“Woman’s worst nightmare”: Landman star Paulina Chávez talks about her preparation for the emotional scene in Episode 9 of Season 2

Episode 9 of Landman Season 2 has a brutal turning point for Ariana that fans are still processing. In an interview with Variety, Paulina Chávez, who plays Ariana, summed this up in one line:

“It’s a woman’s worst nightmare for that to happen.”

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What she says captures the fear and shock of the moment. In her Variety interview, Chávez discussed how she trusted her instincts and allowed herself to feel the pain and terror instead of simply rehearsing it.

The result that we as the audience see on screen is one of the most intense scenes Landman has offered us so far, and fans are still processing every second of the frame.

That alley scene on Landman was not just TV and it crossed the line from fiction straight into reality.

If you have been watching Landman ever since Season 1, you know Ariana’s life has been anything but easy. Widowed young, raising her baby, finding love again with Cooper, and learning how to stand on her own behind the bar at Patch Cafe, she finally starts to feel like she can breathe again.

Then Episode 9 from Season 2 pulls the rug out from under her feet. Behind the cafe, Johnny corners her after she had already shut him down earlier in the shift, but the situation spirals fast and he almost attempts to r*pe her until Cooper walks in just in time and saves Ariana’s life while bashing Johnny's head on the ground.

Paulina Chávez told Variety how deeply the script sent shivers down her spine when she read it.

She said,

“I remember reading this episode and immediately bawling my eyes out. As an actor, I’ve been training since I was 10 years old, and it’s very easy for me to put myself in that headspace.”

Instead of overthinking the scene, she leaned into the instinct of a woman.

“I always feel like most actors are just psychopaths, because we’re able to feel everything so deeply, but it’s also our greatest superpower. I went into it not emotionally preparing at all, and I trusted myself to be present and allow myself to be fearful and live scared in that moment.”

You can actually feel Ariana panic in that moment and she does not look like she is performing a scene on a TV show. It does not feel like a scripted scene at all. It feels like something happening in real life, and that makes it uncomfortable in the right way.

Respect on set, fear in the body, and rage in the words

Pulling off a scene like this safely takes serious teamwork, and Chávez made that very clear in her Variety interview. She said:

“Our intimacy coordinator and stunt coordinators are absolutely incredible. We had stunt rehearsals that whole week before we shot it, so we got really comfortable with each other. The guy who plays Johnny, Mike, is a sweetheart in real life, and was super respectful.”

Even with rehearsals, the first full take was difficult. Chávez shared,

“So the first time they ripped the shirt, that first take where we went through the whole sequence, was absolutely terrifying. I definitely needed a minute to recover to do the whole rundown again...”

The team broke the action into smaller chunks to keep it controlled, but the physical reaction stayed the same.

“But I’m shaky just talking about it. It is a very scary moment for anyone to experience. It’s fake, obviously, but your body doesn’t differentiate what’s real and what’s not.”

Another layer of intensity came from the slurs thrown at Ariana. Chávez spoke honestly about how hearing those words still haunts her. She said:

“Personally, no one’s ever used those terms towards me. Hearing it honestly just makes my blood boil...So I used the rage when those words were being said to me in the scene… I really admire that we are creating art and telling these people’s stories, and that does come with harsh truths and realities.”

As heavy as the moment is, Chávez believes Ariana will not let it define her future. In her Variety interview, she said,

“I think that this incident is something that is not going to define her. Even with what we witness her go through, you see she is still very much a fighter. If anything, I feel like it’s going to bring her closer to Cooper and the rest of the family.”

That feels true to Landman. Ariana has always been written as someone who keeps standing up, even when life keeps swinging.

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more updates on Landman Season 2.

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