorothy. By the time we’re watching T.L. sob in the pool, unable to help himself get up in episode 8, the emotional punch of pitying the poor guy is still present, but withered and exhausted.

Cami, on the other hand, is so determined to prove that she can run her husband’s company that she’s blinded by truth or reason. I was hoping that Demi Moore’s enhanced season 2 role would add more depth to Cami, especially after that powerful opening speech in the season 2 premiere. Unfortunately, she’s only proven that she can’t make unemotional business decisions, which is a disappointing missed opportunity for her character development.

Landman Season 2 Is Suffering Without Jon Hamm’s Monty

Consider what was happening in Landman season 1 during its eighth episode: Cooper helped Ariana with the M-Tex settlement, which sent Monty’s heart rate through the roof and hospitalized him. The U.S. Army started training in Monty’s unoccupied oil fields to fend off the cartel, and Ainsley went on a date with Ryder, who has since disappeared from the series.

The episode ended with an explosive scene in which a U.S. Army helicopter unknowingly blew up a cartel van during a training exercise, killing several and setting up the final two episodes of the season. Fast forward to season 2, episode 8, and we end on T.L. floating like a child in Tommy’s pool with the help of a stripper-turned-physical therapist.

This comparison reveals three main issues with Landman season 2. First, it has abandoned its main antagonistic force, the cartel, entirely, which is hard to believe since Gallino, a cartel boss, has a huge role in season 2. Secondly, Ainsley was a key character with her own storyline in season 1 and has mostly been in the background of Angela’s moments, including her highly unlikely roulette table winnings. Lastly, and most crucially, it’s missing Jon Hamm’s Monty, whose absence is greatly felt at this point in Landman.

New cast additions and enlarged roles in Landman season 2 made it seem like the series could continue without Jon Hamm’s Monty without missing a beat. With just two episodes left in season 2 now, it might be time to admit that killing off Monty in season 1 was the worst thing that happened to this series.

While it’s been mostly enjoyable, albeit repetitive, to learn about Tommy’s relationship with his dad, I would trade just about any Tommy & T.L. scene in season 2 to get another Monty and Tommy scene. In retrospect, it was the best dynamic and fuel source that kept Landman season 1 running. Without it, Landman has become unfocused, less tense, and may have officially lost its luster.