Warning: This article contains spoilers for 1883 and Landman.Sam Elliott has a scene in 1883 proving he’s exactly what the Landman cast needs. Taylor Sheridan’s follow-up to Yellowstone premiered alongside his landmark neo-Western’s final chapter. After a successful first season, Landman was renewed for season 2, leaving its viewers to wonder how the sophomore outing season will take shape. The Landman season 1 finale sees John Hamm’s Monty Miller character effectively written out of the series. But for Landman season 2, Puck reports that iconic Western actor Sam Elliott has been cast.
Like many other actors from Taylor Sheridan’s TV shows, Elliott features in a different series from the screenwriter. Elliott plays an essential role in 1883‘s cast, which comprises the earliest members of the Dutton family tree and the members of their wagon train. Shea Brennan is the wagon train leader who leads the Dutton family’s northwest journey along the Oregon Trail, starting in Fort Worth. Now, Elliott will return to Texas for Landman, presumably alongside Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris. Notably, his chops in 1883 prove that Elliott has the perfect quality to enhance the show.
Sam Elliott’s Best 1883 Scene Is With Isabel May’s Elsa Dutton
Shea Brennan Comforts Elsa Dutton After Her Loss
Having watched the series more than once, I would argue that Sam Elliott’s best 1883 scene is alongside Isabel May’s Elsa Dutton. Elsa is the eldest of James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton’s (Faith Hill) children and the prequel is told from her perspective as she has a coming-of-age experience on her family’s journey. Elsa Dutton narrates 1883, so the audience gets an intimate understanding of her insights. James’ daughter comes to realize that her romanticized version of the American West is just that, as she loses Ennis (Eric Nelsen), her first love.
Elliott’s best scene in the prequel series is arguably when Shea takes it upon himself to comfort Elsa after Ennis’ death. He tells Elsa that he’s heading to the ocean because an Apache scout once told him a secret:
“When you love somebody, you trade souls with them. They get a piece of yours, and you get a piece of theirs. But when your love dies… A little piece of you dies with them. That’s why you hurt so bad. But that little piece of him is still inside you. And he can use your eyes to see the world.”
Elliott’s Brennan goes on to tell Elsa that he’s taking his wife to the ocean. He says he wants to sit on the beach in Oregon and let her see it with his eyes since this was her dream. Shea’s understanding of Elsa’s grief and what to say is informed by the second scene of 1883 episode 1, which shows Brennan burning down his house after losing his wife and daughter to smallpox. Elliott and May’s scene is certainly one of the best moments in the show, and it informs Shea’s ending, sh**ting h|mself on the Pacific Ocean’s shoreline.
How Sam Elliott Can Enhance Landman Season 2
1883 Proves Elliott Is Perfect For Landman
The wisdom offered in Shea and Elsa’s conversation is also one of the show’s most sentimental exchanges, and 1883 has no lack of heart-wrenching moments to choose from. That said, outside the glimpses of Shea’s compassion, the character is hard-as-nails, bringing his gritty, unforgiving attitude to each phase of the journey. Elliott’s tested duality is perfect for Landman, which balances the unforgiving circumstances of West Texas’ oil fields with more emotional moments with Tommy and his family. While Tommy has moments of vulnerability, Elliott can introduce a Yellowstone quality that Landman lacks.
Elliott has proven he can bring John Dutton’s best quality to the Landman cast while maintaining the grittier exterior needed for M-Tex’s harrowing operations.
In the season finale, Thornton’s Landman performance emulates Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, showing a different side to Tommy. Still, a defining aspect of Thornton’s character is that he compartmentalizes the emotionally taxing aspects of his work, not allowing them to affect his composure. Therefore, we rarely get such moments from Tommy Norris, as we get from John Dutton, who was profoundly in tune with his grief, earned from a life of hardships. Elliott has proven he can bring John Dutton’s best quality to the Landman cast while maintaining the grittier exterior needed for M-Tex’s harrowing operations.
