New York, Jan. 19 (UPI) — Season 2 of Landman ended with the hint of a brighter future for the Paramount+ western’s kindest character, Cooper Norris, played by Justified and Maze Runner alum Jacob Lofland.
Spoilers ahead.
The penultimate episode of Taylor Sheridan’s Texas-set drama shows Cooper and his fiancee Ariana (Paulina Chavez) briefly enjoying their recent engagement before a disgruntled customer from the bar where Ariana works beat her up and tries to rape her, prompting Cooper to kill him and, for much of the season finale, fear he might face a murder rap.
Fortunately, Rebecca (Kayla Wallace), the lawyer for his dad’s oil company, M-Tex, convinces the authorities not to charge Cooper for defending the young woman.
The episode ends with Cooper’s father Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton) announcing he was fired from M-Tex and has created a new company that Cooper will be the president of and for which Rebecca will serve as in-house legal counsel.
Ariana was also tapped to work as office manager, while Tommy’s father T.L. (Sam Elliott) was told he would be overseeing the drilling.
“It’s a lot more of doing what we HAVE to do because we’re in danger. So, let’s take care of this and, later on, the repercussions come down the road,” Lofland, 29, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview about how Cooper’s actions impact his relationship with Ariana.
“We see in the finale that he’s really struggling with the fact that this happened,” Lofland added. “He knows that he went a little too far. It’s something I think he’ll carry with him for a long time. I don’t know how quick Cooper’s going to get over this, although we do have some great news coming in with CTT Oil and Cattle, so that’s a big one, so, hopefully, we can shift gears and feel better about that. But we’ll just have to see what happens in Season 3.”
In some ways, their harrowing experience has brought Cooper and Ariana closer since the young woman now knows how far her fiancé will go to protect her.
“I think it’s going to help the relationship even more and grow it more,” Lofland said.
“There’s more of a bond at this point. Now he can nurse her back to health like she has to him so many times. I’m looking forward to where we go,” the actor added. “Maybe a wedding, maybe. No telling what happens in Season 3.”
Asked what might happen once his emotional, enthusiastic mother Angela (Ali Larter) starts planning the ceremony, Lofland replied: “It’s going to be extravagant. I can tell you that.”
Season 2 also shows Cooper taking on a more active role in raising Ariana’s infant son Miguel.
“He’s just getting more comfortable,” Lofland said of Cooper.
“I’m sure Miguel’s starting to warm up to Cooper,” the actor added. “He’s got a bit more of a father figure role. I enjoyed working with Miguel. He’s probably one of the best babies I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. They’re twins and so cute. They are both so good at what they do.”
The Season 2 off-screen death of Tommy’s estranged mother — and a subsequent family funeral dinner scene — also helped Cooper better understand Tommy and why he is the way he is.
“They seem to be doing good. I was worried, going into Season 2, because I didn’t know exactly where we would wind up between Cooper and Tommy,” Lofland said of the father and son, who don’t always know how to speak to each other.
“But we end it on a good note and we’ll see what kind of roadblocks and bumps we have along the way in the next season,” Lofland added. “But, as of right now, I think they’re in a pretty good place.”
Cooper has always been the moral compass of the show and fans will likely expect him to take his level-headed nature into this new venture with Tommy.
“Cooper’s got a lot to learn about the business side of this, so I’m sure Tommy’s going to be helping him out, figuring out what needs to be done,” Lofland said.
“Taylor writes it and it just comes off the page that way. It makes our jobs easy,” he added, referring to how many viewers see Cooper and Ariana as the heart of the series. “I’m incredibly fortunate to be playing this character and have such an impact in the show.”
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