Original subtitles

♪ MTV ♪

[Tommy grunts]

[Tommy] They sent me to negotiate a service lease.

- We got a deal? - We got a deal.

[sighs]

[horn honks]

[phone buzzes]

This ain't gonna be good. Give me a second.

How bad?

[Tommy] That's a tricky one to answer.

Is it something you and Nate can handle?

They're gonna hit you from three directions.

Insurance company, victims' families and TTP.

I don't see any dead drug dealers over here.

Fuck.

Daddy!

- [laughs] Baby. - [laughs] Hi.

You get prettier every day, little angel.

[Armando] You baby Norris?

Cooper.

I think baby's better.

[both laughing]

How's our baby?

It's his first day.

First days ain't easy.

Higher!

[Cooper yells]

[Cooper] Your whole family works the patch?

[Armando] Everybody's whole family works the patch.

It's better you work for it real hard.

You know, that way nobody can take it away.

Go get the 24-inch pipe wrench.

♪ slow, mournful music ♪

♪

♪ vocalist humming ♪

♪

[groans]

[grunting]

♪ gentle music ♪

♪

♪

♪

[male DJ] Good morning, Midland-Odessa.

It's 7:53 a.m. on a Saturday.

That's a weekend in the rest of the world,

but with just over 87 a barrel,

there's no more weekends in the basin for a while.

Money, money, money, money, money.

Looking at a high of 94 degrees today.

[female DJ] And don't forget, tonight at 2 a.m.

those clocks spring forward.

[male DJ] There's no such thing as tonight at 2 a.m.

There's tomorrow at 2 a.m.

[female DJ] If you're still awake at 2 a.m., it's tonight.

[male DJ] That sounds like a country song.

[female DJ] It does sound like a country song.

I think it's time to play a country song.

- What do you think? - [male DJ] I think it is.

[female DJ] How about a little Whiskey Myers

and what it takes to make it through a 94-degree afternoon?

[male DJ] That'd be a little "Bad Medicine."

♪ Well, you got me on the ropes ♪

♪ You got me on my knees ♪

♪ I been losing ♪

♪ Hope ♪

♪ I been losing speed ♪

♪ I can feel it again, you're bad... ♪

You got to quit eating that shit. It's gonna kill you.

Says the two-pack-a-day smoker?

You ever been to Japan?

The whole country smokes.

Ninety-year-old men sucking on filterless Pall Malls,

then doing an hour of tai chi in the park.

Same thing in China, same thing in Italy,

and they don't even exercise.

All they do is drink wine, eat pasta and fuck.

You know what those three countries have in common?

Lung cancer ain't even

in the top ten leading causes of death.

So it ain't cigarettes.

It's sugar and shit like that that kills you.

I'm telling you.

- Morning, Daddy. - Oh, morning, baby.

- Hi. - Mm.

Is she using Daddy as a metaphor?

That's my daughter.

Now I know why you smoke so much.

Yeah.

♪ Darling, your love ♪

♪ Is making me sick ♪

[sniffles]

♪ I can feel it again ♪

♪ You're bad medicine... ♪

He left.

Well, honey, you told him to.

But he's not supposed to do it.

He's supposed to change the way he feels

and then do what I want.

What the fuck is wrong with men?!

I know we got a rule, but, um...

I'm just, you know, kind of working it out.

- Completely understood. - [door closes]

- Thought your hitch was over. - Well, someone called in

a lightning strike on a holding tank

right as I was fucking leaving town.

- Burned it up? - Yeah, burned it up. [coughs]

I'll tell you one thing, if you want to clear that mesquite out,

you just soak those roots in frack water.

[Tommy] Hey, Dale,

you think you might want to try

having a coffee or something?

If I have another coffee, my heart's gonna explode.

[gulps, exhales heavily]

Who we using for fill dirt around here?

National Site or TopSoil Sand and Gravel.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, Dale, don't walk on the...

fucking carpet in those boots.

That sloppy son of a bitch.

Right?

