Original subtitles

Yeah, Simon wants the helicopters

- ready by call time. - Copy that. Whoa.

My bad, man. My fault.

Listen, I don't care if that truck is stuck in a cow pasture.

We need it here right now. Got it?

Good.

- So can you believe it? - I know.

- Huh? - No, I know.

- I can't believe I'm here. - So cool, right?

- Seriously. - Arms up, arms up.

No, 30 days.

Thirty days of good work, well-rehearsed work,

and that sweet, sweet per diem.

- That's the big leagues for you. - No, you have no idea

how much I needed this, Vera.

Erwin, you know what? You earned this, okay?

Oh, no, we earned this, after five dang years

of trusting each other, we both earned this.

- Well, persistence and talent payoff, huh?

Yeah. Ah, dang, dude.

- Sorry. - You alright?

Yeah, no, I'm fine, I'm fine.

We're just rigging up for the big death scene at the end.

That's what we're starting with.

Ah, starting with a bang, huh?

Vera, I do wanna say one thing, though.

You are the best agent in the whole world.

- Hey, it's what I do. - We good?

Yeah, he's ready to blow.

Copy that. Let's go.

Yeah, I mean, first day nerves a little bit.

Oh, yeah, let's definitely send him something.

Hey, man, turn that thing off.

Because we know how much they push for us.

Listen, son, you gotta turn that thing off

- before we go hot. - I will, I promise, alright?

- Hey, Vera, so we're headed to set, right. - - Erwin!

- Oh, hey! Simon. - Hey! Simon. Simon.

Oh, so brilliant to have you on board, mate.

- Truly, truly. - Ah, it's a pleasure.

Listen, we...

We're gonna have some fun.

Are you ready? We're gonna make some magic.

Yeah? Let's do it.

Did you find the hotel alright?

- Um, actually, I just got straight here. - Did you?

- Mm-hmm. - Good boy. Well, if you need a bigger room,

I want to respect your process.

And if your process is a bigger hotel room,

- we can do that. - I'm sure it's fine.

Thanks though.

Erwin, my boy, this is your canvas.

This is your space,

your playground.

You will paint the walls with the effervescence...

...of your vulnerability.

Do that thing you do.

I want you here at the bar.

Right.

And our lovely Tara Lane

will be right here by your side.

I love your work

and it's a pleasure to be working with you.

I just had to say it.

- You're welcome. - Thank you. Thank you.

- Okay, so, Erwin. - Yes.

- On action. - Mm-hmm. Yeah.

- You will lean in close... - Mm-hmm.

...and you two are deeply in love.

- Right. - And then Surly Bob kicks in the door,

lights the place up.

Ga-ga-ga-ga! Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga! Ga-ga!

You, kid, fall here. Tara rushes to you just as you die.

Right, right here in the general vicinity?

Generally, yeah. Figure it out, but, yes.

Yeah, okay, alright. Yeah, no, I got it.

- Yeah. Love it. - Cool?

- Yeah, sounds good, chief. - Lovely.

Dude, you ain't gonna have to act

'cause, uh, that's gonna hurt like hell.

- Fire in the hole! - Funny guy.

It is gonna hurt like hell.

Okay, people, we've got one take of this,

so, uh, let's not mess it up.

- Wait, no rehearsal? - No.

- Okay, alright. Yeah. - You good?

Brrrr! Yeah, I'm fine, just... Alright.

Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather,

- red leather, yellow leather. - Relax.

Yeah, you're gonna do great.

Thank you, I needed that.

Dreams really do come true.

Oh, shit!

Oh, my God.

Bullocks!

Erwin, where the hell are you?

I have been calling you for eight hours.

I mean, I'm sure that Simon already made this painfully clear,

but I just heard from the producers and you're fired.

Do you have any idea how this is going to make me look?

What the--

God!

Not right now, come on. Come on, you piece of shit.

Come on, come on!

Come on, come on!

Yeah? Really?

Right now, huh? What am I doing wrong?

Just tell me that!

Ah.

Okay.

Ugh!

Oh, sorry, sir.

Oh, that wind. Come on in.

- How are you? - I'm alright.

Good, have a seat. Make yourself at home.

- I'll get right to you. - Okay.

How about you two?

Here you go.

- Thank you. - You're welcome. I'll be right with you.

- Hey, you boys. - Morning.

- Cecil. Thomas. - Merle.

- Hi. - Hey, Merle.

Look at that pretty thing.

How are you?

Oh, things could be a little better.

Well, who knows? Maybe your luck's about to change.

- Oh, yeah? - Mm.

You heard something?

You alright?

I'm fine. Um, actually, could I get the Wi-Fi though, 'cause...

Uh, no, we don't have that here.

Oh, uh, I could... A phone number then?

- Well... - Um...

- Oh, sweet. - Old school.

- Thank you. - Sure.

I haven't seen one of these in a--

Wait, ma'am, this is from 2015.

Well, things don't change too much around here.

Right.

- Moose's Auto. - Hi there, sir.

Uh, good morning. Uh, this is Moose?

Uh, yes, sir, you're gonna have to speak up.

I'm having a lot of trouble hearing you.

Um, yeah. Uh, uh...

My car broke down right outside of, uh...

- Buffalo Gap. - Buffalo... Buffalo Gap, sir.

Mm-hmm. Well, uh, we're-- we're closed for church.

Uh, we can take care of it Monday.

We're kind of busy, but, uh, yeah, we can take care of it.

See if we can work you in. Where'd you say your car was sitting?

Uh, car's, uh...

Uh, it's just right out of town.

Wait, uh, Moose?

Uh, excuse me, I'm-I'm on the phone.

Yeah, sir, that's... What I mean is, that's me.

Oh! How about that?

- Yeah. - So you the fellow that needs a tow?

Yes, please, sir. It's like right outside of town about a couple miles.

- And I think it's the carburetor. - Mm-hmm.

Oh, we can take care of that.

- Thank you. - Tomorrow.

Tomorrow? Uh, I was hoping actually

if potentially, you know, I could get back on the road today.

You mean after hours?

Yes, sir, after hours.

You kill somebody?

"Kill somebody"? What?

- Mm. - You mean...

Oh, no, no, no, no, no! This is fake blood.

I'm an actor and I'm just trying to get back.

Well, long story, but...

An actor, huh?

You heading back to Hollywood?

Yeah, that's why I'm on a short schedule.

- Kind of gotta get back. - Well, I tell you what,

we've got our VIP special.

We can get you off that road and into the shop tonight.

Thank you so much.

For $600.

$600, seriously?

Yes, sir, we gotta get you back to the big time.

Sir, all I have is $40.

Son, is that your, uh, foreign car

sitting out a little ways outta town,

got the Harvard sticker in the window?

Yeah, yeah. The Prius, that's me.

Yeah, that's a nice car.

Now you'd think Old Moose would know

somebody with that educational pedigree

is not gonna fall for his brand of horseshit.

I got him covered for $40. Not your $600.

Fred, come on.

Let's get.

Hold on. Um...

Sir, wait, uh, so should I just--

Excuse me, Moose, should I just meet you at the car?

Have a seat over here. Get him one of these on me.

Oh, appreciate that, sir.

You're welcome. Merle Luskey.

Erwin. Pleased to meet you, sir.

