As Episode 5 of Landman season 2 unfolds, we find T.L. returning home to a warm welcome from Tommy and the rest of the crew. Nate's surprise at their early arrival is palpable, and he cautions Tommy against overextending himself. As the landman and the President, he can't juggle both roles effortlessly. Unfortunately for Nate, he's also been tasked with a stack of invoices and various camp rental documents for Cooper.
Amidst the chaos of work and family dynamics, Ainsley and Angela hatch a plan to throw a themed dinner party. Discovering T.L.'s love for seafood, they decide on a pirate-themed feast—a delightful and whimsical idea, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Ariana broaches the subject of weddings and her desire to get married, especially if they're going to do it right. However, Cooper knows he needs Ariana's father's blessing first, and she warns him that this will be a monumental task. But we've seen across the two seasons that Cooper is head over heels in love with her and determined to make it work.
Tommy and Cooper meet for a meal later, where they learn that the Oil expo is set to roll into town next week. Tommy also warns Cooper against rushing into marriage, but his real concern lies with the drillings.
Cooper dismisses the expenses with a wave of his hand, claiming that Sonrisa is covering the drilling costs. However, Tommy brings up the fact that there's $40 million in his checking account and the meter is running. With a 50/50 split, 30 days to build a pad and drill, followed by 30 more days to fill the tanks, Cooper isn't getting paid until the 27th of the next month—a long wait and a hefty sum of money with invoices for $44 million already sent.
Despite Cooper being in a precarious situation, Tommy decides that M-Tex will buy out the leases and cancel the note, covering the costs. Cooper will be back at square one with nothing, but Tommy decides he can bring him on board and run his own team, allowing Cooper to earn a much more stable income of $9000 a month.
The deal Cooper agreed to would have been a financial doomsday, plunging him into a deep debt quagmire. Thankfully, Tommy steps in and offers a much-needed bailout. Cooper is grateful but insists on meeting the parents first!
Meanwhile, Tommy heads to the crash site at the drill to assess the damage. The sight is grim, and he's furious that Nate waited so long to inform him. Worse, he's just now learning about the H2S situation. He hurries to the hospital to check on Jerrell before driving over to see Dan.
Rebecca, now fresh from her hangover, joins Nate as they meet with lawyers to discuss the rig situation. Despite having the permits in place, they only have 45 days to get things in motion. The deadline is looming, and despite their previous agreement, things are looking grim.
The issue? Cami's name is on everything. She's signed off, whether she knows it or not, which means they need to scrounge up $400 million from somewhere. When Tommy learns of this, he's not pleased. He confronts Dan and refuses to partner up, determined not to go down this shady road again, even though Dan lays out the dire consequences of their financial mess in detail.
However, Dan knows the severity of their debts and lays it all out - with their hemorrhaging funds, there's no other lender who will offer favorable rates like Dan's. Deep down, Tommy knows this too, but the prospect of M-Tex filing for bankruptcy and losing everything they've built is too much to bear.
The elephant in the room? Dan Morrell. With everyone else out of the picture except Cami, Tommy explains the seriousness of going into business with him - he's the head of the Mafia wing, and if the FBI caught wind of them cozying up to the mafia with $400 million, they'd look like a money laundering machine.
Cami, blissfully ignorant, is determined to win no matter what. She lays down the law, pointing out that she wants to draft a meeting with Dan and reiterates that she's in charge.
After a long day (and a looming pirate dinner), Tommy heads to the Patch Café for a drink. He chats with the barman and spots Ariana across the room. He heads over to talk and drops off a couple of $100 bills as well.
The one person missing from the pirate dinner is Cooper, who spends the night at Ariana's father's place. He gives his blessing but mostly because he never needed it in the first place and it was all one big test from Ariana. As the episode closes out, Tommy is all jokes and laughing when he shows up and sees the house completely transformed into a pirate cove. But beneath his smile lies a deeper truth - M-Tex are in serious trouble indeed.