♪ It's time to cut our loss ♪

♪ I'll take the withdraws ♪

♪ If you would just set me free ♪

♪ But you locked me up in chains ♪

♪ Locked me up in chains ♪

- ♪ Threw away the key... - [sighing] Oh, fuck.

[shower running]

Oh, shit.

[screaming]

[groaning]

God!

The fuck is that?

[Ainsley screams]

Spider in the sink maybe?

No, that didn't sound like a spider scream.

There's a rapist in the bathroom!

There's a rapist in the bathroom!

Dad, there's a rapist in the bathroom!

Wait, wait, hang on. There's a what?

There's a rapist in the bathroom!

- What? A rapist in the bath-- - Yes.

Well, ju... wait-wait for me in the kitchen.

Why didn't you tell me you had a woman over?

I don't have a woman over, I have my daughter over.

Tommy, your daughter is a woman.

You want to get hit again?

[groans]

- Can you stand up? - [weak groan]

You want a heart pill or something?

Aspirin. Top drawer.

[opens drawer]

There's chewables in here if you want some.

These chew fine.

How long is she staying?

Couple of days.

Explain to her the locks on the bathroom doors, please.

- I'll do it. - Thank you.

That would be very nice of you, sir.

Yeah, I said I'll do it. Goddamn it.

- You want me to help you up? - No, no, I'll be fine.

Just want to sit here by myself for a minute.

♪ Mama ain't gonna quit drinkin' ♪

♪ Brother's gonna always be broke ♪

♪ Sister won't ever do nothin'... ♪

Honey, this is Nathan.

He's an oil and gas attorney.

My other roommate is Dale.

He's what they call a petroleum engineer.

He's the one upstairs right now with a ruptured cornea

and what doctors call a myocardial infarction.

Regular folks call that a heart attack,

which is what you gave him when you poked his fucking eye out.

So I tell you what, just to prevent further confusion,

what do you say we all lock the bathroom door

when we're in it?

Don't got to tell me twice.

My bathroom's downstairs.

- I can't come up with a reason-- - [Tommy] Nate,

just lock the fucking door, will you?

Then we don't have to worry about reasons.

There won't be one.

- [phone buzzes] - [Nathan sighs]

Oh, goodie. My day begins.

Yeah.

[siren wails]

[Walt] You on your way?

[Tommy over phone] On my way where?

You don't know?

Well, clearly not, Walt. What do I not fucking know?

Buddy, y'all had a blowout.

♪ gentle, plaintive music ♪

♪

♪

[Monty] Jesus, Mike,

you're acting like I'm not trying to give you

$22 million dollars' worth of business.

For fuck's sake, can you work with me on the price?

Goddamn it, I buy a dozen doughnuts,

someone throws one in for free.

Need I remind you, you are not the only person

selling hollowed-out steel in this fucking state?

[call waiting tone]

Thank you.

Christ. Hey.

Shepherd-Hastings is sending an attorney out.

Their plane lands at noon. Can you pick him up?

Sir, we've had a blowout.

Oh, f...

God dang it.

[sighs]

Was our crew on location?

I don't know, I'm en route.

Just tell the attorney to get a rental car.

All right, is-is there room at the house,

or are they gonna need a hotel?

There's room in the house.

Well, you find anything out,

you let me know.

You'll be the first one, trust me.

Fuck.

[sighs heavily]

[Cami] Ooh.

Beautiful out today.

Sure is.

I love you.

Love you, too.

♪ intense, dramatic music ♪

♪

- Walt! - [Walt] Yo!

Is there a pumper here?

- Pumper? - Yes,

a goddamn oilman, Walt.

Yeah, there's a guy down here with EMS right now.

Did you see anybody shutting any valves off?

I did not.

Tell you what, you think this is bad?

Those holding tanks go up,

they'll blow your ass to Abilene.

Which ambulance?

Right down there.

Get 'em back!

[Tommy] Is he all right?

Cooper, are you all right?

[EMT] He blew his eardrum.

Where's the rest of your crew?

Where's the rest of your crew?!

Listen, you know the Christmas tree

at the bottom of the wellhead?

I know it.

Did you shut the valve off?

