A Man in Full is based on a novel written by Tom Wolfe, and the six-part mini-series is directed by Regina King and Thomas Schlamme. Since the very beginning, business tycoon Charlie Croker has been on the hit list of the bank from which he had taken a loan of 800 million dollars. There were people whose motivations were fueled by personal agendas, and there were some who were sick and tired of his haughtiness. It all came down to the final showdown, where the fates of the various characters were going to be decided. So, let’s understand what happened at the end of A Man in Full series and if the characters were able to accomplish what they set out to do.
Spoiler Alert
Did Conrad get acquitted?
A Man in Full had certain subplots that probably didn’t drive the main conflicts, but they drove the motives of the man behind them. What I want to say here is that Conrad being charged with assaulting a police officer had nothing to do with Charlie Croker’s bankruptcy, but it did somewhere reveal the kind of man he was. It was probably something that Crocker wanted to do for his inner conscience, and he made sure that he was there for Jill in whatever capacity he could be. Even Roger White, for that matter, got attached to the matter on a very personal level, and till the end, it became his personal battle that he wanted to win at all costs. Conrad was given a parking ticket, and he argued with the officers who were towing his car, as he felt that the vehicle behind his car had pushed it ahead of the permissible limit, and he was originally not at fault. But the man didn’t listen to him, and he called the cops at the scene. Officer Smith showed up, and he acted violently, after which Conrad gave him a blow. Officer Smith passed out, and Conrad’s case was taken to the court of law. The judge was just not ready to listen to what Roger White had to say, and he was adamant about putting Conrad behind bars for 30 days.
Roger White, after assessing the nature of the judge, was very sure that spending 30 days in prison was much better than going to trial and risking everything. Roger Smith, in the subsequent hearing, accepted the 30-day punishment, but at that moment, something snapped inside the judge, and he ended up extending the punishment by 30 more days. Conrad knew that it was unfair, and he decided to plead not guilty and instead go for the trial. Roger White was very stressed out throughout that tenure, as he just couldn’t find a way to convince the judge and ask him to be logical in his approach.
During the time Conrad was behind bars, Jill and Roger White used to go to meet him. Roger felt something during those visits, and he knew that if he was able to make the judge go through a similar feeling, then he could win the case. Roger wanted Officer Smith to be a part of the trial and give his testimony. Roger knew that it was the only chance he had to get his client acquitted. He showed the video of that incident in court, and it clearly showed the kind of hostility Conrad had had to endure. Roger said that his client had resorted to self-help justice because, in that moment, he was shaking with terror. Roger said that a man’s past experiences make him do certain things and that Conrad’s action came under the ambit of self-defense and not aggravated assault. Officer Smith said that he did what he did because he felt that the situation might get out of hand. Roger wanted to prove that even when Smith had a gun on him, he felt intimidated because of something he had seen in the past. Roger told the judge that he might give his judgment, but any prudent man or jury, after seeing the video, will not agree that Conrad intentionally, in a fit of rage, assaulted the officer. It was clear that Conrad did it as a reflex action, probably because his senses alerted him to his impending doom. Conrad was acquitted by the court of law, and neither he nor his wife could thank Roger White enough.
Did Charlie frame Norm Bagovitch in the press conference?
Charlie tried whatever he could to convince the bank officials, Raymond and Harry Zale, to compromise which in turn would be beneficial for both of them. He tried to intimidate them, but when it didn’t work, he realized that he would have to take Wes Jordan’s offer, as he didn’t have any other choice. Wes was running for the post of mayor, and he wanted Charlie to speak against his opponent, Norman Bagovitch, and tell the world that he was a sexual abuser. Back in the day, something had happened between Norman and a woman named Joyce Newman, who shared a close bond with Charlie’s first wife, Martha Croker. Charlie went to counsel Joyce to speak up about it, and she just didn’t want to be involved in the issue.
Firstly, Joyce didn’t properly remember what had happened back in the day, probably because she was drunk. But what she did know was that she had somewhere given her consent to it and then later repented of it. Joyce hated the incident, but she knew that he hadn’t really gone against her wishes. Even if, in reality, he had done, Joyce just wanted to forget about it and move ahead with her life. She didn’t want to make a mockery out of it when she knew that the motive of the ones involved was not to bring her to justice but to clearly fend for their own vested interests. So, Wes decided that if Joyce didn’t come to the press conference, Charlie would have to speak against Norman and vouch for the candidacy of the former. Charlie was hesitant because, firstly, he used to be friends with the man in question, and secondly, he didn’t feel that it was the right thing to do. On the day of the conference, Charlie was in a state of conflict, and then, just moments before he had to speak, he decided that he wouldn’t say a word against Norman. He vouched for Wes but without putting the blame on his opponent. Charlie saw his son sitting in the audience, and that motivated him to be a better man that day. He knew the consequences of his actions, but he was ready to bear it all because that day, he felt that whatever he did was right.
How Did Ray And Charlie Die?
In A Man in Full‘s ending, Charlie learns that Raymond, Herb, and a few other influential people have made an alliance and created a limited liability company (LLC) called the Big Red Dog. Raymond was trying to manipulate Martha, as he knew that she and her son Wally owned 28 percent of the shares in a property that Charlie really loved, which was called the Concourse. When Charlie learned about that, he rushed to Martha’s house, where he found her sharing an intimate moment with Raymond. In a fit of rage, he asked Martha to go out of the room, and he went, and he told Raymond to back off. Charlie grabbed Raymond by his neck, and somehow, the former’s hand muscles got locked up in that place. Raymond’s face became blue, and he died of strangulation. Charlie, too, got a heart attack at that very moment, and he, too, fell to the floor and died on the spot. Raymond was asked by his superior to stop chasing Charlie, but he just couldn’t do that. He was envious of the man more than he hated him, and at the end of A Man in Full, he paid the price of his stubbornness.
