Sam Elliott’s TL was the best thing about a weak season
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from Season 2 of “Landman,” now available to stream on Paramount+.
When we first see Sam Elliott, he is looking into the sunset, waiting to die.
The veteran actor joined the second season of “Landman” as TL, the estranged father of the titular countryman, Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton). In his first scene, he sits in the backyard of a dilapidated assisted living facility during the golden hour of West Texas, fascinated by the sun. At that point, that’s the only thing that wakes TL up in the morning, especially since his wife, Dorothy, is in a separate memory care facility.
They are memories that keep Tommy and TL at odds, as TL is still in love with a vision of Dorothy that no longer exists. She fell into darkness after losing a child, and while TL left home to work in the fields and avoid his grief, young Tommy only knew his mother as an abusive alcoholic.
When Dorothy dies, Tommy’s ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) insists that TL move in with the newly reconciled family – and one of writer and co-creator Taylor Sheridan’s best character arcs is set into motion. Elliott is the perfect ship; and every line on his face evokes the bad decisions he’s made that Tommy still has time to avoid.
At 81, Elliott has entertained generations of audiences, from his breakout role in 1976’s “Lifeguard,” to unforgettable performances in period blockbusters of the ’90s like 1993’s “Gettysburg” and “Tombstone,” as a cowboy poet in 1998’s “The Big Lebowski,” and a tear-jerking, Oscar-nominated performance in 2018’s “A Star Is Born.” he is able to synthesize a lifetime of work into scene-stealing moments that older actors rarely experience.
As the season begins, things are tough for TL. As Elliott told me before the season started, “I spent a lot of my time in tears” on set. It was moving to see an actor so known for his physical presence and bravado play a broken man. “My body is turning against me,” TL says in one episode, both of the actor’s defining features – that deep voice and mustache – shaking with the realization of his age. A life in the oil fields has left him weak and wobbly, leading to embarrassing moments like seizing his joints or falling into the pool and not being able to get out.
But the joy of seeing Angela and his granddaughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) making themed dinners in the house quickly warms the man, who is able to find a second chance at life through their energy. Elliott’s evolution from grumpy old fart to hot grandpa is gradual and full of profanity, but he ultimately becomes a beacon of change for Tommy, who is constantly annoyed by the problems of his fast-paced life and the somewhat frivolous problems of his ex-wife and daughter.
“You’ve got it all, boy, but you’re too stupid to see it,” TL tells Tommy one day over lunch at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. “Or too angry, or too addicted to the solution. Whatever it is, you’re missing it.”
Normally Tommy would tell someone else to kick rocks, but instead, moved by his father’s candor, he steps outside to take a few contemplative drags on a cigarette. Later that evening, he takes a new emotional path with Angela, expressing his love for her – a step that could not have been done without his father.
Luckily things never happen at mushy with TL When a man from his past starts talking about his recently deceased wife, TL starts flailing until the police have to intervene. He scolds Tommy for pulling his mustache when he thinks he died during his nap. And TL is quick to talk about how much he loves women.
Yes, ‘Landman’ is a show that isn’t afraid to explore just how horny octogenarians can be. TL was constantly philosophical about a woman’s touch, no longer enjoying a friendly conversation with a beautiful neighbor, or even a gentle dance with Angela on the honkey tonk. This led to one of the most unexpected and touching friendships of the season, when Tommy hired an exotic dancer named Cheyenne (Francesca Xuereb) as TL’s questionably skilled physical therapist and aquatic therapy expert. The pair spent hours embracing in a pool, with Cheyenne in her barely-there bikini and TL floating along in a pair of jeans. Elliott’s blissful expression was a far cry from where we met him earlier this season, baking away in the sun.
This season was criticized by fans for prioritizing Tommy’s family drama at the expense of the first season’s oil industry play. But during the final shot of the season—as Tommy stares into the setting sun after making amends with Angela—he speaks to God one last time, as he has throughout the episode: “No, you can’t have today, buddy. Today is mine.”
He never would have gotten there without TL showing him what that sunset could bring, and only an actor like Elliott could bring so much pathos and humor to this cowboy’s final ride.
Watch a key scene between TL and Tommy below.