- Pleased to meet you back. - Uh, so, $40.

- Is that what-- - No, no, don't you worry about that.

Where were you headed?

Um, I'm headed back to LA.

Ooh, old fancy tinkle town.

Yeah. Old Tinkle town for sure.

Boy, what I wouldn't give to be a Harvard-educated

young son of a gun like you.

You must be sharper than a snake's ass.

Honestly, no. Uh, my dad,

uh, he's a teacher at Harvard.

What's he teach?

He teaches calculus.

Calculus.

He must be a smart son of a bitch.

Yeah, no. He's definitely a son of a bitch.

Yeah. So, uh, where were you coming from?

Uh, we were shooting in New Orleans and then--

- Faye! Harvard is starring in a movie. - What?

- No-- - You're kidding me! Are you a movie star?

- Oh, my God. - A movie star.

- Absolutely not. - I thought he looked familiar.

No. I'm definitely not a star in any sense.

I actually blew that just recently.

Blew it?

Means I got fired.

Oh, bless your heart.

- Yeah. - Yeah, that's tough.

Happens to the best of us, really.

Yeah. You're young, you'll bounce back.

Eh, I'm not quite sure about that actually, 'cause, uh...

I don't know, it's just...

It sucks when you love doing something so much

and you're not sure if it loves you back, you know?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Tell you what, we'll get you back on the road soon enough.

But I got a proposal for you.

Okay.

There's a catch.

Now while you're waiting for Old Moose to get off his ass

and actually fix your car,

maybe you could help me out with a little bit of rat killing.

Rat killing, what is that?

Just running some errands, tying up loose ends.

Just here around town.

He's a good man.

Like... Okay.

Good! Cecil, what are you getting for those yard birds out there?

Oh, hell, just put a 50 in the truck.

Ah. Come on.

- Let's go. - Wait, right now?

Yep.

Thank you.

Saddle up.

Come on. Get this day headed in the right direction.

So, wait. Are we gonna go grab my car right now?

No, no, no, we'll take care of that later.

Probably gonna have to spend the night in Buffalo Gap.

But, uh, we'll get you on the road

as quick as we can tomorrow.

Help me with these chicken crates.

Watch out for that guy.

His name's Chirpy. He's got 17 kills in Mexico.

For real? Like, is that a joke or...?

Yeah, that's good.

Move that clucking ass.

There you go, look.

- Hm? - Lookee, lookee.

- Hm? - Get you some of that.

- No. - Yep.

- No, I'm good. - Oh, come on, don't be a baby.

- It's a little early. - Don't be a baby.

No, you know what?

That's actually not appropriate hygiene.

Where in the hell are my manners? What was I thinking?

- Just not right now. Jesus. - That's more your speed right there.

- That's a virgin bottle. - Yeah.

Isn't it a bit early to be, you know, pulling right now?

Are you kidding me? Somewhere, somehow, it's whiskey:30.

Let's go, come on. Get some hair on your monkey.

We got a toast for West Texas Baptism. You ready?

Barefoot in the corny, girls get horny.

Uh...

- Come on now, hit it. - I'm hitting it.

- I'm hitting it. - Pull that son of a bitch.

- I'm hitting it. - Get on it.

- Yeah? - Ah, okay.

- Yeah, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. - Good, good, good, good.

Where are you even going anyways?

Oh, what you might call a "come to Jesus" meeting.

A "come to Jesus" meeting, huh?

Another expression is "taking somebody to the woodshed."

- Dunno what that means. - Taking 'em out in the middle of the river

for a pants down spanking.

That makes me uncomfortable.

Now, we're looking for a vehicle driven by a dickhead.

And I believe...

this is it.

See if that driver's door's unlocked.

Is what we're doing legal?

No.

Right.

- Shit, yeah, it's open. - Okay.

Ah.

Yup, here ya are.

What? Wait, what are we doing?

- I just... - Wait, Merle.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

- Just stick him in there. - Oh, my God.

- Alright, give him a squeeze. - A squeeze?

Ah!

That didn't do anything, it just made him mad.

Alright, lemme show you.

Here, you just give a--

Give him a little squeeze like that.

And like that.

You give him another squeeze. And just turn him loose.

- That how you do it. - Oh, my God, you just...

Technically, you just milked the chicken.

Hey, you can milk anything with a beak.

Oh, lovely Mrs. Turner.

Mr. Turner, farm fresh eggs?

One more chicken.

Alright. Grab that letter for me, would you?

There you go, chicken shit.

- Let's go. - Right now?

Merle, they're coming. Come-- They're coming.

Alright. He's begging them for money right now.

Whoo! Okay.

That was amazing.

Wait, what? Why do I feel so good right now?

You got some nuts on you, I'll give you that. Cookin' steaks tonight.

That's definitely not what I thought I was gonna do today.

- Is that what you meant by errands? - Yeah.

Whoo-hoo!

You got some boots in that bag of yours?

Definitely not, why?

Well, I'm taking you someplace special.

You know what? Heck, yeah. Gimme the tour.

Luskey Drilling? Wait, I thought you were a farmer.

No, I'm a roughneck.

Yeah, I mean, I kind of got the redneck vibe, but--

Not a redneck, a roughneck.

I punch holes in the earth for oil like a badass.

What do you think?

This is yours?

Well, it is today.

Hey, uh, Virgil, if you want those chicken pens in the back of the truck,

- uh, you're welcome to them. - I'll take 'em.

- Hey, uh, Harvard? - Yeah.

This is Virgil Badgett.

- We're not exactly sure what he does around here... - Howdy.

...so we call him Dr. Useless.

Come on up here and meet the crew.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- Always wear a hard hat, man. - Right.

There's a million ways to get hurt on an oil rig,

starting with those shoes.

You gotta wear steel-toed boots, dude.

Get your toes chopped right off.

- Eh. - Fall down, knock your teeth out.

Get blown up, electrocuted.

Death can come from anywhere at any time.

Welcome aboard.

- Come on, buddy. - "Welcome aboard"?

Hey, here's my new partner, Harvard.

Y'all, uh, introduce yourselves properly.

I'm gonna take a phone call.

- Okay. - You the new guy?

No, I sure hope not. No, I'm just Erwin.

- Huh? - Er... Erwin.

- Sherwin? - What's your name?

- Sherwin. - N-never mind.

- Hi there. - Shay Tatum.

- Shay. - You ever roughneck before?

No, man, no, I can't say I have.

- No, I haven't had the honor. - His name is Sherwin.

Erwin.

Merle, I thought you were gonna find me some hands.

I'm working on that right now. I'm on with the Equal Opportunity Commission.

- Nice to meet you. - You met Big Gus?

- Yeah, Gus. - Up there's Carl.

- We just call him Mule. - Nice to meet you too, yeah.

Hey, you'll meet the rest of the guys.

This is Shay.

She's my right arm, my right leg,

she's my driller. She's the boss lady.

I don't know, show him around a little bit.

I gotta take another phone call.

- Okay. - Come on.

Put these on.

Okay.

Kelly down!

I almost shit my pants, what was that?

We gotta make a pipe connection.

Is that what Kelly down means?

- Yeah. - Cool.

If a pipe falls down, it'll kill you.

Okay! Everything kills you. I'm gonna step back, alright?