Did you shut the valve off?

- I don't know. - You don't know?

Walt!

Get everybody back!

[Walt] What are you doing?

What do you think I'm doing?

Just keep everybody back.

[grunting]

Ow, goddamn it.

[groans]

[indistinct shouting]

[siren wailing]

[groans]

Oh, shit.

Ow.

[groaning]

Oh, Jesus.

I'm gonna stop that ambulance.

No, don't stop the ambulance.

You don't want to go to the hospital with that?

No, I want a cigarette

and a Dr Pepper.

There's a cooler there, passenger side.

[groans]

Appreciate you.

[exhales]

[line ringing]

[man] Yes, sir.

Get a fire crew out to M-TEX 1422.

- She's blowing. - She's blowing now?

Yes, right fucking now. Get 'em out here.

- All right, we're on our way. - All right.

[sighs]

Now I want to go to the hospital.

[grunts]

[engine starts]

♪

♪ quiet, dramatic music ♪

♪

♪

I believe my office arranged a rental car for me.

Yes, ma'am.

It's on the tarmac.

Thank you.

[alarm chirps]

Hmm.

Seems a little excessive.

You have anything a little more unassuming?

Oh, your office asked for a luxury sedan.

How about something a little more unassuming?

I'm not sure...

Something that doesn't stand out.

Oh, that won't stand out in Midland.

I wouldn't drive it in Odessa.

Good to know.

♪ ominous music ♪

♪

[FaceTime ringing]

Is my angel behaving?

Did you know they've been having sex?

[Angela groans]

I mean, I assumed. Look at this kid.

If they ever break up, I might try to fuck him.

Well, today's your lucky day, then.

Oh, no, they broke up?

- Why? - Well, because he turned out

to be exactly what we thought he was.

[sighs] How's she taking it?

Like a 17-year-old

who hasn't heard no since she was eight.

[Angela chuckles]

Poor thing.

So, listen, uh, there was an accident out today

on one of the rigs, and, uh,

Cooper got hurt.

How hurt?

Well, we're at the ER now. They're checking him out.

- Let me talk to him. - I can't, sweetie,

he's in another room.

Why aren't you with him?

Always got to make it about you.

Oh, yeah, that's what I'm doing.

Making it about me.

- Where's Ainsley? - At the house.

With a bunch of petroleum engineers

so hopped up on Cialis, they get a hard-on

when their phone vibrates?

Listen, as soon as I hear more about Cooper,

I'll call you back. Okay?

Tommy, I am not done with you.

You know, one of the great joys of being divorced is,

I don't have to listen to this shit.

Enjoy the beach. Your tits look great.

Don't get syphilis.

[disconnects]

[chuckles]

That's always sound advice.

Yeah, words to live by.

Let me save you the trouble.

Just making sure the same thing didn't happen to your spleen.

No other pain?

Just where I hit my hand with a fucking hammer.

Let me see that.

I'm gonna call in a hand specialist.

Reattaching this is--

It's just a tiny piece of a pinky.

I ain't dicking around with 12 surgeries for a fucking year.

Just cut it off and sew up the fucking top.

I would strongly advise you against that.

Well, either you do it or I'll do it.

I'm not a surgeon.

Let me bring in the surgeon

- and we can discuss... Okay. - Well, it just so happens

- there's a surgeon right here. - Well, hold on.

[groans] Oh, that...

- that's nice. - There she is.

Hey, uh, watch your leg.

[doctor groans]

There you go. Job done.

Now, you care to stitch it?

Did you just get out of school?

Hey, what are the chances

that, like, it just scabs over

and in a month it's good as new?

- What do you think? - The odds are

astronomically against that.

What's more likely is, you get a staph infection

and in a month we're amputating your arm.

I'll have a nurse prepare to suture.

I appreciate that.

- Mm-hmm. - You know what room

my son's in? Cooper Norris?

Uh... ER Five.

I'm gonna go see him.

I think it's best if you just sit tight--

Just come get me when you're ready.

At least cover it.

All right.

Boy, you sure ain't in no fucking hurry, are you?

