Editor’s Note: The following contains major spoilers for the season finale of Palm Royale.
The Big Picture
- Maxine’s Beach Ball in
Palm Royale
‘s finale ends in chaos, with secrets exposed and murder plots revealed. - Douglas and Maxine’s marriage is strained further by deception and infidelity.
- Norma’s hidden past is exposed, revealing a shocking twist of identity and betrayal.
In just ten episodes, Apple TV+‘s Palm Royale covers a lot of ground. Following Maxine (Kristen Wiig), the wanna-be-socialite intent on following her dreams through her social rise in Palm Beach, the series includes everything – secrets, crimes, unlikely friendships, decaying marriages, and even murder plots. But nothing can top the finale, “Maxine Throws a Party,” as the story comes to a dramatic end. Throughout the season, Maxine has been building to the Beach Ball, the annual party Norma (Carol Burnett) throws as her crowning achievement. Taking control, Maxine hosts the fiftieth-anniversary party, though she and her cohost, Evelyn (Allison Janney), are in a power struggle as each hopes to succeed the ailing Norma. However, Norma has plans of her own, mostly to kill Maxine, whom she blames for ruining her life.
The finale takes place at the Beach Ball itself as everything falls apart. Maxine is abandoned by her astronaut; Douglas (Josh Lucas) works to convince Maxine of his new business plan; Perry Donahue (Jordan Bridges) returns from prison; Mary plots to kill President Nixon; and Norma hopes to take back her crown by force if necessary. With so many different characters scheming for themselves, it is no wonder things go awry, leaving chaos behind as the premier season concludes.
Palm Royale
Chronicles a woman reconstructing her identity in the 1960s after being dismissed by her husband and her entire social circle.
- Release Date
- March 20, 2024
- Creator
- Abe Sylvia
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 1
What Happens Between Douglas and Maxine?
Douglas and Maxine have been struggling in their marriage. With Douglas’ near-constant deception, Maxine’s 20-year-old lie about when she miscarried, and drastically different goals, it’s a wonder they are still together. However, the finale complicates their marriage further. In the penultimate episode, Douglas revealed his newest plan to Maxine: turning Norma’s house into a club. Maxine is against the idea, and, as the conservator, it would need her signature. Douglas plans to move ahead anyway, believing he can convince Maxine, leading to an argument. Maxine fears where it would leave Norma and refuses to sign. Douglas is almost resigned to it, but a threat from his business partner Pinky (Roberto Sanchez) gives him new motivation. Douglas’ breakdown about wanting a legacy and not having a child to carry on his name wins Maxine over. She tells Norma of the plan herself, making the old woman even more intent on destroying her. Of course, just when the couple is on the same page, their plan to make the announcement is interrupted.
Yet the bigger issue that comes to light is Douglas’ affair with Mitzi (Kaia Gerber), Maxine’s friend and manicurist. Guilty and swayed by a vengeful Norma, Mitzi tells Maxine of her pregnancy but leaves out who the father is. Maxine encourages the young woman to tell the father, learning too late that it is her own husband who has been hiding his infidelity. With all their secrets exposed, Maxine and Douglas’ marriage is more precarious than ever.
Why Did Maxine Lose her Cool and Insult Everyone?
After being abandoned by her astronaut and insulted by her supposed friends Evelyn and Dinah (Leslie Bibb), Maxine is in a vulnerable place, and it only grows worse. When Ann Holiday (Mindy Cohn) arrives and relays that her coma was caused by insulin, Maxine pieces together that Norma has been planning to kill her. This gives Maxine the strength to threaten Norma, the queen of Palm Beach herself, which only angers Norma more. The final blow comes when Maxine realizes that Douglas is the father of Mitzi’s unborn child. Maxine arrived in Palm Beach with confidence, but she has been slowly losing patience with it, but she seems to believe that giving Douglas everything would save their marriage. Losing that hope changed her perspective. Betrayed one too many times, Maxine loses her cool. From her position on stage, she uses the microphone to go after her guests. She exposes Pinky’s cheap gifts to his wife Raquel (Claudia Ferri) and insults Raquel to boot. She calls out Evelyn and Dinah and reveals Douglas and Mitzi’s affair in front of her captive audience, which includes the president.
Did Evelyn Lose Everything?
Since the death of her husband, Evelyn has been threatened with ruin since her stepdaughter Linda (Laura Dern) inherited all the money. Evelyn starts to reinvent herself, being captivated by a whale and starting a relationship with Eddie (Jason Canela), Dinah’s ex, who works at the club. But she feared losing her new love over her lack of money. Her attempt to co-host the Beach Ball for funds failed when Norma, revealing her healing, refused to give her any money. But, hearing of Linda leaving town, Evelyn plans to stay at her old house, though she reveals her situation to Eddie. Yet, at the Rollins’ mansion, they discover Linda and Virginia (Amber Chardae Robinson) trapped in the basement. After Linda attempts to talk Mary out of killing Nixon, Mary gets locked up, and when Virginia tries to get her out, she gets trapped herself. Evelyn agrees to let them out in exchange for the house and a large sum of money, allowing her to stay in Palm Beach and live the life she wants.
Who Is Norma Really in ‘Palm Royale’?
Norma is a central piece of the story. With a life shrouded in mysteries, her big reveal was built up throughout the season. At the party, she slowly reveals her recovery, first to Robert and later to Evelyn and Maxine, but the more shocking truth comes later. Angry that Maxine is getting away with stealing her fortune, Norma proposes to Robert (Ricky Martin), planning for him to inherit everything, leaving Maxine and Douglas with nothing. However, the friendship between Robert and Maxine worries Norma, and she forces him to choose between her and Maxine.
This requires thought from Robert, who talks to Norma’s old flame Axel Rosenhips (Paul Sand) as Ann Holiday recaps Norma’s incredible life at the party. Axel recalls Norma returning from boarding school as a “different person” after experiencing the tragedy of finding her roommate, Agnes, dead. Axel thinks nothing of it, commenting that back in the day, diabetics often died young, but to Robert, who has been administering Norma’s insulin, the detail sparks a realization. He confronts Norma, calling her by her real name, Agnes. Norma being Agnes, who must have killed the real Norma and taken her place, explains her ruthless behavior of blackmailing society and even plotting to murder Maxine. Agnes has been fooling everyone for decades, convincing the world that she is Norma Dellacort. This twist is full of irony as, in the same episode, Norma tells Evelyn that an outsider couldn’t be the queen of Palm Beach when she herself is an outsider.
Who Got Shot at the End of ‘Palm Royale’?
In the very first episode, Palm Royale played the gunshot but did not reveal who was the target. With Norma’s series-long goal of killing Maxine and Mary planning to assassinate President Nixon, there was no shortage of dangerous situations at the party. Yet it is Mary’s plan that comes the closest. Hiding above everyone, Mary watches. As Maxine has a breakdown on stage, Nixon decides it’s time to leave, and Maxine chases him, begging him to stay. This distracts the Secret Service, and even Robert rushes in to calm Maxine. That’s when Mary takes her shot, just as Linda rushes in to stop her, grabbing the gun.
The gunshot goes off, but Nixon is not harmed. Instead, it is Robert who falls to the floor. As Robert bleeds, the Secret Service holds Maxine back and discovers Linda with the gun, but Mary has disappeared. This tragic twist leaves Robert’s survival uncertain going into Season 2 and begs the question of who will be blamed for the crime. With a bloody cliffhanger, Palm Royale‘s finale is instantly memorable.
Palm Royale is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