You guys got it though. Yeah.

I'll be right here.

Hey, y'all, we got company.

Shay, let's slow it down.

Yes, sir, slowing down.

Merle! I'm pressing charges on your ass!

Felony destruction of property to start with.

I didn't know you went into chicken farming.

Don, I already told you, this is not a felony offense.

- Alright, calm down. - Yeah, well I'm not going over there

until you have him subdued and handcuffed.

- He's crazier than a shithouse mouse.

- Erwin. - What?

- It's Erwin for Vera. - Who?

Erwin.

It's Erwin Vanderveer for Vera.

Sorry, did-- did you say Sherwin?

Oh, my...

Erwin Vanderveer for Vera!

Jack.

Ah, you know, I don't wanna be a part of this.

Well, listen, I'm not gonna tell you your business here,

but that's the son of a bitch that ought to be in jail.

He's trying to swindle me

and he's trying to swindle a bunch of others like me.

Now, Jack, I appreciate you...

Hey! You wanna back off from that?

That's Luskey Drilling equipment.

Okay. In 30 days, it'll be up for auction, so...

Thirty seconds, you're gonna have a boot up your ass.

Hey, throttle back, Merle.

That's my new energy loan officer.

You know he's right.

Ain't no way you can pay back your loan in 30 days.

You know what, Don? I remember a time

when you couldn't scrape a penny out of a mason jar.

Much less call yourself a banker.

Now you teamed up with me when I was running more crews in this basin than anybody.

You got fat as a cat, didn't you?

I choose not to live in the past, old buddy.

You can shove the old buddy stuff up your ass.

- Alright, come on, come on now. - I'm not dying.

I'm expanding.

I got me a new landman.

Landman, huh?

Can't imagine what rock you found him under.

Harvard?

Vera, I know!

No, I know, I know! Okay. And I'm not yelling!

Oh. You're dropping me? You're dropping me, huh?

No, no, no, no, you're not dropping me! Guess what, that's fine.

That's fine if you drop me because I quit!

Hey, Merle's hollering for you!

- I'll be right there. - Merle really needs you.

Okay, alright, I'll be there in a second.

- Oh, shit. Don't have to be so rude about it. - Sorry!

You heard of Harvard?

Chad went to Taylor County Community College.

Harvard, get over here.

- Listen. - What?

- I need you to act right now. - What?

I'm in a real pickle here.

- Don't even know what that means. - And I need you to act.

Act? No, absolutely not. Not right now.

- Listen to me. I need you to act. - What? No.

Like you are my Harvard-educated landman.

Merle, no, I'm not gonna do it.

- I need you to be the landman. - Merle, I don't know what a landman is.

A landman is an expert specialist at getting oil leases.

I don't even know how to change the oil to my car.

Well, that's fine. So, listen, all you gotta do

is act like you know all the old ranching families in this part of Texas.

I know you can do it.

Merle, I'm sorry. I'm just not the man for the job.

Erwin, they're gonna take everything I have

and they're gonna ruin me.

I need your help.

You gotta act like a landman. You can do it.

Yeah, wait till you sons of bitches meet him.

He's Harvard-educated in, uh, geology.

- Gentlemen. - - This is the Sheriff of Taylor County,

he's a good friend of mine, Jack.

- Pleasure to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

Mind if I bum a pinch, actually?

Here you go.

- Now... - Appreciate it.

This ill-fitting toupee over here

is the chief asshole at Abilene National, Don Brock.

This shit-heel with the clip-on tie,

that's his kiss-ass loan officer, Chad La Douche.

- Alright. - It's a real tie.

- Real tie. - Yeah.

- Good to know. - Harvard?

We go by nicknames on the rig.

Yeah, well, I just...

You don't look too familiar.

Funny. I could say the same about yourself.

Yeah, well, you know, it's kind of hard to be a landman

around these parts if you don't know the land or the people.

So I'd be real interested in whose land you're leasing around here.

The, uh, O'Douls.

They've been a real challenge for us lately.

Have you had any luck?

'Cause they're a tough nut to crack.

- Uh, O'Douls, huh? - Yep.

O'Douls.

Listen up, Super Cuts.

The only O'Douls around these parts

is nonalcoholic beers, I bet you fancy.

- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.

I don't drink that crap. You know what I drink?

- White Claws. - No, whiskey.

I'm glad we established that.

Well, gentlemen, I have to get back to working for Mr. Luskey here.

Alright, hey! Let's crank it up. Come on now!

Okay, you know what? This is horseshit, Don.

Look, look, look, look. Check out-- Check out his shoes.

What? Merle's just trying to pull another fast one on you.

That's all this is.

I know all the landmen around here.

I've never seen that jackalope in my life.

Yo, is that connection made, yo?

Alright, we're made up. Let's start drilling.

This earth ain't gonna drill herself, right?

Right?

- What? - We made up yet?

Yeah, yeah. Y'all heard Harvard, let's go, boys!

- That's what I'm talking about. - Let's, uh, turn it to the right!

I don't know what the hell's going on here,

but if you don't pay off your note in 30 days,

I'm ripping everything out from under you.

I'm gonna tell you something. I'm gonna be dancing a jig

on your desk in 30 days.

We'll see about that.

Bon voyage, La Douche.

- Alright, alright, come on. - Let's go!

- Thanks a lot, Merle, we'll see you. - Asshole.

Whoo!

You did it, you convinced him.

- How was it? - Oh, my God, it was beautiful!

- Beautiful performance. - You believed it? You believed it?

- Absolutely. - Okay, thank God.

- Like the accent? - Accent was straight outta Big Spring, Texas.

That's what I'm talkin' about. Ugh, that stuff is nasty.

- You alright? - No, I'm fine, thank you.

Well, so what were they talking about? What happens in 30 days?

I'm not worried about that right now.

But you know what?

I know there's a reason you showed up when you did.

Okay? I got a proposition for you.

We'll talk about that later, alright?

- Alright. - Start that next connection.

That's good shit!

Shay, let's turn to the right.

Yes, boss. Let's turn to the right, boys.

Make the next connection.

What do you think?

Yeah, it looks cozy.

- No, no, no, trees. - Oh.

Those are native pecans, son. Texas.

My own granddad planted these when I was a little kid.

I plan on sitting out under 'em when I'm an old, old man.

Scratching my ass

and watching squirrels.

That's the life.

I'll show you the house.

Home, sweat home.

Been here long?

Yeah, off and on my whole life.

- Mm. - My great-granddad built this house in 1903.

1903, huh? Damn.

Not much furniture for 1903.

Yeah. Yeah, that's a product of divorce.

- Oh. - Now, listen,

I can run you over to a flea bag over there in Winters,

or you can stay here with me.

Uh, you sure?

Like, I-I definitely don't wanna be an imposition or anything.

No imposition, it's just me.

Take your gear upstairs, second room on the right.

- Thank you, by the way. - You're welcome.

Hurry up, we're grilling beers and cracking steaks.

Five minutes.

- Harvard! - Yeah! Yeah, yeah. Coming!

Sirloins on the grill.

- May I? - Oh, yeah.

Grab me one of those.

Tell me about Harvard.

Harvard?

Yeah, got into Harvard.

Studied business, that was Dad's orders.