♪ somber music ♪

♪

[sighs]

[line ringing]

[Tommy] Did you find 'em?

- One of them. - Which one?

There ain't no way to know.

You want to come with me? Notify next of kin?

[exhales slowly]

Not really.

Will you?

Pick me up at the hospital.

Shit.

What happened to your hand?

Well, here's a life lesson worth filing away.

When hammer hits hand, hammer wins.

Your turn.

I don't know.

They sent me to the truck to fetch a pipe wrench.

Next thing I know, I'm flying through the air.

And just like that, three widows and six orphans.

Eight orphans.

Here's reason number one of about 300

why you might want to find a better way of making a living.

What am I gonna do?

Sit in an office and sell fucking computer chips?

Yeah, maybe.

I know what I'm gonna do.

When they sew up what's left of my fucking finger,

I'm gonna drive over to Luis's house

and tell his wife she's lost a husband and two nephews.

And then I'm going over to Armando's house

and do the same kind of thing.

And then I'm going out to Elvio's house

to tell a 22-year-old mother

to break out the fucking want ads and get a job.

No time to grieve, no time to mourn.

'Cause banks don't wait.

You might want to look at the want ads yourself,

you selfish little son of a bitch,

before I'm having the same conversation with your mother

as I'm about to have with Elvio's wife.

If I'm so selfish, what does that make you?

A divorced alcoholic with $500,000 in debt...

...and I'm one of the lucky ones.

[crowd cheering]

♪ melancholy music ♪

♪

[cheering]

Come on, Gracie.

[Monty] Were they independent contractors?

[Tommy] No, they were ours.

[sighs]

Any idea what the fuck happened?

Well, it's a pretty old jack.

It's gonna be one of the valves.

Tank valve was rusted shut,

and I assume it's the same with the other ones.

Somebody banged it with a wrench and created a spark

and ignited that gas leak. That's my guess anyhow.

Is OSHA gonna come to the same conclusion?

Well, they'll have the same assumption.

That pumpjack melted like butter.

You can't look at the site

and come to any kind of definite conclusion.

What do you want to do?

Honey!

[Tommy] I want to make an offer to the families.

A settlement?

A gift, just to get 'em through.

- How much? - 250 each.

- Honey, they're about to start. - All right. I'll be right there.

- Can you hold on one second? - Yeah.

- [starter pistol fires] - [crowd cheering]

- [Monty] Come on, girl! - [Cami] Let's go!

- Come on. - Come on, Gracie!

Come on!

[whistles] Let's go!

Hey.

Yeah, I saw it.

If you saw it, why you doing it?

Buddy, I'm in no mood.

- Oh, you're in no mood, huh? - That's right.

"I'm in no mood" is my fucking motto.

Is that right?

- You happy? - Well, now that's littering.

For fuck's sake, dude.

Go find something else to do.

[Cami] That's it, just be patient.

Good stride.

- Yeah. - She got a good stride?

Yes, she does.

[announcer] And it's Martinez that remains

out in front.

Take the inside!

Come on, Gracie.

And Miller makes a move.

That's it!

Miller from TCU breaks out in front of the pack.

Davis from Kansas, trying to keep pace.

And at the finish line it's gonna be

Gracie Miller of TCU!

[Cami] Whoo!

Come on.

[cheering]

- You still there? - [Tommy] Yeah, yeah.

It's the right thing to do, Monty.

And it sends the right message. I'd do it.

Put the phone down now.

Yeah, sure, I'll just set it here on my credenza.

What do you think, Monty?

Yeah.

Do it.

Have Nate paper it.

- [officer] Turn around. - Yeah. Yeah, I will.

All right, I'll talk to you later. Bye.

Make me.

- Be my fucking pleasure. - Really?

Why don't you go empty some fucking bedpans?

My ride's here.

This guy giving you trouble, Pete?

This guy's got a mouth on him.

That's your wife's favorite thing about me.

Other than my dick. Have a good day.

Let's go, bud.

[exhales]

- ♪ - [dialogue inaudible]

[Gracie whooping]

[Walt] Telling the local PD

to go fuck themselves

is pretty shortsighted, don't you think?

