A Man On The Inside Season 1 Recap: Story So Far

Inspired by Maite Alberdi’s acclaimed documentary, “The Mole Agent,” Netflix’s comedy-drama series, “A Man on the Inside,” is a graceful, heartfelt, compassionate story about the ups and downs of old age, disguised as a lighthearted spy narrative with an elderly amateur sleuth in the lead. If you liked Netflix’s “The Thursday Murder Club” and want something with a similar tone with lower stakes and more heart, the first season of “A Man on the Inside” might be right up your alley. With the second season about to premiere later this week, let us go through all the key events and characters from the first season to catch up with the story so far.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Does Charles Agree to Join Operation Pacific View?

The series introduces viewers to Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired engineering professor who lost his dementia-afflicted wife, Victoria, a year ago, and has not been able to cope with the loss. Charles shared a strong bond with his beloved Victoria, which becomes apparent from the very first scene of the series, which opens with a flashback sequence where Charles gives a speech at his wedding, acknowledging Victoria’s presence in his life and his desire to grow old together. Victoria’s final years haven’t been kind to her, as dementia forced her to lose touch with her identity and her reality, and made her forget the man she loved. A devoted, loving husband, Charles adhered to Victoria’s wish that he never send her away to a care home. Losing his partner, who had been by his side through thick and thin, took a toll on Charles’ mind; he lives alone in his state house, with his only socialization being occasional visits to his daughter, Emily, and her husband, Joel’s place. Emily, exasperated with the maternal responsibilities of taking care of their three teenage sons, Wyatt, Jace, and Nico, knows Charles has become quite withdrawn since Victoria’s demise, and wants him to seek a new hobby or activity that will lift his spirits. 

Meanwhile, Julie Kovalenko, who runs a private eye business, finds herself in a fix involving her latest assignment, as her client, a certain Mr. Cubbler, wants her to investigate the theft of his mother, Helen’s ruby necklace, which has been stolen by someone in the Pacific View retirement community she presently resides in. The closed, secure environment of the retirement community makes it impossible for Julie to infiltrate and investigate. However, she hatches upon a plan to recruit an undercover agent who fits the bill, and publishes an advertisement. A curious Charles decides to appear at the interview among dozens of other candidates and gets selected, as Julie considers his withdrawn nature to be an advantage in this trade. After learning the details of his assignment, Charles agrees to pose as Julie’s father and visits Pacific View, where he gets introduced to the caring, workaholic director of the retirement community, Didi. While the prospect of adventure had Charles all excited about his new job, upon learning that there is a memory care unit called Neighbourhood in the community, he is conflicted about his decision as he is reminded of his late wife. Julie, who can relate to his predicament as her grandfather suffered from Alzheimer’s in the final stages of his life, suggests Charles find some way to process his grief instead of holding onto it.  Charles eventually decides to stay on as a resident in the community and agrees to join Julie’s mission. 

Life in the Community Opens a New Vista for Charles

As part of the process of gathering intel, Charles needs to learn about the fellow residents of the community and the orderlies, and accordingly, he gets himself acquainted with everyone. Soon enough, Charles becomes popular with other residents and unwinds as Didi encourages the residents to organize a welcome party for him. Charles makes a few friends, namely a high-spirited Virginia and her best friend, Florence, who has a knack for art, drama, and poetry. Hilariously enough, Charles unwittingly earns himself a rival as well, as elderly cancer patient Elliott, jealous of Charles’ connection with now ex-wife Virginia, sends a threatening note addressed to him. While initially Julie and Charles consider this a message sent by the necklace thief, Charles eventually deduces Elliott to be the sender and confronts him about it. 

Charles kept his new life as an undercover agent a secret from his daughter, Emily, who eventually learns about his latest escapades. As Emily locates her father in the community, he and Julie come clean to her. Emily actually turns out to be quite supportive of her father’s decision and even helps him to spy on the orderlies but gets dismayed upon learning about the shenanigans Charles got himself into during the welcome party. Elliott’s watch gets stolen, and already holding a grudge against Charles, he considers the newcomer resident to be the thief and punches him in anger. Emily shares her concerns about his decision to move to the community with her father, but later on Joel lets her realize that, compared to Charles’ past routine, he is actually faring much better. Didi gets a bit suspicious about Charles and decides to do a background check. On the other hand, Charles becomes good friends with a loner backgammon player, Calbert. Charles also befriends Gladys, a renowned costume designer who is struggling to hold on to her memories, and as her predicament reminds him of Victoria, Charles tries to help her, to no avail. Charles’ growing popularity in the community results in the residents nominating him to become the VP, and Calbert helps him to learn more about the residents. Julie advises Charles to stay focused on the mission, not make any personal connections with the residents, and treat them as suspects. However, reaching an age where loneliness acts as a slow poison, it goes without saying that Charles will not be able to stick to that professional discipline after finding kindred souls to share his burdens with. 