And, um, didn't do so very well,

uh, 'cause I didn't like it.

And, uh, the only thing I did like

was my drama classes.

Tsk. That's about it. End of story.

- That's the end of the story? - Mm-hmm.

Hell, son, you know how much education I got?

Eighth grade. Day I dropped out,

my old dad threw me up on a rig.

I was a roughneck. That's all I ever did.

It's all I know.

- Hmm. - But this acting...

- Mm-hmm. - This was always your dream?

Yeah.

Well, was.

Maybe it's time for me to wake up.

That's always what my dad said.

It's always been a conversation that pulls us apart.

What we should be doing

versus what we want to be doing.

Yeah.

I'm familiar with that.

Dads and sons get pulled apart.

Yeah.

There's gotta be more to that story though.

Oh, yeah.

Okay. Uh, yeah, there is, but...

Okay, uh, quit Harvard fall of my junior year.

And, um, that was after when a Hollywood agent saw me in a play.

Promised me the world, you know?

He was like, "You're one in a million, man.

Just come out to LA and try."

That's all it took for me to leave Harvard.

You can imagine how happy that made my Dad.

It was actually going pretty well recently.

I had my first big gig.

But, um, yeah, I told you how that went.

Ah.

You'll do better next time.

You're not getting it, man.

There's not gonna be a next time.

This is exactly what my Dad has always told me.

It's what he expected.

I guess the only thing that I'm actually good at...

is failing.

You ever watch wrestling?

Like WWE?

No, no.

Mexican Lucha Libre.

I'm afraid not, no.

There's a guy that wrestled in that league,

went by the name of Gringo Mojo.

Mmm.

Never heard of him.

Got the shit kicked out of him every night.

Everybody booed him.

Grandmas and little kids.

Hell, I bet he lost hundreds of times.

Must have been more than 20 years.

Twenty years and he never won?

Journalists asked him one time, they said, "Hey, Gringo,

what does it feel like to lose all those times?"

And he looked that guy in the eye and he said,

"Only time I ever felt like I lost

was the day I quit getting in that ring."

Life is a no-holds-barred death match, Erwin.

You gotta fight like a goddamn Mexican bull every day.

'Cause the day you stop throwing punches,

that's the day you lose.

Now,

I reckon there's a reason you showed up in town when you did.

I was just hoping,

maybe you could hang around a little bit longer.

You and me could help each other out.

Me?

Help you?

The bank is gonna shoot my ass off

in about 30 days.

But I think with your Harvard smarts and my horse sense,

we can kick the shit outta Don and that little bastard, Chad.

No, okay. Merle,

I don't know. I...

This is not where I belong.

Look, I got damned good people.

They're the best roughnecks in the country,

but they don't have your book smarts.

You can help me solve this.

What do ya say?

And my car?

Get it on the road just as soon as we can.

- What else am I gonna do? - What the hell else are you gonna do?

- Dammit. - Drink?

A bottle of mescal sitting right there. Knock yourself out.

That's exactly what I plan on doing.

Whoo!

Break for Harvard, break for Harvard.

Harvard, come on!

Get your ears on!

Yeah, uh, 10-4. Okay, Erwin out.

Attaboy. Now get yourself cleaned up.

I'll be by to pick you up in a few minutes.

Merle out.

Here you go.

You okay? You don't look so good.

No, I'm fine, just...

- Oh, bottle bit him a little bit deep last night. - Hmm.

Get some of the pigs and chickens in you.

- That'll make you feel better. - No, I'm fine, thank you.

Don't let this old coot be a bad influence on you.

It's a little late for that.

Did you see that?

- Yeah. - She likes to spank.

- Yeah. - Alright, now,

you and I gotta go hunt down an elephant.

- A what? - That means that we gotta find a lease

and we gotta drill it.

And we gotta make a strike

that's gonna pump out about a million barrels.

Right, that sounds easy.

No, it is not.

And we got 25 days to do it.

Twenty-five days.

- Why so long? - Okay, Ivy League,

give you a little lesson in geology here. Okay?

These flapjacks, they represent the basin.

You've got your soil, rock, sand, and shale.

Now we take all that Luskey Drilling equipment

and we gotta drill right through that basin.

Now the earth don't want holes punched in her,

so she's gonna put up a fight.

That's why it takes 25 days.

Right, okay, 25.

What if we miss?

We can't afford to miss.

We gotta pick the right spot.

We don't have any time for second chances.

Then, boom, that's a strike.

And there's nothing sweeter-tasting in the world.

Then, we get fat pockets,

and Old Don,

he and Chad end up living together.

- That's your plan. - That's my plan.

Right, okay, uh, so how do we get this lease?

That's where you come in.

Oh, boy.

How can I say no to those big brown doe eyes?

Oh, you are so sweet. And here we are.

All along here, we've got the plats

and then we have the water rights.

- Over here are the county mineral rights. - Mm-hmm.

Then we have the records for the 20th century.

And then over here we have the records for the 19th century.

But, you will need gloves to review those, of course.

- Of course. I mean, it's a no-brainer, duh.

- Uh... - That's the lay of the land.

Um, I would love to sit and chat, Roxie

but I actually have to, um...

- I'm on a tight schedule. - Oh.

I was hoping that you could just, you know,

show me exactly where that plat map might be for my client.

And I will just get outta your hair.

That would be greatly appreciated. And I would definitely owe you.

Yeah, plats here.

Tobin's over there. You gonna be needing copies?

Uh, no, I'll be fine, you know, I'll just poke around, I'll find it.

I'll let you poke around wherever you like.

Oh, boy. Alright. You're so funny, uh...

Um, no, I'll be fine. Thank you, Roxie, you've been a huge help.

Not a bother. I'll be right around this corner if you need me.

Sounds great.

- Alright. - Bye.

How's it going?

Yeah, Merle, get your ass in here

'cause I have no idea what I'm looking for.

I told you I cannot be snooping around in there

or they'll think I'm up to something.

Now, you're the landman, okay?

- This part's on you. - I'm not a landman, okay?

I'm from Boston. Now can you please just come in here

and tell me which filing cabinet I need to look into.

We need Tobin maps and plats for Taylor County.

I know, okay, but where's that?

Yeah, ask Roxie to help you and hurry.

- Don't hang up. - Merle out.

Just... I gonna kill him.

- Of course. - - Hey, darling, you alright in there?

Doin' fine in here, Roxie. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Chad.

Thank you very much.

So, quick question.

How do you know which properties are worth looking at?

Well, Chad undoubtedly

wanted copies made of lease index cards.

- Looks like you stole the originals. - Wait, what?

Locate these leases on the map. I'll be right back.

- I just committed a crime. - Yep.

Now I'm doing all the work.

Um, yeah, this is every street ever made.

Um...

I see what you did there, Chad. Mm-hmm.

Check. Alright. South. Hillard's.

Yeah. Merle, I got it.

I found four properties, but it's kind of hard to read

'cause it's on the smudged part on the separate map.

Put these on.

Can't have you runnin' around being a landman

wearing disco clothes.

Well, well, well.

Chad and Don don't have the nut sack between them

to go looking for oil leases.

They could have somebody with deep pockets backing them.

Yep. Alright.

We have to find these people...

- Okay. - ...on these cards.