Well, I needed to give it to somebody,

and he was the closest one, so...

I recommend you buy that boy a beer your first chance.

That one got a mean memory.

That right? All right, noted.

[typing]

[phone buzzing]

Hey.

What's my daughter doing?

Napalming my concentration.

She has discovered the pool.

Well, see if you can manage enough self-control

to not gawk, all right?

I am facing away from the window.

Good man.

So, Monty cleared us to make

bereavement payments to the families.

They identify the bodies?

By process of elimination.

- How much? - 250 for each family.

Well, give me names of next of kin,

I'll forward them to accounting.

Well, you know the names, Nate.

Medina crew serviced that well.

Shit. Which one died?

They all died.

I'll talk to you later, all right?

[drops phone]

[sighs]

Do y'all have any coconut oil?

- Coconut oil? - Like for cooking?

I ain't gonna use it to cook, but you could if you wanted to.

Well, none of us do much, uh, much cooking.

Well, do you mind if I check?

Feel free. You bet.

[bottle cap clatters in sink]

[Nathan sighs]

[Ainsley grunts]

[clattering]

[grunts]

This is not what I was looking for,

but it'll work in a pinch.

I have to know.

I'm gonna work in the living room.

♪ dark, atmospheric music ♪

♪

[truck shifter clicks]

[engine shuts off]

[Walt] You think they have any idea this news is coming?

They don't know this is coming,

but they know something's coming.

[truck door closes]

Which one?

Is Maria here?

How about Ariana?

With the babies, inside.

Can we come inside?

[mouthing]

[woman screaming]

[crying]

♪ I've always heard that there's always one ♪

♪ That you can't stop coming back to ♪

♪ Even when you're done... ♪

[Barney] Sticking with beer or you want something stronger?

[sighs] I quit drinking. I'll stick with beer.

You know, there's alcohol in that, right?

It's a Michelob Ultra.

There's more alcohol in orange juice.

[chuckling] I ain't judging, buddy.

I mean, I've been on the wagon eight years.

I'm just saying, drinking beer is still drinking.

Well, I tell you what, bud,

you watch me drink six of these sons of bitches,

and I'll come back in here tomorrow night

and drink six whiskeys, and you tell me

if you notice a fucking difference.

I'll take your word for it.

Michelob Ultra.

[sinister ringtone playing]

[phone chimes]

- Hey. - [Angela] Hey.

- You didn't call me back. - Sorry.

He's awake and alert. They're keeping him overnight.

And how's your little boo-boo?

An inch shorter than it was this morning.

If that doesn't sum up our marriage in a sentence.

Well, I bet you I still got a few inches

on that fat-ass ATM you married.

Well, you know the old saying,

"Every comma in your bank account

adds two inches to your penis,"

which is to say you're way behind.

That's good to know.

I feel like I should be there.

Should I be there? I feel guilty.

You should feel guilty.

- I deserve a vacation. - From what?

You're doing exactly the same fucking thing

you do at home, except you can't drink the water.

So you're saying I should come?

Do you need to? No.

But you're their mother, so if you feel like

you ought to be here, you probably should come.

Do you want me to come?

Angela, I couldn't care less if you come or not.

I stand corrected.

That is the sentence that sums up our marriage.

I'll see you tomorrow, you fucking asshole.

I can't wait.

[phone buzzes]

Yeah.

[Rebecca over phone] Tom Norris?

Tommy.

Rebecca Falcone, Shepherd-Hastings.

[Tommy] Oh, yeah.

Hey, uh,

listen, we got you a room at the house, but--

I got a hotel.

Can you meet up over the weekend?

I can meet you right now if you want to.

Where?

Patch Café.

How far from the Hilton?

Everything in Midland's 15 minutes from everything else.

I'll meet you there.

All right.