At one point, Charles and Julie suspect Florence to be the thief upon learning about her gambling habits, and have a cop look into her interaction with a bookie. However, Charles later learns that, instead of being a result of her addiction, the interaction with the bookie was Florence’s way of memorizing her late husband. Charles feels immense guilt about suspecting Florence and being responsible for putting her in the terrible situation and continues to strengthen his bond with the residents. 

Julie plans to lure the thief by throwing a birthday party for Charles in the retirement community and gifting him a Rolex in front of the residents. Despite having a camera trap set in Charles’ room, the thief, who infiltrates the room to leave Elliott’s watch, remains out of sight. Later on, Gladys is sent to Neighbourhood after her condition worsens, much to Charles’ dismay. Florence gets to fulfill her desire of buying a body massager after Virginia encourages her to. Charles and Elliott connect as Charles shares his regret over not being able to help Gladys, and having helplessly witnessed the plights of quite a number of residents, Elliott tries to comfort him with his words of wisdom. Elliott and Virginia patch up during Charles’ birthday celebrations, and Virginia decides to make up for most of the time a cancer-afflicted Elliott has left by proposing to him for a remarriage. 

Tragedy strikes all of a sudden as Florence passes away, and to cope with the pain of losing a dear friend, Charles decides to return to his family and keep himself busy with his grandsons. Emily learns about her father’s predicament and, while taking a road trip, tries to have Charles open up to her. During Florence’s funeral, Charles recites William Shakespeare’s “The Seven Ages of Man” as a gesture to pay respect to her memories, which moves Didi and the rest of the residents of the community. The narrative offers a glimpse into the personal life of Didi, who, despite juggling hectic work schedules, low pay, and the responsibilities of taking care of the elderly, turns down better job prospects, as she cares a lot about the residents. 

The Identity of the Thief Gets Revealed

Having not made much progress regarding the theft case, Cubbler decides to settle the issue with an insurance payout and drop the case, which prompts Julie to pull Charles off the case as well. Knowing it’s his last day in the community, Charles takes Calbert on a tour across San Francisco, doing what they love most, visiting the places dear to them while reminiscing about past memories. Calbert’s son, CJ, who is about to venture to Singapore after getting promoted, shares his concerns upon learning about his father’s escapades, but Calbert gives him a piece of his mind, which prompts CJ to reconsider his decision about leaving. Didi, still suspicious about Charles’ background, decides to look into Julie’s connection with him. She mistakenly believes that Julie is trying to exploit Charles and confronts her, only to have her and Charles come clean about everything and confess about their true motives. 

Charles has figured out that it was Gladys who was behind the so-called thefts, as the poor woman couldn’t recognize what belonged to her and what didn’t. Given the fact that nothing had been stolen even since Gladys moved to the neighborhood further strengthened Charles’ suspicion, and he was able to confirm that by visiting Gladys in the memory care unit and finding the necklace just by asking her. Charles’ personal experience with Victoria helped him to solve the case. 

Before leaving the community, Charles reveals the entire truth to Calbert as well, who feels betrayed and almost abruptly breaks things off. Charles returns to his home, and Emily helps him to process his grief of losing Victoria by assisting him in taking all his old belongings out. While reminiscing about the old days, Charles confesses that in one of his most vulnerable moments, he found himself unable to deal with Victoria’s dementia-afflicted mind and nearly decided to have her admitted to a care home. Charles believes he betrayed his wife’s trust by considering doing something like that, and this is the reason he kept himself secluded and withdrawn since her demise. Emily helps her father to realize that a moment’s vulnerability doesn’t change how much Charles loved and cared for Victoria, and consoles an aggrieved, broken Charles. 

Didi feels she has failed in her job as a director in light of recent events, and plans to quit before she is convinced by Charles and Julie to continue her good work, as Charles lets her listen to his honest assessment of Didi’s contribution to the community. As Didi reveals this to Calbert, he is able to find it in himself to forgive Charles and reconcile with him. During Elliott and Virginia’s wedding, Calbert brings Charles back to the community, and the first season ends on a merry note. In the final moments of the first season, Julie receives another assignment that requires Charles’ expertise, and upon being informed, he shares his eagerness to begin yet another adventure. 

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