- Mm. You want me to take-- - Take that.

- Alright. - Meet me out in the truck.

Wait. Shouldn't we call ahead?

No, that's for Mary Kay representatives.

Just saunter in, see how it all shakes out.

"Saunter"? I'm afraid they didn't teach sauntering

at Harvard Business School.

Uh, hey, there, sir. Uh, I'd love to speak to you for a second,

just about your land.

Just for, perhaps, if you just gimme a second.

No.

Okay, thank you for the second. Mmm.

- Hey, Merle. - Barry, how are you?

Alright, thank you. See, I heard through the grapevine

that you was, uh, trying to get you own lease.

Well, I was hoping to.

Well, sorry, Merle, but there's a young man named Chad

come out here yesterday

and he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Chad! Chad is not even a real oil man, Barry.

- Yeah, let's go. - He works for that bank

in Abilene. Dammit!

- Thank you, sir. - Thanks, Barry.

- Y'all be careful. - You too.

Say hi to the missus.

If shit goes wrong with, uh, Chad, just gimme a call.

I'll call you, clear.

I hate Chad.

Ah, so this is it.

This is the last one on the list.

Well, there's no more cattle here

since Frank passed.

The boys moved to Houston.

They didn't think much of being ranchers.

- Mmm. - Well, we're sorry to hear that, ma'am.

My father gave us this land as a wedding gift.

Been here ever since.

It's a beautiful piece of property, Miss Hillard.

How many barrels do you think are under us?

Well, okay, so my family

has been drilling oil wells in this country

about as long as y'all have been running cattle.

And I can say with a fair degree of certainty,

you're sitting on top of a significant formation.

Okay, I'll sign.

- Oh, uh, yes, ma'am, alright. - Oh, Miss...

Thank you so much, Miss Hillard.

- Oh, thank you. - Oh, yeah.

Uh, how soon do you think you can start?

Well, once we get the lease filed in the courthouse,

we can start surveying tomorrow.

'Cause I have one week.

Yeah, uh...

You see, I-I had, uh, I had trouble making the loan

and, uh, after the funeral, I just couldn't keep up with the payments.

And they're gonna foreclose next week.

Yeah, one-one week is-is not really enough time

- to do anything, Miss Hillard. - Merle...

By God, if I could do anything, I would do it. But it's...

If you start tomorrow, you could work through the night maybe, all week long.

Yeah, Merle, what if I handled the paperwork and I went to the bank?

- You got the rig here... - Erwin.

Miss Hillard, this is the reality of the situation.

We have to survey your property to determine exactly where to drill.

Then we have to bring in the rig, our tanks, the rest of the equipment.

We have to prep the well site.

And then it'll take three to four weeks

just to drill down to the pay zone.

I'm sorry, there's just not enough time.

I understand.

Merle, Merle.

Get in the truck.

We're just not gonna try?

Merle, she said she would sign, okay?

- Why don't we try? - Do you know what you did in there?

You gave that woman false hope. And that is not what I do.

That's not what Merle Luskey does. I tell people the truth.

I understand, but guess what? We haven't gone to the bank yet.

Maybe we could buy some more time. We just have to ask them.

Erwin, you have no idea what you're talking about.

You're in way over your head.

I drill oil wells.

I don't perform miracles.

Merle, she needs our help, okay?

You think I don't wanna help her?

Now get in the truck.

This is our last chance, Merle.

It's over, David!

It's over!

Merle, Merle!

Hey, can I ask you a question?

Yeah.

Why would Don and Chad only look in this area?

Well, if it was me...

It'd be because there was a pinnacle reef there.

A what?

Pinnacle reef, top of the formation.

Right.

The center of the pancake.

And they can't find it, Merle, right?

And I'm trying to read what's in the middle of this, but it's all smudged out.

I can't read it. They're going after the elephant

and they can't find it.

Well, the only way they're gonna find it

is if they look at a seismic.

And what's that?

Seismology map, shows you all the underground formations.

Oil and gas deep below the surface.

How do we get our hands on one of those? Like who would have one?

You gotta be a big outfit.

An outfit like an oil company, okay, uh...

SPNA. Is that an oil company?

Sun Pride North America, that's Max Dugan's outfit.

- You know him? - He's a good man.

Drilled a bunch of wells for him.

He's not gonna be in business

with chickenshits like Don and Chad.

Okay, but we need to get to a seismic map

before Don and Chad do.

How do we get into Sun Pride?

I know how to do it.

Sign that.

- What the hell is this? - $500 football.

Uh, $500, you just bought it from a general store.

It's gonna be worth $500 when you put an autograph on it.

Why would anybody want a signed autograph football from me?

Not you, Roy Aikman.

Wait, who's Roy Aikman?

Good God in heaven, who is Roy Aikman?

Roy Aikman is perhaps the greatest football player

ever known in the history of civilization.

- That's my bad. - All the way back to Roman Times.

I deserve this, okay.

Max Dugan is his biggest fan.

That's all I needed to know.

Alright, is there anything else you wanted to say?

Uh, well, the obvious, "To Max Dugan."

- Right - Uh, "From..."

No.

Seasons greetings.

"Seasons greetings"?

It's the most joyous time of the year.

Okay, here's the plan. I'm interested in oil.

I studied at Harvard Business and we're going in to sweet-talk Max Dugan

into showing us the 3D maps with a signed football by Roy Aikman.

Yes, Eager Beaver, sounds like you.

Yeah, what could go wrong?

- Good morning, gentlemen. - Good morning.

- May I help you? - Yes, Merle Luskey

of Luskey Drilling Company, here to see Max Dugan.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, I have Mr. Merle Luskey to see Mr. Dugan.

Yes, ma'am.

- Elevator's just... - I'm sorry,

Mr. Dugan is all tied up this morning.

Jesus, I know how big a fan Max Dugan is of the Dallas Cowboys.

And I happen to have this football

signed by Hall of Fame quarterback,

Roy Aikman. I guess we'll just...

- Wha-- Oh. - ...mosey on out.

- Can you validate our parking? - Roy,

you mean Troy Aikman?

Troy Aikman, yes.

You know him by his stage name,

but his Christian name when he was born was Roy.

- Wait, you know-- you know Troy Aikman? - Yeah.

- Uh, yeah. - Mm-hmm.

- Yes, I do. - Hard to believe.

His old daddy and I used to pull water wells

up there in Henryetta, Oklahoma when old Troy

was running around shooting bulls in the balls

with a BB-gun.

He's a prankster.

Uh... Candace, uh, Mr. Luskey has a football

autographed by Troy Aikman for Mr...

Right, I know, okay.

Mr. Dugan will see you, second floor.

His personal assistant will greet you as you step off the elevator.

Thank you, Officer Basa.

Say, could you give me one of those?

Oh, absolutely.

I could probably get you one signed by the whole team.

Thought it was a sin not to know your quarterback's name.

Just put a T on it, okay?

You know, sometimes maybe Troy is pronounced with a silent T, huh?

Sure thing. You sure it was the Dallas Cowboys?

Hello and welcome to Sun Pride. Mr. Dugan is still in a meeting,

so please have a seat and he'll be with you shortly.

- Thank you, ma'am. - Quick question, ma'am. Um...

- Where's the restroom? - Down the hall and to the right.

