Landman Season 2’s Rebecca Storyline Highlights The Biggest Problem With Taylor Sheridan’s Show

One of Rebecca’s storylines in Landman season 2 highlights the Taylor Sheridan show’s biggest problem in its sophomore season. Though Landman season 1 received a lot of popularity and praise, reviews for Landman season 2 took a noticeable dip. As the season has progressed, some problems have emerged, and many viewers have grown frustrated with how much has changed since season 1.

There are plenty of areas in Landman season 2 that have drawn criticism. Tommy being made president of M-Tex, for example, has taken him out of the field. Angela and Ainsley have also backslid from their character development at the end of Landman season 1, and the show often seems rudderless. The single biggest problem with Landman season 2, however, can be summed up by one story: Rebecca’s.

Rebecca’s Relationship With Charlie Seems Unnecessary & Distracting

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Since Landman season 2, episode 4, the show has been focusing on a new romantic relationship between Rebecca and Charlie, a geologist for M-Tex. Their relationship took center stage in Landman season 2, episode 7 after they slept together and Nate forced Rebecca to sign a conflict form, making their relationship official. Landman season 2 seems intent on developing this relationship, but it shouldn’t be.

I understand what Taylor Sheridan is doing with Landman season 2. The throughline so far seems to be that love is important and worth fighting for. It’s why he’s spent so much time focusing on Tommy and Angela, Cooper and Ariana, and even Cami dealing with the aftermath of Monty’s death and Gallino and Bella. I get that love is the theme of Landman season 2, but it shouldn’t be.

Landman was pitched and sold to viewers as a high-octane, high-stress look at the challenges of working in the oil industry. That’s what season 1 was: a show that had a new problem for Tommy around every corner that kept you on the edge of your seat. Landman season 2, however, has abandoned that suspense entirely. Instead of dealing with the cartel or handling worker disputes on the patch, Tommy spends every episode driving to and from meetings. The reason Landman season 2 has slowed down so much compared to season 1 is the relationships. The show already had two well-developed romance subplots, but now it has added Rebecca and Charlie, Cami and Monty, and even Gallino. Landman has too many romances, and it’s not leaving enough time for what viewers actually want to see. Instead of a high-octane show, we’ve gotten Rebecca hemming and hawing about mixing business with pleasure.

Landman Season 2 Needs To Focus More On Gallino & Cami Instead Of Romance

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The most frustrating part of Landman season 2 adding yet another romance through Rebecca and Charlie is that it already has a much more compelling story that it’s neglecting. Landman season 2 should focus on Gallino manipulating M-Tex out of Cami’s control, but instead, it shows Cooper jumping through hoops to get engaged for seven episodes.

Gallino’s dynamic with Cami and the mystery about his true intentions are easily Landman season 2’s greatest strengths. To me, at least, they’re the most engaging, interesting, and entertaining parts of the season. Why, then, was Landman season 2, episode 7 almost entirely focused on relationships? Focusing this much on romance subplots bogs Landman down as a whole.

Another annoying aspect of the romance focus of Landman season 2 is that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. All season long, Tommy has been telling us how stressed he is and how he doesn’t have time for anything, but all he does is drive around, have family dinners, and argue with his father. Landman season 1 showed us that Tommy was overwhelmed — it was one of the best parts of the show — but Landman season 2 is desperately trying to tell us that he’s overwhelmed. If Landman season 2 just pushed its romantic subplots back to the background where they belong, the entire season would be a lot stronger. I’m not saying do away with the romance entirely, but does this show really need to dedicate dozens of minutes of precious runtime to Rebecca and Charlie debating whether they should date or not? Hopefully, with its last three episodes, Landman season 2 can get its priorities straight.