(Credits: Netflix)

Charles Nieuwendyk stirred up quite the drama in A Man on the Inside season one, but he looks more than ready for a “juicy” new case with his return on Netflix.

Despite giving his all for a kick-start to his crime-solving career, the first case ended up being no crime at all after all. The culprit turned out to be an Alzheimer’s patient at San Francisco’s Pacific View Retirement Community in where Charles had infiltrated to track down a jewellery thief. But in the second season of Netflix’s beloved comedy drama, Charles is ready to handle a task with more challenges, having gotten his hands pretty dirty catching cheating husbands all year.

So, he’s more than happy to be the man on the inside at Wheeler College, where he goes undercover as an engineering professor. For those curious, Wheeler College is expecting a donation from a key donor, Brad Vinick. While he may not be known for his generosity or his support for a well-rounded education, the school is in need, and it’s up to President Jack Beringer to raise the same.

All seems to be going well until Beringer’s laptop gets stolen, leading to quite a few roadblocks in the donation. Plus, considering both the staff and the students are unhappy about Vinick’s involvement with the college in the future, everyone’s a suspect. As the questions are too many, and answers, few, let’s find out what goes down at Wheeler College in A Man on the Inside’s second season, along with a bonus surprise.

Who stole Beringer’s laptop?

In A Man on the Inside‘s second season finale, Charles and Julie begin to think Beringer, himself, stole the laptop for his own benefit, until English department head Dr Cole unexpectedly enters the room, confessing to the theft and immediately signing his resignation. However, it ultimately turns out that neither member of the staff was responsible.

An entirely separate team of Wheeler College staff plotted to save the school from falling into the traps of Vinick’s corrupt charity, with provost Holly Bodgemark, the leader of the rebels. While the revelation also had Charles in shock, he chose to learn more about the truth from Holly, who has the best interests of the school in her heart, instead of turning her in.

Flashback to five months ago, Holly overheard Beringer in his meeting with Vinick that the school president was seeking a relocation for a new job at a Texas university. As a result, he left Wheeler’s responsibility to Vinick, which permitted the donor to do whatever he liked, including firing the school professors to rebrand the school entirely to suit his image.

So, Holly began her search for Beringer’s computer for proof of the scheme after the two left the office. However, she was unsuccessful. She took the laptop with her to buy more time instead, and the threatening emails Beringer received? Those were from her, too. It was, in fact, her idea to hire a private investigator, Charles, in this case, hoping that they would help her uncover the blueprints of the plan and expose Vinick to the board of trustees, shaking up the deal.

With time, the plan grew bigger, and every department joined Holly in her plan to defeat Vinick. They were all in on the sabotage, behind the anonymous texts from the “Wheeler Guardian” account, and the leakage of the documents to the school paper. Every professor was involved, except for two: Mona and Dr Cole. Yet, when Dr Cole sensed the possibility of something going on, he straight up asked Holly, and she told him the entire story.

Subsequently, Dr Cole took the fall for his colleagues. Holly admits that she feels terrible for Dr Cole shouldering the responsibility of something he didn’t do. However, Charles insists that turning herself in may not be the best option on the table right now. It is to stay and keep Wheeler safe.

What about Vinick’s donation?

When Vinick’s secret scheme, “Project Aurora”, gets leaked in The Daily Wheeler, the board of trustees reject his donation. Had he been successful with his plan, he would have fired faculty and the staff without a second thought, making room for Vinick loyalists who give preference to only three areas of study: biotechnology, economics, and computer science. This would have called for the shutdown of all humanities departments, and allowed students to pursue only from those limited options.

What happens to Charles and Mona?

One of the major lessons Charles learnt from A Man on the Inside season one is not to keep those close to him in the dark about his line of work. It already hurt his best friend, Calbert, in ways one cannot imagine. Hence, Charles’ budding relationship with Mona cannot go down the same path. So, he trusts his gut and tells Mona the truth about his presence on the campus, which ultimately pays off, considering she pitches in to solve the case throughout the season.

Ted Danson explains to Tudum that one of the most profound themes of A Man on the Inside’s second season is the notion of second chances. So, it only makes sense that there would be conversation about a second chance at love.

In the series finale, Mona accepts a teaching job for a music course in Croatia for a year, and she wants Charles to join in. While he’s tempted to do the same, after a conversation with Emily, it dawns upon him just how much he has worked hard to build something new when all felt over. Although Mona’s bound to be disappointed, their relationship doesn’t end on sour terms, but just as good friends.

Is something going on between Didi and Julie?

There sure seems to be! In the second season finale, Didi arrives at Charles’s party to celebrate that he’s now a licensed private investigator. But she is a woman with an agenda who intends to address the tension between herself and Julie. During the party, Didi puts Julie in a square, asking why she was even invited. And to everyone’s surprise, Julie takes the lead, apologising for not handling the emotional situations better and for her behaviour if it was hurtful.

Didi accepts the apology, reassuring Julie that it’s getting better while also revealing the reason behind hiring Julie to do some standard background checks. Turns out, Didi wanted to spend more time with Julie. After Julie and Charles convinced Julie to stay at Pacific View, she was always drawn to the question of whether there was a spark. And looks like there is.

Where does Dr Cole go?

Dr Cole lives a life of seclusion and doesn’t have any family either. So, after being ousted from Wheeler, Holly does get concerned about him. Charles does the needful, paying a visit to his ex-colleague to get an update on his treatment. And upon his arrival, he asks Dr Cole for a favour, to help rekindle a revised sense of purpose.

Dr Cole, in turn, agrees and delivers a sealed envelope to Didi at a place we know, all too well, Pacific View. The letter reads, “Please take care of Ben. He’s a very stubborn professor. He needs your help.” Lucky for Charles, Didi knows just what to do as he enlists Dr Cole to help refurbish the community library, and although Charles may not live in Pacific View, it has found a member this season.

Is there a bonus scene?

Yes, A Man on the Inside season two does have a bonus scene at the end of the season finale. We find ourselves amid a book club meeting at Pacific View, where Dr Cole, Calbert, Charles, and all the retirement community’s brilliant minds gather to read a gripping thriller, Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October.