Perfect, alright, I'll catch you there.

What's going on?

Just gotta get into character, okay?

Okay, good luck.

Gonna need it.

I promise we'll get this

back on track, Max.

You have my word.

When have I let you down?

Chad, get your ass back in here!

Alright, alright, I'm coming.

Look, I know Chad's been a little bit of a problem

but I can-- I can handle it, we'll get it done.

I don't want any more excuses, Chad.

Yes, sir, yeah, consider it done.

Well, I considered it done a month ago.

Best pay zone in that area

is under that old codger's ass.

Now I need you to get that lease for me

or I'll find somebody who will.

Do I make myself clear?

Crystal, sir.

Don, where do we stand with getting Luskey's equipment?

Has he been foreclosed on yet?

In progress, Max.

Merle. We need to talk.

We got a problem. Big problem, actually.

They're here. Don, Chad,

and your good friend Mr. Dugan, are all out to get you.

How'd you know it was Max Dugan?

White, slick-backed hair, thick mustache.

Colonel Sanders looking guy.

Shit, that's Max.

He's the one behind this, okay? They're all in there

like a bunch of fat cats scheming to get you.

- Son of a bitch. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, not right now.

We can't just go in there guns-a-blazing, alright?

So the 3D seismic is in there. I did see that.

- Son of a bitch! - No, no, no, no!

Listen to me, alright?

What we do need is a distraction.

I just need to get a photo of it.

- Distraction. - Yeah.

You mean like pull a fire alarm?

Nah, that's too big 'cause then the fire department

will show up and be like, "Who did it?"

- Cherry-bombing the shitter? - Are you serious?

- Got one in the truck. - How is that smaller?

Yeah, you're right, that is bigger.

Just need, like, to get them out just for a minute.

That's all we need.

I think I got it.

Hello.

Hey, y'all,

it's Mr. Dugan's 80th birthday today.

So everybody come down to the break room

for cake and donuts, wee-haw.

Holy shiitake mushrooms!

That was some good cake. Oh, my gosh!

Go ahead and get your fill, it's in the break room.

I didn't know it was your birthday.

- It's not my freaking birthday. - Come on.

And I'm damn sure not 80 years old.

I hope they have sprinkles.

Happy birthday, Max.

Don, shut up.

Hey. Come on.

What the hell are you doing in here?

What the hell are you doing in here?

I'm just joking, Mr. Dugan! It's such a pleasure to meet you, sir.

Uh, I'm your three o'clock today.

Roger Thornhill, uh, at your service, sir,

I'm a freelance reporter for Oil Man Monthly.

And I'm here to talk to you about that cover story we're doing on you next month.

Candace said, "No, yeah, go ahead and check it out up there."

No, no, no. I-I have a friend over at Oil Man Monthly

and he didn't say anything about a story.

- He didn't, huh? - No.

Ah, you know, now that I'm--

It's coming back to me now. I was supposed to keep that part

a secret for your birthday, sir.

And it ain't my freaking birthday.

Ha ha! Ah, Candace obviously misinformed me.

She also sent me up a little prematurely.

So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna wait in that lobby.

Something's not adding up. Why would Troy

write "Fuck you" on this football?

Those are angry U's. It just doesn't make any sense.

- What's this? - Look at that.

Who brought me this?

Mr. Merle Luskey.

Luskey?

Whoo!

Oh, my gosh, that was amazing.

John Wayne couldn't have pulled off

a better performance than old Harvard here.

Those Hollywood assholes don't know what they're missing.

Well, you two boys look like you're up to no good.

No, we're just stickin' it to the man.

Really? Well, be careful.

Or the man might stick you both in jail.

You know, Robin Hood needs his Marion next to him,

being chased by the law.

You two keep scheming and I'll start collecting tips

in case I have to bail you outta jail.

Robin Hood? Look at you with literary flirtation.

- I liked the cartoon. - Yeah?

- Still do. - Look, I wanna show you this.

It's not the best news though.

This smudged part

is what was on that map that we couldn't see.

"Scheermeyer will not lease," right there.

Gosh, almighty.

Boy, that is just sitting out there

waiting for some jack-leg like me to come along...

- I know. - ...make a deal and drill a strike.

It's not that simple though, because this Scheermeyer guy,

for some reason, is not playing Chad's game.

You know anything about him?

Met him, he's German.

- Something like that. - Loves sauerkraut.

You two rascals need anything?

- I'm fine. - Scheermeyer? What do you need with Alton?

You know that crusty old goat that lives out there alone?

He is such a character.

He comes here twice a year with his prized bull, Eddy.

He stops here on his way to that big cattle show in Fort Worth.

- Mm-hmm. - He stops for breakfast on his way,

dinner on his way back.

He says that Eddy is just a superstar.

He never wins.

He says he has too much personality.

That's-- that's him actually right there.

Very sweet bull.

That's it, that's it.

Holy crap, how did I forget that?

Okay, Harvard Business, "Features tell, benefits sell."

So what we have to do is figure out

what this Scheermeyer's emotional need is,

which I think is Eddy.

Potentially, maybe we could

make a sale somehow.

That's a bunch of horseshit.

Men out in West Texas don't have emotional needs.

Oh, please, of course you do. What are you selling?

She doesn't know?

Well, it's, uh, it's complicated.

It's involving being up shit's creek

without an inner tube.

A few financial problems here and there.

Okay, the bank is fixing to foreclose on Merle. So we have, what?

Twenty-eight days to land a lease on Scheermeyer's land.

Then we start drilling, hit an elephant,

and then, you know, we can make it rich and he can pay off the bank.

Well, that's what's going on.

That is a real doozy.

The only way we can save Merle, really, is to get Scheermeyer to sign this lease.

But clearly he doesn't seem too open to that.

Well, he's never-- never talked to me about it.

I can introduce you and then the two of you can do the rest.

You would do that?

- Of course. - Oh, Faye.

- You'd have my heart. - Mm, well, I would just hate to lose

my best customer, that's all.

Is that me?

Maybe Scheermeyer.

Don, we got a problem.

Alton, hello?

Ah, shit.

He's not there.

Well, we don't have time for this.

I know.

Is that yodeling?

Does he sing?

Yeah, you don't like it if it gets too hot or too hard,

I understand that.

You belong to me.

You're being a good boy today.

Ah, why is that?

You don't have to look at me out the corner of your eye.

Um, hi... hi there.

- What? - It's Faye from the cafe

down in Buffalo Gap.

- How are you? - You're lost?

- Oh, no, no. - I pay my tabs, ma'am, don't I?

Uh, of course you did. Uh, um, I was wondering,

if we could bend your ear for a bit.

What do you mean "we"?

The hose is popped out. Sorry, I'll turn it off for a minute.

Um, I wanted to introduce you to some just wonderful people.

Um, this is Merle Luskey.

Luskey, your Dalton's kid?

He was my granddad, my dad was Davis.

Yeah, I knew him.

And this is Erwin Vanderveer.

Howdy, sir.

How many syllables is that, three?

Uh, something like that. I know it's--

Come on, you had math in school.

Uh, Van-de... Uh, four, I think.

- How about too many? - Yeah.

Where are you out of son?

Uh, east, sir, just, uh, north, just north of here.

