[Warning: The following post contains spoilers for Landman Season 2 Episode 3, “Almost a Home.”]
Landman‘s first season finale might’ve marked the official introduction of Andy Garcia‘s drug cartel boss Gallino, but Sunday’s (November 30) installment was when fans finally got to know him and his alter ego, Dan Morrell, the public-facing investor with ties to all manner of legitimate businesses.
In the episode, he and Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) met on two different occasions, and only one of them was acrimonious. Tommy was, of course, sour about the fact that his son, Cooper (Jacob Lofland), unwittingly tied himself to the druglord and made no bones about his disapproval to Gallino.
As Garcia explained it, Gallino was in it with Cooper for more than just the money.
“I think Gallino is always doing things for pure profit, but I think there’s an added incentive… As he said in the last episode of [Season] 1, he wants to be friends with Tommy. He wants to be in that business, and how he goes about it, you will see, and how it manifests itself, we will see. But he hints to that in the last scene of the first season; Tommy says, ‘We are never going to be friends.’ And he says, ‘No, we’re going to be real good friends,’” Garcia told TV Insider. “So he’s imposing himself… He’s like a hawk coming in at a prey, when they close their wings, and you don’t hear them, it’s stealth. And he comes, and he hits you when you’re not looking.”
Indeed, when Tommy saw Gallino for the second time — this time, operating as the private club owner Morrell — during a meeting with Cami (Demi Moore) he was unexpectedly charmed by his power, his wife Bella (portrayed by Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 alum Stefania Spampinato), and his mild-mannered demeanor in their impromptu gathering with Cami and Angela (Ali Larter).
We’ll have to wait and see what that means for Gallino’s partnership with Cooper — and, whether or not Tommy likes it, him as well — but they’ve both put their cards on the table now, and so far, it’s all aces.
For Garcia, who is primarily a film star, the decision to join Landman was a no-brainer, even though cocreator Taylor Sheridan didn’t have a script in hand when he pitched the part to him.
“Taylor’s writing and the shows he creates are amazing. I mean, it’s just sublime storytelling. Before I watched his shows, I watched his films that he wrote… Then I started researching, ‘Who is his writer?’ And then I looked him up, and I saw Taylor, he’s the actor, too. I’d say, ‘Same guy? Wow, this guy’s talented.’ I never knew him before. I mean, I’ve seen him as an actor, but I never knew him as a writer,” Garcia remembered. “So immediately, I was sucked into all his shows, and then I got a call that he wanted to meet and wanted to write this character for me. So I went to Fort Worth to meet with him, and there was mutual respect. And I said, ‘Whatever you want to write, man, I’m all in eager to be in your universe and play with you and play one of your characters. You’re a great writer.’ So it was an easy, ‘Yes.’ He had nothing written; he would just talk about what he was thinking of writing for me, the nature of the character, and I had no idea there was such a character in the Permian Basin floating around. I guess they’re everywhere.
Landman Season 2 hasn’t introduced too many new characters — just Sam Elliott‘s T.L., so far — but with Andy Garcia and Demi Moore ramping up their screen time so significantly this season, clearly, the show didn’t need anyone else.
Landman, Sundays, Paramount+
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