♪ "Mean Old Sun" by Turnpike Troubadours ♪

♪ Empty promises ♪

♪ I've given ♪

♪ Hollow heart ♪

♪ Beats in my chest ♪

♪ And every word ♪

♪ Of sterling silver ♪

♪ Stirred butterflies beneath your breast... ♪

[car alarm chirps]

♪ Still untouched ♪

♪ By ties a-binding ♪

♪ Going where ♪

♪ The gulf breeze blows ♪

♪ No ring of gold ♪

♪ Around your finger ♪

♪ No ring of brass ♪

♪ Run through my nose ♪

♪ Headlong for... ♪

Hi, I'm here to see a Tommy Norris.

[hostess] Cowboy hat at the bar.

♪ Dead still in the garden ♪

♪ Waiting for the reveille ♪

♪ And the dawn has yet to dry the dew ♪

♪ From off my Sunday clothes ♪

♪ That mean old sun better rise up soon ♪

♪ If it's ever gonna set on me ♪

♪ Hear the song ♪

♪ She sang in darkness ♪

♪ Tearful, fair... ♪

I'm that easy to spot, huh?

Wasn't difficult.

- You want a drink? - Yeah.

A club soda.

Hey, bud? Club soda for the lady.

[Barney] Just so you know,

that is a nonalcoholic drink.

This must be your hobby

'cause you damn sure don't want a fucking tip.

I'd prefer if you didn't refer to me as "the lady."

Oh, did I guess wrong?

I'm so sorry, sir,

and hats off to the plastic surgeon

that shaved that Adam's apple.

My first day in the oil fields,

and it doesn't disappoint.

It is as offensive as I imagined.

You know the sharks you work with?

You soulless fucks represent

the Bin Laden family, for Christ's sakes.

You should be thanking me for calling you "lady."

You may never hear it again in your line of work.

I'm sorry, but I lost three friends

and a finger today, so...

I'm a little edgy.

I didn't know they were friends.

They were friends.

I'm sorry.

We need to shift our focus from TTP

to the incident this morning.

It lends itself to more exposure.

You're the attorney.

Can you take me to the incident site tomorrow?

I can take you right now.

Great.

- All right. - Let's go.

- [Tommy] Hey, bud? - [Barney] Mm-hmm.

- Let me take care of this. - Yep.

You want change?

I can't believe you said that with a straight face.

Of course I want fucking change.

♪ dramatic music ♪

♪

Sorry about the dust.

[Rebecca] It's a rental.

So, who besides insurance companies

and county sheriff investigate this?

Hell, everybody. OSHA, Railroad Commission, DPS.

Shouldn't you know all this shit

if you're litigating a petroleum liability case?

My specialty is chain of liability,

which applies to the TTP case.

Not so much here.

This happened when I was on the plane.

Maybe they should send another attorney.

I understand one of them survived.

Yeah.

Can I speak with him?

- Not today. - When?

How about when he gets out of the fucking hospital?

Anything else?

What can you tell from this?

From the well? Nothing.

From the type of fire?

There was a leak.

A roughneck created a spark

when he tried to open the valve with a hammer and a wrench.

Why would he try to open it with a hammer?

'Cause that's how you open the fucking thing.

Doesn't seem very safe.

It's not very safe. That's why they make 180 grand a year.

That's not enough money to risk your life on.

[chuckles] Yeah, for you, maybe.

For a felon with an eighth-grade education,

it's a fucking lottery ticket.

And for an oil company whose manager

knowingly sends employees to faulty wells

that violate OSHA standards,

it's a nine-figure lawsuit.

Well, then the whole goddamn industry's guilty.

I'm on your side, Tommy.

You need to understand that.

Yeah, I understand plenty.

You're the farthest thing from being on my side.

[truck engine starts]

Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch.

[Sellers] Information, education,

and imagination are the weapons against the assault

on oil and natural gas.

But the weapon being used against us

is far more dangerous.

Emotion.

Emotion is the spear of the green movement.

[Cami] How did you rope me into this in the first place?

Wasn't this a...? This was a date?

- Come on, babe. It is a date. - Mm-hmm.

It's just the beginning of a date.

- Oh. - The end of the date

is when the date gets fun, you know that.

It better.

