Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Landman season 2, episode 10.After a rocky few episodes, the finale of Landman season 2 delivered a satisfying conclusion to Taylor Sheridan’s show, but some of the more convenient elements of the ending could do with an explanation. The finale of Landman season 2 wrapped up all the lingering questions about M-Tex, Cami Miller (Demi Moore), and the plot twists from Landman season 2, episode 9 in a neat bow.
Now, Tommy has a new family business to attend to after being fired from M-Tex, Ainsley finally went to college, Cooper and Ariana are engaged, and the future looks bright for Landman. Getting to that happy ending wasn’t easy, though, as Cooper nearly got charged with murder, Tommy barely survived a massive car wreck, and Gallino managed to get his tentacles wrapped around everything once again. The road to the ending, and the surprise cameo from a symbolic coyote, could do with an explanation.
Why Tommy Sees A Coyote In Landman Season 2’s Finale Explained
Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy looking distraught and Ali Larter’s Angela looking intrigued in Landman season 2Emerson Miller/Paramount+
At the very end of Landman season 2, Tommy and Angela spoke in the backyard, and Tommy saw a coyote. He told the coyote, “No. You can’t have today, bud. Today is mine.” It was a somewhat odd note to end Landman season 2 on, but there was plenty of symbolic meaning in the interaction. Keep in mind, Landman season 1 also ended with Tommy speaking to a coyote in the backyard.
At the end of Landman season 1, Tommy shooed the coyote away and told it that they kill coyotes around there. Back then, the coyote symbolized Tommy being trapped, both by Gallino and by the oil industry as a whole. He, like the coyote, was in grave danger. In Landman season 2, the coyote still represents danger and death, but Tommy notably tells it that he has won the day and escaped death.
The coyote also gets to the meaning of Landman season 2 as a whole. This entire season was about Tommy learning how to beat the coyote and the death and danger it symbolizes. Tommy finally stopped killing himself for his work, finally started enjoying and cherishing his family, and even made amends with his father, TL (Sam Elliott). Tommy cheated death, and he finally has a life worth living.
Tommy Started A Family Oil Company: CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle Explained
Landman’s Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris and Sam Elliott as T.L. NorrisImage via Paramount+
A big reason Tommy’s life is finally worth living is because he started his own company: CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle. As Tommy explained in bits and pieces, the CTT part of the name stands for Cooper (Jacob Lofland), Tommy, and Thomas (TL). The cattle part is a result of how quickly Tommy moved: companies can’t have the same name as an existing company, so to ensure that the name Gallino wrote on the check wouldn’t have already been taken by someone else, Tommy thought up something “stupid” enough to be unused.
CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle’s Leadership
Character
Role
Cooper Norris
President
Tommy Norris
Senior Vice President
Thomas “TL” Norris
Oversees Drilling
Nate
Treasurer
Rebecca Falcone
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Counsel
Dale
Head of Exploration
Ariana
Office Manager
Tommy also gave most of the cast of Landman a role in CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle. While he was creating the company, he also convinced Gallino to pay for CTT to reimburse M-Tex for Cooper’s land leases, got the original contract with M-Tex dissolved, and also secured funding for new wells on the land. Tommy also explained that he made the company instead of taking a job at an existing oil company because he wanted to see if he has “one more home run” left in him.
How Tommy Convinced Gallino To Fund His Oil Company & Cami’s Fate Explained
Gallino toasts in Landman
Despite vocally despising Gallino (Andy Garcia) and his ties to the cartel all season long, Tommy approached him for money to fund CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle. Surprisingly enough, despite his large and ongoing investment into M-Tex, Gallino gave Tommy a total of $62 million: $44 million to buy back Cooper’s land leases and $18 million to start drilling new and deeper wells on the land.
Though it was a surprise, there are a few reasons Gallino decided to fund Tommy’s new oil company. Tommy did a good job of explaining that Cami and M-Tex are going to fail in turning the offshore natural gas rig into a major moneymaker. He also explained that even if the offshore rig does hit gas, there are plenty of logistical and financial things that could go wrong down the line that would cut into the profits.
Once he convinced Gallino that the offshore rig wouldn’t work, Tommy positioned CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle as an oil company that would be “too big to fail.” Cooper’s intuition about the leases was guaranteed money, and the original terms of their deal were still generous to Gallino. Tommy convinced Gallino by showing him that investing in CTT was a good way to recoup the almost certain loss of investing into M-Tex.
Since M-Tex is almost certainly heading towards bankruptcy, Cami’s future in Landman isn’t very secure. M-Tex will probably go out of business, but Cami still can decide to sell to a larger oil company as Nate suggested. If she doesn’t, she’ll lose millions of dollars. Luckily, she still has a huge trust fund Monty set up before he died, so she’ll be able to land on her feet one way or another.
Cooper’s Legal Trouble & How Tommy Got Him Off The Hook Explained
Jacob Lofland as Cooper leaning against a truck in Landman season 2
After Ariana was attacked and nearly raped in Landman season 2, episode 9, Cooper defended her from Johnny. Johnny, however, died from a heart attack after being brought to the hospital, and Odessa police threatened to charge Cooper with assault and murder. Cooper himself later admitted that his beatdown of Johnny went far beyond the limits of defending Ariana, as he hit the man 17 times and said he wanted to kill him.
There were a few convoluted parts of Cooper’s legal scare that need explanation. Odessa police said that they sympathized with Cooper defending his fiance from a rapist, but they threatened to press charges because Johnny was well-connected. He eventually got out of the situation without being charged because Rebecca was his legal counsel and Tommy called in a favor with the sheriff before threatening to go to the press.
What Landman Season 2’s Ending Means For Season 3
Landman Ainsley and Angela
The ending of Landman season 2 also importantly laid the groundwork for the already-renewed Landman season 3. Now that Tommy has started CTT Oil Exploration & Cattle, getting his new company off the ground is probably going to be the focus of Landman going forward. Cami and M-Tex won’t be nearly as important, though we likely will learn whether she sold the company or not and whether the offshore natural gas rig worked.
A new focus on CTT also has some implications for the Norris family and their friends. Tommy is more prepared to be a family man and focus on enjoying his life, and the fact that most of the Norris family is involved in CTT should make that easier. Tommy can still be a workaholic, but he’ll be working with his father and son instead of for an inexperienced grieving widow.
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Hopefully, CTT’s creation will also mean that Landman season 3 will have a renewed focus on the cartel. Tommy took “the devil’s money” from Gallino to get CTT started, and he now has a huge financial stake in the company. Gallino’s ties to the cartel didn’t come up much in Landman season 2, but now season 3 has the perfect opportunity to make Tommy feel the pressure of taking drug money.
Outside of CTT, Landman has also set up some personal stories to follow next season. We’ll likely see more of Ainsley adjusting to college life and her cheerleading team, and more of Angela struggling to adjust to being an empty nester. Rebecca and Charlie’s romance should also be a focus, and we’ll almost certainly see Cooper and Ariana finally get married. Landman season 3 has a bright future ahead of it.
Release Date
November 17, 2024
Writers
Taylor Sheridan, Christian Wallace
Billy Bob Thornton
Tommy Norris
