What if Gallino never really invested in CTT at all? A new LANDMAN Season 3 theory suggests that Gallino’s true play isn’t about acquiring a company—it’s about acquiring Tommy Norris. If this idea holds, it shifts the entire power dynamic and redefines what’s really at stake in the series.

On the surface, Gallino’s involvement with CTT Oil Exploration and Cattle looks like a calculated financial move: a powerful investor backing a promising venture.

But a closer look at Gallino’s behavior, language, and interactions with Tommy throughout Season 2 hints at something far more personal—and potentially dangerous.

Gallino’s interest isn’t in the company’s operations or growth. He’s invested in Tommy, leveraging his vulnerabilities, relationships, and sense of responsibility.

Gallino is never portrayed as a typical businessman. He’s a strategist, waiting for the right moment to exert influence. In Season 3, he remains detached from CTT’s day-to-day business, rarely discussing production numbers or expansion plans. Instead, he focuses on Tommy, asking about his decisions and reactions. CTT becomes less a business investment and more a pressure cooker designed to bind Tommy to Gallino’s interests.

Throughout the season, Gallino’s language is telling. He refers to CTT as a vehicle or means to an end, not a company he wants to grow for its own sake. He rarely uses “we” when discussing CTT, instead addressing Tommy directly and framing him as the asset.

When problems arise, Gallino asks how Tommy will fix them, not how the company will respond. This subtle shift in language positions Tommy as the true commodity being managed.

Gallino’s investment creates a web of obligation that Tommy cannot easily escape. Tommy’s history is full of sacrifices made for others, debts incurred, and lines crossed for survival. Gallino understands that Tommy can be bought—not with money, but with responsibility. By tying Tommy’s success to the well-being of employees and partners, Gallino ensures that Tommy will always choose duty over freedom. This is ownership through conscience, not control through force.

Visually, the show reinforces this dynamic. Boardroom scenes often place Gallino at the edge, observing, while Tommy is at the center, absorbing pressure. Gallino doesn’t intervene in company crises; he watches how Tommy handles them, deepening Tommy’s reliance on his support. Galino’s praise feels transactional—less like admiration, more like a performance review.

Control in LANDMAN is rarely direct. Gallino never orders Tommy; instead, he narrows Tommy’s options until only one path remains. Tommy’s choices increasingly align with Gallino’s interests, even when Gallino says nothing. The show uses silence and loaded conversations to convey the growing tension and Tommy’s sense of being trapped.

As the season progresses, Tommy becomes quieter and more guarded. His decisions carry more weight, and his interactions with allies shift—he withholds information and avoids eye contact. It’s not the confidence of a man empowered by investment, but the fatigue of someone realizing his independence is slipping away.

Gallino’s endgame is stability, not profit. By anchoring Tommy to CTT, Gallino protects his interests with minimal exposure. If CTT fails, Tommy takes the blame; if it succeeds, Gallino profits quietly. The real transaction is personal: Gallino has acquired access to Tommy’s sense of responsibility and refusal to abandon others.

If this theory is correct, Season 4 may focus on Tommy’s struggle to reclaim autonomy—choosing between being a good man and a free one. Gallino’s investment works as long as Tommy’s conscience remains intact. LANDMAN’s true conflict may not be over contracts or territory, but inside Tommy Norris himself. As the series has shown, the hardest battles are the ones no one else can see.