Eww, WTF is with the Landman daughter story?! Why Taylor Sheridan’s New Western Is Facing Backlash

New Paramount+ show Landman is a drama series revolving around the oil industry in West Texas, but the show’s initial episodes drew criticism surrounding certain Landman characters. The neo-Western follows Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton, as he tries to manage the problems that arise for oil industry executive Monty Miller, played by Jon Hamm. While the show’s drama surrounding the specific crises of an exploding plane and an exploding oil rig provided plenty of entertainment for audiences, the scenes revolving instead around Norris’ family raised some questions.

Taylor Sheridan’s past shows such as yellow stone and King of Tulsa, are also mostly male-oriented Westerns and feature men in many of the larger roles, meaning that some audience members have come to expect that the women in their shows may not be as well written, but Landman took these claims to the next level. The two episodes of Landman that have debuted so far feature very uncomfortable scenes with Norris’s teenage daughter Ainsleyand viewers were quick to express their opinions.

The Daughter Plot in Landman Is Weird and Uncomfortable

Several questionable scenes involve the 17-year-old character

LandmanThe treatment of Ainsley Norris thus far has been disturbing, to say the least. Actress Michelle Randolph, 27, plays the 17-year-old character, who, in episode 1, has a very uncomfortable conversation with her father. While watching a football game for her boyfriend, Tommy Norris questions Ainsley about her sex life. She responds in great detail to any father-daughter relationship, and Norris’ only response is the hilarious statement “I’ll get a Dr. Pepper.” Unsurprisingly, this scene quickly went viral on social media, with fans questioning why Sheridan felt the dialogue was necessary.

Although the conversation about sex life between father and daughter was bad, Landman continued the uncomfortable sequence in episode 2 as well. When Ainsley decides to stay at her father’s house for a while, she repeatedly comes into contact with her old friends, who also happen to be staying there. Several scenes show Ainsley walking around the house barely dressed or sunbathing in a bikini. Unfortunately, Landmanolder men consistently make audiences uncomfortable with their gaping gazes and overt sexualization of a character stated to be 17 years old.

The daughter’s story is part of a larger problem with Landman

Women are all one-dimensional

While the scenes including Ainsley are definitely the most uncomfortable, they’re not the only awkward aspects of Landman. In general, all the women on the show are very one dimensional. This extends to Angela Norris, Tommy’s ex-wife and Ainsley’s mother, who often dresses in very revealing low-cut or see-through clothing, with the questionable motive of flirting a little with her ex-husband. Ali Larter gives the best performance possible, given that the character she wrote doesn’t seem to be doing much at this point in the series.

Likewise, Demi Moore appears throughout the show as Monty Miller’s wife Cami, but is also given little to work with in terms of character. For such well-known actors, audiences began to question why Taylor Sheridan didn’t use Larter and Moore’s characters more. Kayla Wallace’s Rebecca takes on the slightly more aggressive role of lawyer, but even she seems like a one-dimensional representation of what a working woman is. Until now, women in Landman left audiences and critics perplexed and hoping for the best.

Is Landman as bad as his viral scenes suggest?

The show has some positive moments

Despite all the criticism that the writing and direction of female characters has received, Landman it still includes great performances and great compositions. In particular, Reviews praised Billy Bob Thornton’s portrayal of Tommy Norris as intense and believable. Likewise, the plot and pacing kept audiences entertained in the early episodes, and the drama will likely continue to escalate throughout the season. Landman it currently holds a solid 76% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, proving that, overall, most viewers were able to ignore the more troubling scenes.

Although the clips that are trending on social media paint the series in a very negative light, there is much more depth to the show than these short scenes. Ali Larter even commented on how strong she feels her character is and how good Taylor Sheridan’s writing is, pointing to a bigger character arc for her later in the season. Although the current online response to some of the LandmanThe scenes are very negative, it is important to highlight that the series could see these characters develop much more in the coming weeks, leading to a change in public opinion.