Landman Season 2: Why Monty's Death Devastated M-Tex

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Landman season 2, episode 8.Monty Miller's (Jon Hamm) death was devastating for M-Tex in Landman, and this week's episode revealed exactly why his absence is so detrimental. Monty died at the end of Landman season 1 due to his bad heart. Landman season 2 has largely been about Cami (Demi Moore) and Tommy picking up the pieces of M-Tex and trying to keep the company afloat after Monty's death.

Tommy and Cami have had a heap of problems to deal with in Monty's absence. The offshore gas rig M-Tex is on the hook for has been a consistent problem, and Gallino (Andy Garcia) has gotten his hooks into M-Tex in the meantime. Those would have been problems even if Monty survived, though. It wasn't until Landman season 2, episode 8 that we got a real explanation of why M-Tex has gone downhill since Monty's death.

Cami Is Trying & Failing To Run M-Tex Like Monty Did In Landman Season 2

The main reason M-Tex is running into so many problems now that Monty is dead is that Cami is trying and failing to be Monty. Monty was a wildcatter and a gambler who played fast and loose with his money and the rules. He made deals, strong-armed competition, and took enormous risks on land rights. Now that he's dead, Cami is trying to run M-Tex the same way Monty would have.

That's why Cami decided to drill at the offshore gas rig even though there was only a 10% chance of success: Charlie told her that there was an opportunity to make billions of dollars in profit, and she wanted the kind of success Monty had. The problem with Cami trying to emulate Monty's business style is that she doesn't have a fraction of Monty's good business sense.

Monty knew when to hold them and when to fold them. He took the original insurance money from the offshore rig and reinvested it because he was planning on litigating instead of rebuilding. Litigation was the safer option, and even a wildcatter like Monty knew that rebuilding the rig was too much of a risk. Meanwhile, Cami is just aping what she thinks Monty would have done, and she doesn't have enough sense to know when to take the safe option.

M-Tex in Landman season 1 was a company led by a brilliant businessman and gambler. It took risks that paid off more often than not, and it made huge amounts of money on those risks. M-Tex in Landman season 2 is a company led by a woman who does not have business experienc and who does not have the gambling instinct necessary to know which risks are worth gambling on and which could destroy the company.

M-Tex Probably Isn’t Heading Towards Financial Ruin In Landman Season 2

Even though M-Tex is in a very precarious spot with Cami trying and failing to be a wildcatter like Monty, the company probably isn't in any real danger. Narratively speaking, Landman needs M-Tex to survive whatever hardships Cami brings down upon them. The show simply doesn't have an alternative to M-Tex that would let it remain compelling and give it the freedom to tell whatever story it wants.

If the offshore oil rig turns out to be a bust and M-Tex goes bankrupt, Landman would be ruined. Tommy and Cooper would be out of a job, and it's not like they could actually follow Cooper's plan of making their own company with what little money the family has. Cami would have to leave the show completely as a disgraced businesswoman. Everything in Landman would implode if M-Tex goes bankrupt, so the show won't let that happen.

As improbable as it seems, Cami's gamble with the offshore oil rig is either going to pay off or at least not entirely bankrupt M-Tex. Landman can get creative with how it solves this problem, but the fact remains that Taylor Sheridan doesn't have a show if this offshore oil rig problem doesn't get solved. So, even though M-Tex is much worse off without Monty, it won't be financially ruined in Landman season 2.