Landman Drops Emotional Bombshell: Tommy’s Backstory Is Sadder Than We Thought

Landman season 2’s premiere ended with Tommy learning that his mother had died. Although Taylor Sheridan’s hit Paramount+ oil drama has yet to name Tommy’s mother, Landman season 2, episode 2 begins with Tommy planning her funeral and picking out her coffin with the help of his son, Cooper Norris (Jacob Lofland). Next stop for Tommy and Cooper is the depressing old folks’ home where T.L. Norris spends his sad evenings in the backyard staring at the sunset. It’s clear that not only is Tommy estranged from T.L., but Cooper also has no relationship with his grandfather. Cooper and Landman’s viewers learn a lot about Tommy when he meets his father.

Tommy’s Tragic Landman Backstory Explains A Lot

Tommy’s emotional meeting with his father was even sadder for what it revealed about his childhood living with his mother and T.L. Tommy’s mother was a cocaine addict, and living with her was impossible chaos for both Norris men. However, T.L. was also a terrible father. T.L. Norris worked on oil rigs during the day, and at home, a combination of alcohol, grief, and frustration led to T.L. violently abusing Tommy. While it wasn’t made clear, it’s possible or even likely that T.L. also got violent towards his wife.

T.L. Norris “worked himself” until he was “crippled,” and now he is stuck in a wheelchair. Despite being separated from his wife, T.L. grieved their relationship long before she died, and he stares at the sunset every day, hating himself for his failures as a husband and father.

For Tommy, escaping his parents and becoming his own man explains a great deal about who he is today. Tommy is pragmatic and no-nonsense, and Landman season 2, episode 2 makes it clear that Tommy worked to rise beyond his traumatic childhood. Tommy is a stronger person because of the past he endured.

Tommy Is A Better Father Than He Thinks He Is

One of the most touching scenes thus far in Landman season 2 was Cooper and Tommy driving home from visiting T.L. in “Sins of the Father.” As Cooper absorbs what he learned about his grandfather, Tommy tells him that he wasn’t cut out to be a father and that if Cooper wants to raise Ariana’s (Paulina Chavez) baby or his own, he has to be there for the child. Yet Cooper soothed Tommy’s tortured soul by assuring him that his father was “good enough” for him. Tommy feels he was an absentee and inadequate parent like T.L., but it isn’t true. The proof is that Cooper admires his father, and Tommy’s daughter, Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), also adores her daddy.

Tommy may not have been there every day for Cooper and Ainsley growing up, but it’s evident from how his children feel about him that Tommy was there for his kids when he did show up. Tommy’s ex-wife, Angela (Ali Larter), also never poisoned their kids against him because she adores him, too, despite their years separated. Tommy Norris came from an abusive childhood, but while he can never escape the memories of his tragic past, Tommy’s choices and actions in Landman make him a far better parent than the ones who birthed him.