Warning: SPOILERS For Dutton Ranch Season 1's Finale – "El Padrino"Dutton Ranch's main villain and storyline echo the previous Paramount+ global hit series set in Texas executive produced by Taylor Sheridan. Though Sheridan doesn't write Dutton Ranch's episodes the way he did Yellowstone, The Madison, and Special Ops: Lioness, Dutton Ranch's creative team decided to copy a major element of Billy Bob Thornton's Landman.
In Dutton Ranch's season 1 finale, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) learn that Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) and the 10-Petals Ranch have been smuggling drugs across the Mexican border for fifteen years. Beth and Rip hijacked the 10-Petals' latest fentanyl shipment, which brought Beulah's silent partners to the Dutton Ranch's doorstep.
Dutton Ranch gradually revealed that drug kingpin Mariano Reyes (Raoul Max Trujillo) kept the 10-Petals from going under, and his narcotics empire subsidizes Beulah Jackson's opulent lifestyle. If the heroes of a Taylor Sheridan-produced, Texas-based series that's also one of Paramount+'s biggest hits worldwide sounds familiar, it's no surprise because it's also happening in Landman.
Dutton Ranch’s Villain Copied Landman
Mariano Reyes in Dutton Ranch is walking a path that Danny "Gallino" Morrell (Andy Garcia) had already blazed in Landman. Both Mariano and Gallino are powerful heads of drug smuggling syndicates, and both sank their hooks into their show's main characters.
For decades, Mariano, who was Beulah's (Rebeca Robles) minder when she was a teenager, has been the secret power broker of the 10-Petals Ranch. In Landman, Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) was abducted by Mexican drug smugglers, and his life was saved by Gallino. Tommy soon learned that Gallino has a public face: Fort Worth investor and businessman Danny Morrell.
By the end of Landman and Dutton Ranch's first seasons, the heroes of both shows had violent altercations with Mexican gangsters. Tommy Norris was kidnapped and tortured. Rip Wheeler, Everett McKinney (Ed Harris), Azul (J.R. Villarreal), and Zachariah (Marc Menchaca) had better luck, killing Mariano's men. Rip and Azul even captured and tortured one, a reversal of Tommy's ordeal.
Despite refusing Danny Morrell's overtures for a partnership, Tommy eventually relented, realizing he needed Gallino's help after he was fired as President of M-Tex. Dutton Ranch's conflict with Mariano has only just begun, with the Reyes escalating the stakes by kidnapping Carter (Finn Little), Beth and Rip's adopted son.
Andy Garcia’s Landman Villain Is So Much Better Than Dutton Ranch’s Big Bad
Mariano was a specter looming over Dutton Ranch, but "El Padrino" (The Godfather) turned out to be a generic bad guy, commanding his loyal troops, intimidating his son, Joaquin Reyes (Juan Pablo Raba), and issuing ultimatums to Beulah. Mariano was more empathetic when he was seen as a younger man in 1981 (played by Bobby Soto) in Dutton Ranch episode 7's flashbacks.
To be fair, present-day Mariano has only appeared in one episode of Dutton Ranch, but he doesn't make the same intriguing type of impression that Gallino did in his surprise debut at the end of Landman season 1. Gallino was instantly more impactful when he saved Tommy's life, and Landman's kingpin only became more fascinating in season 2.
It turns out Danny Morrell not only heads up his own corporation, but he's a charming and magnanimous smooth operator. Morrell has a beautiful wife, but also patiently mentors the inexperienced Cami Miller (Demi Moore) when she becomes the new head of M-Tex. Danny even wins over Tommy's wife, Angela (Ali Larter), and, grudgingly, Tommy himself.
Raoul Max Trujillo makes the most of how relatively limited Mariano is written so far, and perhaps El Padrino will take on new dimensions in Dutton Ranch season 2. Meanwhile, Andy Garcia is a standout among Landman's stellar cast of A-listers, and the Academy Award nominee makes Danny Morrell compelling in every scene.
Ultimately, Mariano Reyes may not equal the magnetism of Danny Morrell, and it's strange how Dutton Ranch decided to mimic one of Landman's central aspects so closely.