There's a lot of north of here and none of it's worth a shit seeing.

Yeah, no, I know, but--

So, like, this right here

is the famous Eddy, huh?

Yeah, all 2,000 pounds of him.

He's a stout one.

I still have that photo of him up in the cafe.

People ask me about him all the time.

You're kidding.

Oh, that's great, they should.

Uh, I'm-- I'm sure you're wondering why

we popped in on you and Eddy.

Madam, you don't have to hire a plumber

to smell shit or see it, you know?

I know y'all didn't come down here to talk about Eddy

or to gawk at him.

- Well, uh... - I don't hear good, so blow it out.

Well, uh, Mr. Scheermeyer,

uh, I think we have an opportunity to scratch each other's backs.

You're gonna scratch my back?

Yes, sir. I mean, if you're willing to scratch mine.

Very doubtful, but go on.

Well, just hear me out then.

I would love to share with you some helpful information

that we believe will help you,

but more importantly, help your Eddy here or Edward,

get that blue ribbon on that wall.

You know how many lease lizards there are around here

trying to sell the same snake oil?

You know how many good people there are here,

getting screwed every day by people with pitches?

- Sixty-five hundred feet. - Excuse me?

Sixty-five hundred feet down,

underneath your property,

I can hit a pay zone.

I'm a driller, Mr. Scheermeyer,

just like my father and my grandfather.

And I'm just gonna get screwed in the back end, right?

We'll do all the paperwork in a little tiny print I can't even read.

But at the end, all of 'em get screwed, correct?

We've never done anybody wrong

and taken anybody down a crooked deal.

Those bastards up in Abilene,

they're trying to tear down my legacy

and they're the same people

that have paid you a visit recently.

Uh-huh.

I can make you a fair deal

and we'll go in it equal partners.

Would you make that deal?

If it was just for me? Maybe.

But if it was to help

a sweetheart like Eddy, I absolutely would.

What do you think, Eddy, you buy this shit?

Give me at least a nod or a wink.

You think we can trust him?

What the hell?

- You all sent for other people? - We-we didn't bring them.

Alright, Mr. Scheermeyer, now hold on. These two--

I thought I told you two guys to stay away from here.

You see what this is?

- Okay, alright. Okay, go, go, go, go, go. - Oh, shit!

This will blow your goddamn head off. Now, get outta here.

Get off my property, all of you! Yeah, you three too!

Partners, my ass.

Every goddamned one of you get out of my barn now!

There's no oil here.

I know I haven't known him as long as you have,

but I know he appreciates you trying.

I just hate that I got everyone's hopes up, that's all.

No, I'm glad you did.

And today, you opened the door.

Yeah, well, the door

just shut in a good man's face.

Yeah.

So what are you gonna do...

...now that you're not a real oil man?

No idea.

Is that wrong?

You're asking me that question?

- Yeah. - Okay, look at where I live.

My house is on wheels. I am the queen of starting over.

You know when you've been to the barn

as many times as I have been,

you just take it one whack at a time.

He loves you.

You know that, right?

Yeah, I know.

I might love him too.

But, uh,

when I get too close,

he always ends up drifting away.

It wasn't always like this?

Yeah, it all started when he, um...

He lost his son in a car crash.

- David? - Mm-hmm.

Yeah, okay.

You're a good... a good soul, you know that?

Yeah, you got a good heart.

Thank you, Faye.

Thank you.

- Have a good night. - Bye.

Watch those fingers, Mule.

All eight of them?

Morning, boss man. Want a pair of work gloves?

No leases.

No.

Well, I guess you should know.

Crew woke up with these on our door.

That's an offer letter, drill for another outfit.

Twice the money.

Four thousand signing bonus.

Sun Pride.

Of course.

How many's left?

All of them.

Shit, Merle, you gave me the reins when no one else would.

That's the day I knew I'd throw letters like this

down the deepest hole I could drill.

Yeah.

I just can't keep my feet moving in this fight anymore, Shay.

Thrown my last punch.

You better get 'em all together. I gotta give 'em the bad news.

Yes, sir.

I wouldn't throw that letter away.

I'll get 'em together.

Hey, y'all, listen up! Family meeting down here, everyone!

You know, back in the '40s,

my old granddad drilled a well about three miles from here.

Yeah, they were drilling up a storm one day

and damn traveling block fell, kicked off a spark,

the whole thing went up like a matchstick.

Burned for two, three days.

My granddad told a reporter later,

he said, "It's only when you watch it all burn,

that's when you realize what really matters."

He didn't give a damn about the derrick.

He didn't give a damn about the oil.

Just the folks that worked for him.

You're all damn good hands.

You're all gonna get hired

real quick.

But this is gonna be the last well

that we can drill together.

I'll pay you out what you're owed, pay you up today.

But, Merle, uh, w-what about you?

What happens to you?

That's a good question, Carl.

Just have to see what the wind blows in.

It's damn hard to say goodbye.

Alright, you heard him. Let's rig out, guys, back to work.

- Everything okay? - Yes, thank you.

See, a lot of these property owners

think they own the mineral rights to the properties.

- But that's not something that necessarily passes down... - More coffee?

...from generation to generation. They don't know that.

This is a big one.

Sun Pride's gonna get this son of a bitch's oil

whether he signs a lease with us or not.

Whose property's the big hickey on?

- Oh, yeah. - - His name is Scheermeyer.

- Scheermeyer. - - Yeah, never gonna know what hit him.

Well, I got 11 rigs on order.

I think we need one more. I think 12 is the magic number.

- Oh, yeah? Holy-- - Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry!

- Goddammit! - I cannot believe I did that!

Forgive me.

Uh, breakfast is on me, I'm sorry.

- Yeah, you're damn right it is. - I'm so sorry.

Let's get outta here.

Ah. Clumsy me.

Someone's coming.

Mr. Scheermeyer.

You know something?

People like you and me, we don't really need anything more

than what we earn ourselves.

But there comes a time when, uh,

we could sure use a little help.

You got it?

- Thank you. - You're welcome, buddy.

How in the hell did you pull this off?

Oh, this wasn't me.

My saving angel.

Now go kick that banker's ass.

- Hang on to that. - Yes, sir.

- Shay! - Yes, boss?

Let's get this rig on the road.

We're back in business.

- Give me the helmet. Oh, heck, yeah!

This is it.

You feel it?

You better smell that oil, son.

I think I do.

So this is where your...

your data says to punch the hole.

Yeah, I mean, I got knots in my stomach right now

because it's definitely a calculated guess.

Every well is a calculated guess.

You just gotta stand by it.

Now, listen, I wouldn't be here

if it weren't for the two of you.

So from here on out,

we're all equal partners.

Alright.

We gotta strike the first blow, partner.

Alright, welcome to the new drilling site, boys!

She's named Faye #1.

Shay, gather everybody around.

Yes, boss. Hey, everybody, eyes down here.

Okay, Harvard's our new crew member.

- Whoo! - Sherwin.

Sherwin reporting for duty!

Sherwin in red.

- That's what I'm talking about, man. - You like paperwork?

Now listen up.

This next well is our well,

and I own the lease.

But all of you have stuck with me

through some pretty salty times,

I'm gonna take care of you once we make a strike.

Now, look, the pinnacle reef is either down there or it's not.

