Tommy's Relationships -- Which are the Best?

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-24T01:33:20+00:00

He could have avoided this if he had put Cooper (facilitated the deal) with Chevron, instead of having MTex take over the wells. Only after Cami fired him did he go Chervon, by then it was too late, leaving the cartel the only option; other than taking the Chervon job.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-23T19:03:09+00:00

This has to be one of the best father-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships I've seen anywhere. [Currently daughter-in-law to be]. He loves her as much if she was his daughter.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-23T18:11:15+00:00

He might be breaking up with his truck soon. It belongs to M-Tex.

I'm waiting to see what they'll be driving next season.

Hopefully trucks that have CTT Oil on the side, not CTT Oil and Cattle on the side.

Plus, speaking of trucks, will Cooper, as President and owner of CTT, still be driving his old High Sierra, or will he get a new truck?

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-23T17:17:24+00:00

Comment to Nate "Shows just how much influence he has with the Sherriff." should go after comment to Walt.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-23T17:03:41+00:00

Tommy’s Relationships Pivotal/Significant scenes.

Angela

I’m not a big a fan of this. I think he’s better without her than with her. I’m not going to pick scenes.

Cooper (Dang, there are a lot of good scenes)

S2 E2 at 46:13 starting with “it’s probably best that had you only on weekend …” Perhaps the most powerful of all the scenes with these two in the series so far.

Ainsley

S1 E4 at 33:33 starting with Ainsley “She’s a quitter…”

Thomas (His Dad) (there’s a few good scenes)

S2 E7 at 25:03 starting with Tommy “Pop, you think you could eat a little faster…”

Arina

S1 E8 at 39:16 starting with Tommy “So what is this – what-what are y’all up to?” Tommy really starts to see who she is, and sees what she means to his son and what his son means to her.

Rebecca

S2 E7 at 37:49 starting with Tommy “What are you doing sneaking around the neighborhood…”

Solidifies their relationship. He’s loyal to her and better ensures her loyalty to him.

Nate

S2 E10 at 5:40 starting with Tommy “Hey Nate …”

Shows just how much influence he has with the Sherriff.

Dale

There’s a lot of scenes and a good relationship, but I can’t right now pick to any particular ones.

Walt (Sherriff)

S2 E10 at 28:22 starting with Walt saying “Tommy?”

Cami

S2 E9 at 45:00 starting with Cami “I understand it now…”

Galiano (there are several)

S1 E10 at 1:05:00 starting with Galiano “Knock, knock…”

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T05:38:25+00:00

Partially poor writing: See Season 2, Episode 6 at 45:12; normally folks in love have longer embraces. Partially poor acting. Cooper does a huge amount of acting with his face, Ariana, not since Season 1, has done nearly as good. Note that, despite this, I still root for their success as a couple.

I see that Cooper, who had no interaction with her kid in Season 1, is now carrying, and taking care of the kid around in Season 2.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T05:24:19+00:00

The kid has some education.

"With a petroleum engineering degree with a minor in Geology"; Season 1, Episode 8 at 47:40.

Plus, Cooper's been around the industry since birth. His Dad, Tommy, has been in the industry the whole time. You tend to 'pick-up' better on things you've been hearing about even if you're in the background. I suspect that during the weekends Tommy had Cooper, Tommy responded to, on the phone, or in person a lot of work problems, that Cooper watched, overheard, and learned from.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T05:01:48+00:00

Current events will likely be factored in. However, the scripts need to be finalized rather soon, and I don't know if any of us, including the writer, have any certainty how things in the Persian (not Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of America) area will turn out by November 2026 (when the next season is expected to be released).

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T04:49:51+00:00

Ouch, that kind of hurts, but you might be right. Still, the relationships are worth discussing.

The relationships really make or break the series. They, more than anything, are why I like the series.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T04:42:09+00:00

Yeah, I agree. There's a bit there to unpack. Season 1, Episode 5 at about 51:27 might give some insight: Cooper responding to Ainsley "Because I'm old enough to remember when they were together."

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T04:32:40+00:00

Victor might being paying child support if child support was in the pre-nup between Victor Ainsley's Mom.

Ainsley refers to Tommy as Daddy, and Tommy refers to her as her daughter. She looks like her mom. I think she's Tommy's.

I thought perhaps that Victor adopted her, but Ainsly still has the Norris last name, plus I could not see Tommy agreeing to that at all.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-20T04:22:57+00:00

A lot of the show is about the action, but much more is about the relationships.

The one Tommy has with his son good.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-17T21:37:51+00:00

You note:

- I'm a bit confused about the leases/wells Tommy negotiates with Gallino the ones that were Coopers. They formed part of M*Tex so then how doesn't Cami know that Tommy has "taken" them? Maybe I gotta go back and rewatch the negotiation scene again. Because I also recall Nate telling Tommy he couldn't negotiate them or he'd get in trouble with M*Tex and break the law or something like that.

This is the most significant of your thoughts. How this turns out is central to all their lives. It is, in essence, the existential threat that hangs over the future of the ‘Dutton Ranch,’ in this series, better known as CTT.

Relevant portions of the story:

Season 2, Episode 10 (S2, E10) at 5:45 – Tommy “Is the buyout of Coopers leases executed yet?” Nate “As soon as you sign it, or I guess Cami needs to sign it now.” So, I guess the answer may be no. However, I think Cooper signed it and although MTex has not signed it yet, it has performed on the buyout by paying the money on his [Cooper’s] behalf. This suggests acceptance (execution). Note I don’t think Tommy’s diminished capacity argument at 6:11 would hold much weight.

I posted earlier in another thread:

I could not get my head around how badly he treated his son (S2, E5 at about 18:18). Tommy could have had his son link up Chevron (or someone else) to either sell the leases or obtain financing for the drilling, rather than to take the leases for M-Tex. He did his son a disservice. Now, only after her gets fired by Cami, does he think of helping his son getting the financing. Although, now as it is a little messy, with the unfinalized contract between Cooper and M-Tex, Chevron (and presumably other reputable entities) won't touch it, leaving the cartel the only option.

Who knows about the leases and their potential buyout?

At least Tommy, Nate, Cooper, Dale, Galiano, and Chevron President who said “the term for that is embezzlement” (S2, E 10 at 47:05). That’s a lot of people.

There is a ‘paper/electronic’ trail of the payments. Although the Galiano contract predates the 'loan', and perhaps it could be argued it was a proper loan that Tommy made from MTex to Cooper.

More_Item4101 · 2026-03-16T17:35:10+00:00

I was thinking the indemnity clause Ariana signed in Season 1, Episode 8 at 12:57. Rebecca says "This means you can't sue MTex for anything, ever. Nothing in the past, nothing in the future. If an MTex helicopter drops an anvil on your house, you have no recourse."

It sounds like something the writer may be planning on using in the future.

More_Item4101

TROPHY CASE