'Landman' fans have a theory about why Ainsley and Cooper Norris hate each other
'Landman' stars Jacob Lofland and Michelle Randolph, essay the roles of Cooper and Ainsley Norris respectively. The on-screen brother and sister share a torrid relationship and remain absent from each other's lives. Cooper is shown as more responsible in the storyline crafted by Taylor Sheridan and Ainsley is showcased as a rich spoiled brat. As per Dexerto, even ardent viewers of the drama, which is based on the oil industry in West Texas, think that the siblings' disparate upbringings are the secret to their distinct personalities.
"Why does Cooper look like he grew up in Section 8 housing when his sister looks like she grew up on Rodeo Drive? Nobody bothered to fix his damn teeth. He has some kind of vitamin deficiency. His clothes look like they were bought at Dirty Dillards or the thrift shop," a fan questioned on Reddit which led to a major discussion point. "He didn't live with his mom.. by their timeline he was maybe 6 when they divorced. She took Ainsley to live with the billionaire, Tommy took Cooper. Tommy and Cooper don't care about a tooth gap," an online user pointed out.
"Mom took the pretty child that she could raise to be her clone/bestie; Cooper was the scrawny/ugly child who reminded her of Tommy," another fan agreed. "Ainsley is Angela's mini, so she made sure she stayed that way. Didn't care as much about the boy," a netizen reasoned. "Cooper said he remembers when they lost everything and Angie and Tommy divorced. Angie seems to have rebounded quickly after the divorce, married money and took Ainsley with her. Ainsley grew up with that rich step-father who is paying child support on her," a fan discussed the plotline.
"I think that's just what tracks with Cooper's personality. I think he just doesn't give a shit about all that like his sister. There's also something going on with that family and him. It appears as if he had been estranged for a while the way his mom and dad talked to him," an online user commented. In an exclusive with Screenrant, Randolph defended her on-screen character from the backlash that it has been receiving from fans. She remarked that it wasn't "her job" to decide what the viewers thought about her controversial depiction.
"You know, I got the script, I developed the character, I filmed it, and we put it out into the world, and that's where my job kind of ends. It's not my job to tell people how to interpret my character. But I think that's the thing about art, is you put it out and it creates conversation, and that's exactly what's happening," she explained. Critics have been pointing out Ainsley's provocative behavior and the torn father-daughter bond in the plotline. Meanwhile, Sheridan already has planned some major plotline twists for season two of the series. "There is a lot more story left to tell with Cami. Taylor has big plans, that’s all I’m going to say," Billy Bob Thornton told Variety. He also teased that bigger things await his character, "never going to get the landman out of him," Thornton hinted.