By the grace of God, we're gonna find it.

And with the bank staring down my ass,

we're gonna drill this thing wide open

and we got 21 days to do it.

How deep we drilling, boss?

Uh, so...

we're looking at about 6,500 feet.

Boss, there ain't no way we can go 6,500 in three weeks.

- It'll take a good four. - Bullshit, Virgil,

'cause we're bullheadin' wide open

all the way to the basement. You got it?

- Got it. - Alright, let's get to work.

You heard him, boys, let's get to work, assholes!

- Erwin. Gloves. - Yeah. Right.

- Hard hat. Yes, sir. - Safety first. Yeah.

Alright, you got everything?

Can I get like a wet wipe or something?

- No. - Okay.

- Call if you need me. - Yeah.

Alright, Faye 1. Let's go.

We got a show!

Let's go, let's go.

We'll sleep when that hole's through! Let's go!

What's the depth, Shay?

Looking at 1258, Harvard.

Roger that.

We're fixin' to make a well, you idiots!

Yeah.

- Okay? - No, we're good.

Let's go, let's go.

Kelly down!

Shay, any update?

Pipe's going down.

The oil ain't coming up.

We ought to do a quick rig service. Chow time!

- No pickles, right? - Ah...

- Ah, you did it again. - You know what, you gotta pick your pickles out.

- Sorry, sorry. - Oh, good deal.

- Yeah. For you. - Thank you.

How long is it gonna take to finish the service?

About five more minutes, we'll be up and running.

- Mmm. - Although with Mule, it might be seven.

- Yummy. - Alright, takeaway. Thank you.

Hey, Virgil. You hear that?

- Hmm. - Yeah.

What is that?

Shit, that's close.

Hey, what are they doing?

- Shit, it's open! - Faye, go, go, go!

Take cover.

What the hell are they shooting at?

They're shooting at the rig. Get down!

Virgil, what's going on?

I don't know!

They knock out that engine, we're done for!

Merle, where are you going?

Merle!

What are you doing?

- Hey! - Get down!

Merle! Get down!

Sons of bitches!

Ah!

Merle! You are crazy!

Wait--

Faye, wait, don't! Faye!

Shit!

Get us out of here!

Merle! Merle!

Wait a minute.

- Let me go peacefully. - That's not blood.

- What? - It's whiskey.

- Oh! - Oh, my God.

You lucky son of a bitch.

Anybody but Virgil, the last person to see.

- Oh, my God. - He's alright.

Oh, my God, it's your flask.

- Uh, flask? - Your flask saved your life.

- So much was in there. - Oh, my God.

- I think you're alright. - Oh, my God.

- Oh, Jesus. - Oh, my God.

Okay, is everybody alright?

- Yes, sir. - Keepsake.

Let's get back to work.

- Oh, Merle. - What?

Yeah, you heard him, check the rig.

- You're joking, right? - Huh? Let's go, Shay.

- You're not serious. Get back to work? - Yeah.

Your entire crew just gets shot at and you say get back to work?

Are you crazy? No.

What we should be doing is, I just got that entire thing on video.

We should be going to the police and finding out who did that.

- That's all we should be doing right now, Merle! - I got a well to finish.

Those sons of bitches are right there

trying to take it all away from me.

- Merle, I almost just died! - Get your ass back to work

or you're fired!

- Everybody, let's go. - "Fired"?

- You heard him. Let's go, boys, move out. - He's the boss, Erwin.

- Let's go, Shay. - Check that engine real good, Mule.

- Alright, let's roll. - Fire it up.

Yes, boss. Give me the all clear.

All clear.

One more day, I think we're gonna get there.

You really are willing to risk everything, aren't you?

Yes, I am.

Did that ever come between you and David?

Yeah, there was a lot that came between...

David and I.

Yeah, Faye told me what happened to him.

It's just...

It's an odd thing about life.

You think you're gonna have someone

as long as you live

and then one day they're just gone.

No goodbye.

We get so busy trying to get ahead,

take care of everybody.

Sometimes you just end up pushing people away.

I think your father means well.

He just tries too hard.

I just feel like...

I've never been given the opportunity

to make him proud.

Tell him that.

It may surprise you how... how much he can actually hear.

Give him a call though,

when we're bust.

I think you both deserve it,

another chance.

Well, Mr. Scheermeyer, it's the last day and still nothing.

We still have until five o'clock,

but then the bank's gonna shut us down.

Yes, sir.

Shit.

Hey, Virgil, what's happening now?

Until the drilling breaks from a rate of six minutes a foot

to 15 seconds a foot, you got nothing.

But, if she breaks, it'll be like drilling a damn snowbank.

Merle, what she at?

6,526. Where's that reef?

Supposed to be at 6,500!

Kelly down!

- Kelly down? - We gotta add another piece!

Kelly down.

Ugh.

Hey, Merle,

bank's here to shut you down, buddy.

- Time! - 4:46.

You're 14 minutes too early.

Let's go. They're not shutting down.

Let's go, Jack. Let's go, Max is coming.

I can't hear you, Donnie.

Let's go, Jack.

Why did I bring you out here?

Mmm... whoa!

Connection made, let's go!

Let's go, run her wide open.

Yes, boss, wide open.

Alright, I'm gonna go deal with Max.

Max.

Time to collect, boys.

Alright, let's go, Jack.

Hey, you know it's not time yet.

Shut up, Jack. Get your ass up there.

Come on, Jack, let's go.

Time to go. Shut 'em down.

We're getting gas cut by. Keep circulating.

- I got it, boss. - Virgil, let's go check those cuttings.

Good odor.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

Damn good odor.

Their time's up, Jack. Time to shut 'em down.

Time to shut 'em down.

Hey, Merle!

- What is that? - You hear that?

- Yeah. - Don. Don.

- Shit. - Oh, no, no! Open the door, Jack!

Open the door, Jack!

Jack! Open the door!

Open the door, Jack!

Open-- Open the door!

I hate you, Jack, I hate you!

Bull's-eye.

Get Don on the phone now!

Don! Shut Luskey down!

I'll make it happen. Chad!

- Get your ass up here. - Alright.

It's time for you to earn your money!

Will you do something? Just do your job!

Break, you son of a bitch!

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Merle. That flow rate is spiking awfully fast!

Stay in there!

- Ha! What? - Yeah.

Virgil?

Whoo! Holy cow!

Alright. Now, the horn!

She's ready to blow!

Alright, Shay. Let's go!

Merle! Merle!

Good job.

Let's get outta here.

I'm gonna miss this place.

I would too.

Think I'm finally gonna buy it.

Hallelujah.

Despite our best efforts,

I think you're gonna be alright.

Oh, Faye.

Oh, I'm gonna miss you.

I'm gonna miss you too.

Mmm. Okay.

Come on outside, I got something to show you.

- No way. - Recognize that?

Merle, what the--

She's not a piece of shit anymore! Look at this thing!

Yeah, we can't have no oil tycoon

going back to California in a piece of shit.

Are those new rims?

It's a bit early for a Christmas present.

Hey.

Why don't you go on and open it?

Genuine chocolate lizards.

You're an oil man now.

Just like my David.

Can't thank you enough, Merle.

You better get outta here.

Hey, Dad, it's Erwin.