[Sellers] Mainstream media has abandoned

evidence supporting facts

in their panic to prevent the exodus

of their audience to Twitter and TikTok

as reliable news sources.

- [phone buzzing] - And that's before Russia...

- Shit. - ...China,

- Iran, Hezbollah... - Do you need to get that?

- ...Hamas, Al-Qaeda... - No, I'm not sure.

...all of them flooding social media...

I feel like I'm about to find out.

[Sellers] ...with propaganda masquerading

- as fear of climate change. - [phone chimes]

Yep. I do think I have to get this.

[Cami] Okay.

- [phone buzzing] - Will you save my seat?

Depends on how long you're gone.

[Sellers] ...in arguably the most uneducated populace...

Hey. Let me call you right back.

Yeah, I got to find someplace quiet.

♪ dramatic music ♪

♪

♪

[line rings]

- [Tommy over phone] Yeah? - What is it?

The fuck do you think it is?

Who is this employee relations pit viper

you sent out here to bite me?

Uh, I called Chandler like you said.

Well, they didn't fucking send him!

They sent somebody out here to hang me out.

You don't have a well that will pass OSHA standards, Monty.

Not fucking one.

I'm a lot of shit, Monty,

but I ain't a fucking patsy, you understand me?

I called Clay,

who said he was flying to you.

Now, I don't know who they sent that isn't Clay,

but I will find out.

Good.

Now, look,

our business is one of constant crisis

interrupted by brief periods of intense success.

You should know that better than anyone else.

Now, today was a rough one.

And I can understand why you might be emotional,

but don't let your emotions

confuse you as to who the boss is.

The boss is me,

and don't you ever raise your fucking voice at me again.

♪

[phone buzzing]

I'm on the way home, honey.

[Ainsley] Yeah, I'm starving.[groans]

Like not, "I'm so hungry, I feel like I'm starving."

I'm starving.

Like, my skin looks pale,

- my organs are shutting down. - Well, there's

a kitchen full of food in there, honey.

Daddy, there's a kitchen full of processed cancer bombs.

And who orders Doritos by the palette?

I need protein.

There's protein in the cupboard.

Vienna sausages is not protein, Daddy.

You know, it's all the parts of a cow

that are too gross to be in hot dogs.

Well, it's pork, but I'm not gonna have that fight.

You want me to pick you something up?

Could you get me an animal-style Whataburger wrapped in lettuce?

An animal what?

[clicks tongue] It's, like, special sauce.

And there's no bun. They, like, wrap it in lettuce.

How can they wrap it in lettuce? Their lettuce is shredded.

Well, they always do it when I ask.

They just go in the back, and they get the whole lettuce.

[chuckling] You and I live in different worlds.

They'll tell me to fuck myself.

Why don't I just get you a burger,

and you throw the buns away?

Yeah. Yeah, I guess we could do that.

And could you get me three fries and a Diet Coke?

So,

you won't eat the buns, but you'll eat three orders

- of fries? - No!

I want three fries. You have to pick out three,

and then throw the rest of them away.

Okay. Anything else?

Thank you, Daddy.

Are you close?

No, and this is gonna add ten minutes to the trip, too.

So, like, 15?

Like, an hour.

An hour?!

I hope I'm still alive.

Well,

these are the challenges that harden you

for life's tragedies, honey.

I'll see you soon.

[groans]

Okay, thank you. I love you.

Okay, love you, too, honey.

- I'll be there soon. - Will you hurry?

Yeah, I'll hurry.

Okay. Love you. Bye.

- Love you. Bye. - [phone clicks]

- [sinister ringtone playing] - Goddamn!

Shit.

Where you headed?

To the strip club.

While our daughter's there?

Yeah, she's meeting me there.

I thought it's time she sees the darker side of life.

Where are you really headed?

I'm going home.

You look tired.

There's a reason for that.

I don't really need to come.

Do I need to come?

I already told you you don't need to come.

What if I want to come?

Why would you want to do that?

What if I did?

You want to leave Cabo and come to Midland, Texas

to fuck your ex-husband in a rent house with three roommates?

Why do I doubt that?

Can't you just fucking want me to come?

