A Man in Full revolves around Charlie Croker, a real estate mogul pulling out all the stops to avoid his empire’s impending demise. The series is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
Charlie Croker is a real estate mogul revered by many for his achievements but his legacy is under threat.
Plannersbanc led by Harry Zale decides to collect on the 800 million loaned to Charlie for his business endeavors, and this was facilitated by Raymond Peepgrass.
Raymond is a timid banker who has an immense hatred for Charlie because he is treated like a nobody whenever he is around the man.
Harry is head of the real estate division at the bank and he is on a mission to bring Charlie crashing down from his pedestal.
Charlie puts his lawyer, Roger White, on the case to make this go away. Roger’s job becomes twofold when one of Charlie’s employees gets arrested.
Jill Hensley is Charlie’s secretary and her husband Conrad works at one of the Croker factories.
When Conrad’s car was being towed away for a parking violation, he tried to stop them and the police were called in.
An officer grabs Conrad and is overly aggressive with him so Conrad punches the officer in retaliation and is sent to jail.
Even though he’s not a criminal attorney, Roger offers to help out since Conrad’s case is mostly procedural in the early stages.
However, the presiding judge is quite strict and doesn’t let Conrad off easy, setting an extremely high bond and sending him to jail in the interim.
Charlie isn’t willing to just let the bank have their way but Harry is cut from the same cloth and always seems to have the upper hand in their discussions.
When the chips are down, Charlie is given two options. One is to begin selling assets and the other is hope for a white knight investor.
He decides to woo Herb Richman, a fellow billionaire who certainly has the funds to cover Charlie’s problems.
He flies them out to his ranch on his private jet but Charlie goes about things the wrong way and ends up pushing Herb away.
Upon their return, Harry and Raymond are waiting on the tarmac with the authorities ready to seize Charlie’s plane along with the others he owns.
Charlie attends a charity gala with his wife Serena later that night and his ex-wife, Martha is also in attendance with her close friend Joyce Newman.
Charlie reaches out to Joyce for a meeting that might help his situation. Charlie is close with Norm Bagovitch, the man running for mayor against the incumbent Wes Jordan.
Wes is close to Roger and he knows that Charlie has dirt on Norm about being a sexual predator. He wants to use that connection to expose his opponent and win the race.
In exchange, he offers to call off the bank from seizing Charlie’s assets as Wes has connections there.
Charlie is certain that Joyce was involved with Norm all those years ago and asks her to come out as one of the victims.
Joyce refuses and Charlie says that the news might be exposed whether she wants it to or not.
Conrad and Roger agree to a plea deal of 30 days in jail but the judge thinks the punishment is not severe enough.
There is some back and forth and Roger refuses the amended plea, ready to take it to trial. The judge sends Conrad to a correctional facility which they were not expecting.
While he’s inside, Conrad is terrified for his life and Roger does everything he can to come up with the bond money to get him out.
Raymond is also at the gala and he forms a connection with Martha. He asks her out on a date and they have a good time together.
He was recently in trouble for impregnating a Finnish Nordstrom employee who came after him for child support. After solving that problem, he has more confidence in his life.
He approaches Herb Richman about buying out Charlie’s prized property, the concourse which is a skyscraper amid the city.
He claims it would be beneficial to both Herb and the bank. Raymond also finds out that Martha owns a share of the building.
Conrad’s life is threatened in the prison and he ends up assaulting another inmate to defend himself. The judge finds out about this and rejects his bond entirely.
Raymond enters a Habeas filing to get Conrad out of there and the judge sets a later date to hear his arguments.
Charlie agrees to help Wes by publicly exposing Norm. Harry and Raymond are then told to back off from Charlie because bigger things are at play.
Harry accepts the situation but Raymond isn’t ready to go down so easily.
Ending explained:
His day in court
Roger studies hard to figure out the case he is going to argue before the judge and his wife advises him on the route to take.
He also subpoenas the arresting officer so that he can get witness testimony and provide a compelling argument.
Conrad, Jill, and Roger are all at court for the big day, and Roger provides a compelling argument that Conrad’s punch was reasonable self-defense.
The judge agrees with this and dismisses all charges against Conrad, making him a free man once again, and without a criminal record.
A sliver of humanity
Charlie is set to be inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame for his footballing achievements when he was a student there.
The arrangement was set up by Wes so that Charlie would use that platform to reveal Norm’s dirty secrets.
Before the event, he visits Joyce once again to convince her. Later he goes home and Martha shows up to criticise him for forcing Joyce to do something she isn’t comfortable with.
While he’s on the stage, Charlie sees his son in the front row and has a change of heart. Rather than take down Norm, he endorses Wes and then steps away.
Wes calls it a betrayal but Charlie’s endorsement boosts his numbers significantly and gives him an edge in the race.
Quite a way to go out
Charlie is relaxing with his son Wally when his accountant comes in with troubling news. He says that there’s a group led by Raymond that is taking control of the concourse.
Martha owned 28 percent and Wally owned 28 percent which was put into a trust with Martha as the trustee.
Raymond used this information to gain a controlling interest in the building. Charlie goes over to Martha’s house and walks in on her having sex with Raymond.
While Martha rushes out to call the police, Charlie confronts Raymond. Raymond says that he’s enjoying his moment of victory and Charlie chokes him.
Unfortunately, Charlie’s hand seizes up and he’s unable to let go. The stress of the situation gives him a cardiac arrest and both men drop dead to the floor.
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