Landman Season 2 Episode 8 Ending Explained: Drama, Confrontations, a Fiery Breakup!

After a romance-heavy episode last week, Landman season 2, episode 8 got back to the meat and potatoes of M-Tex’s offshore natural gas rig problem. Though last week’s episode of Landman mostly focused on the relationships between Cooper and Ariana, Tommy and Angela, and Rebecca and Charlie, it also established M-Tex’s plan to deal with the offshore gas rig. This week’s episode saw those plans implode. As Landman season 2 moves into its final two episodes of the season, the choices made in this week’s episode should be incredibly important. Landman is getting to the finale of the offshore rig problem and M-Tex’s shaky financial state, and Cami’s decision to drill instead of litigate could be either wildly profitable or completely devastating. With that in mind, here’s an explanation of all of Landman season 2, episode 8’s biggest moments.

Why Cami Decided To Drill The Offshore Rig In Landman Season 2

The biggest decision of Landman season 2, episode 8 came from Cami as she decided to reject Rebecca and Nate’s plan to litigate and instead go forward with rebuilding the offshore natural gas rig. Rebecca and Nate wanted to litigate because Charlie told them there was only a 10% chance they’d be able to access the natural gas reserves in the ocean. As the lawyers saw it, M-Tex would likely lose less money in court, and they’d be able to stall to make money without a loan. Cami, however, decided to go “wildcatting,” or rather gambling. Though it has only a 10% chance of being successful, Charlie told Cami that if they do find gas M-Tex would be making billions of dollars instead of millions. As she later said to Tommy, Cami doesn’t care about the safe option in this situation: she wants success, so she’s betting big in a long shot to win big.

Cami’s decision created quite a bit of tension at M-Tex. Tommy, Rebecca, and Nate all think she’s making a mistake, and they think she could easily lose the entirety of M-Tex if the offshore rig doesn’t pan out. Rebecca also had a falling out with Charlie over it, on account of how he convinced Cami to drill again. Whether they’re right and Cami just made a fatal mistake, only the rest of Landman season 2 can answer.

Gallino’s Plan For His Investment Into M-Tex Explained

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Even though Cami’s rash decision sent shockwaves through most of the cast of Landman, it didn’t affect Andy Garcia’s Gallino nearly as much. Tommy tried to get Gallino to pull his investment firm’s funding in M-Tex so that Cami wouldn’t have enough money to go through with repairing the offshore rig. He did so by telling Gallino there was only a 10% chance of the well finding gas, but that didn’t dissuade him.

Instead, Gallino revealed his true plans for M-Tex to Tommy. Gallino didn’t loan Cami and M-Tex $400 million, he actually invested in the company. Part of his investment gave him royalties on M-Tex’s land leases, and by Gallino’s estimation, that would amount to $300 million per year. Even if Cami goes bankrupt and M-Tex is sold for pieces, Gallino will still have the royalties from whoever buys up her leases. So, Gallino doesn’t care whether Cami succeeds or fails; he’s getting his money back one way or another. In fact, Gallino actually said he would prefer if the rig failed, because then Cami could retire with her trust fund and some money from the company and live a comfortable life. While that was a slightly noble intention, Gallino still knows that he successfully got his hooks into M-Tex, and he’ll be the only person who truly benefits when things go sideways.

Rebecca & Charlie’s Falling Out Explained

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As previously mentioned, Rebecca and Charlie also had a falling out over Cami’s decision to rebuild the offshore rig. Though their relationship became official in Landman season 2, episode 7, it’s already on the rocks. Rebecca got mad at Charlie because he was instrumental in convincing Cami to go with rebuilding the rig over litigating, which Rebecca saw as a bad move. Then, Charlie retaliated in kind. Charlie, rather accurately, accused Rebecca of cutting off their relationship as soon as she couldn’t control him, and he said that she was going to be very lonely living that way. Rebecca later told Tommy that Charlie was right about her, and his cutting words really got to her. Rebecca has self-described control issues, and if she can’t learn to be more accepting, she’ll never have a real relationship with Charlie or anybody else.

Cheyenne’s Role In TL’s Life & Landman Season 2 Explained

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One of the biggest non-business developments in Landman season 2, episode 8 concerned Tommy’s father, TL. After slipping in the pool due to his arthritis, Tommy hired a stripper, Cheyenne, to act as TL’s physical therapist because she was pretty enough to convince TL to listen. Cheyenne isn’t just helping heal TL’s body, however, and though she’s a late addition to the show, she’s actually filling an important role. Cheyenne is a symbol of how Tommy and TL’s relationship is healing and progressing. The father and son shared a nice hug after the incident in the pool, and Tommy hiring Cheyenne is the first example of him doing something nice for TL purely because he wanted to. He only invited TL to live with them because it appeased Angela, after all, so Cheyenne is the first time Tommy has decided to be a good son just because he likes TL.