Why can't you do that?

Oh, honey, I want you to come, believe me.

[chuckles] I mean, I just know you'll never do it.

Breaks my heart. I really want you to.

You'll think about it later, I bet.

Well, since I'm sharing a bed with our daughter,

I hope I don't think about it later.

- I'll call you tomorrow. - ♪ slow, melancholy music

Okay. Good night, Angie.

Mm-hmm. Good night.

♪ slow, gentle music ♪

♪

[door closes]

[Ainsley] [sighs] Thank you, God.

There you go.

[sighs] I talked them into the lettuce thing in back there.

- How'd you do that? - Showed 'em your picture.

[both chuckle]

Daddy, I said three fries. There's a whole order in here.

- Well, the rest are for me. - Well,

I'm just gonna talk you out of them, Daddy.

You need to throw 'em away.

Now. Now!

You know, this shit was cute when you were eight,

but now all I think about's your first marriage

and the skid marks that poor bastard leaves

after he's had a few years of this shit.

It annoys you because you're my father,

and you don't want to have sex with me.

But other boys look at these chores like...

little treasure hunts.

Oh, your brother's in the hospital. I forgot to tell you.

- Sorry about that. - Where?

Here.

- What's he doing in Midland? - Working for me.

But he doesn't graduate till May.

He don't graduate ever. He dropped out.

He wants to work in the patch.

He is such a loser.

Daddy, I didn't... I didn't mean it like that.

Let me tell you something, honey.

There's two types of people that work in the patch--

dreamers and losers.

Used to be that way in the whole nation.

Failures headed out West to either die or succeed.

All the way to California.

But there's not any dreamers out there anymore,

just thieves and fools.

This is where dreamers come now.

And losers come here to win.

Which one are you gonna be?

A dreamer.

First attempt's always a failure,

so it means you're gonna be a loser.

Wonder what you'll do then.

You take my room tonight, and I'll, uh, take the couch.

♪ slow, contemplative music ♪

♪

♪

♪

[birds singing]

[Tommy] Well, I guess now

you understand what I mean by "roughnecking's dangerous."

Says the two-pack-a-day smoker.

In three months, you could've had

a fucking degree in geology, and you...

I don't need a degree.

I learned all I need about geology.

I don't want to teach the shit, I want to live it.

I want to be a landman.

Well, for every Monty Miller,

there's a hundred of me, all right?

The only difference between you and Monty is Monty didn't quit.

[tires squealing]

[Tommy] The difference in me

and Monty is I don't have a fucking trust fund.

I didn't quit, I bled out.

And besides, I don't see you speculating

or banging on doors, or hustling mineral rights.

No, you're the worm on a drill crew.

Excuse me, you were.

And your crew is fucking dead on day one.

So, take the fucking hint!

If I'm going to run an oil company one day,

I need to know how every aspect of it works.

The surveys,

making the drill pad,

moving the gear, housing the crew,

setting the drill, capping the well,

maintaining the well, all of it.

So, run an oil company. That's your plan now.

That's the dream.

I don't have a plan yet.

Well, you're closer than most.

[Cooper inhales sharply]

I need a favor.

Will you do me a favor?

Depends on what the favor is.

Put me on another crew.

You know, a lot of people are gonna blame you

for what happened.

Anytime something goes wrong, they always blame the worm.

Let me.

All right, I'll find you a crew.

♪ So, I don't know... ♪

Listen, your sister's in town.

You want to run by the house and see her?

I'd rather you drive me to the hospital

so they can run that catheter back up my dick.

Fair enough.

You want to go by the café and get a beer?

It's eight in the morning.

It's Sunday.

What else you got to do?

[chuckles] Why not?

All right.

♪ Bottleneck, we all go down around here ♪

♪ The devil always plays for keeps ♪

[engine revving]

♪ You get off track, turn your back ♪

♪ They'll put you in the ground here ♪

♪ And those things always go vein deep ♪

♪ It ain't the snake that you see ♪

♪ It's the one in the weeds ♪

♪ atmospheric music ♪

♪

♪

♪