Palm Royale's 5th episode - "Maxine Shakes the Tree"

The episode starts with a bit of their past. Douglas says no one's ever believed in him like she has. Maxine reveals her pregnancy and he is elated saying it's the best thing he's ever heard. We return to the present seeing Maxine still worried about the invitation. She's in disbelief about it and wonders who else knew. This is ironic because she felt secrets spice things up as she told Dinah in episode 2 that "incuriosity is the ultimate aphrodisiac" . She vents her frustration to Norma and asks for advice. The miscommunication leads her to confront Douglas with Norma.

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Douglas's defence is that he just wanted to forget it and it never came up. He claims the day they were supposed to wed was horrible, more so with Penelope shooting her father. This aligns with Penelope or Linda's card in the Rolodex that stated her secret to be attempted murder. He says that after leaving her and wanting to move on, he met Maxine. He didn't know Penelope is who she had been spending so much time with. He encourages her to believe Penelope is crazy because she knew and befriended Maxine. She leaves with Norma as Perry arrives. For more on the matter, she headed to talk to Linda but encountered Virginia. Linda burnt her card and hid in the room while Virginia helped her deal with Maxine claiming Linda was not there. Maxine was heartbroken that her newfound friend may have planned to know her without true intentions. She realizes that Virginia knew about Linda's relationship with Douglas and feels awful. Virginia suggests that Linda may have wanted to see what she was like but ended up liking her. She leaves after leaving several messages for Linda but on her way out Robert reunites with Norma who she brought along.

Similar to Raquel's assumption, Maxine alludes to their relationship being of a sexual nature and they are appalled by it. Maxine gets the opportunity to continue questioning Douglas with no success. He couldn't give a straight answer but kept blaming Penelope while complimenting Maxine. After it all, she's still curious as to why she would shoot her father but Douglas just wants her to drop everything. Later on, Robert calls her to ask about Norma and if she's received her insulin shot. He makes it a point to say that he's the only person she's rude to which she doesn't accept before cursing at him. With no one telling her anything, she heads to the Palm Beach Daily News to search through the archives for more information. She finds no new information and decides to get the gun from the safety deposit box to question the victim. On her way to speak to Eugene Rollins or Skeet, she encounters Evelyn and they discuss the situation.

Evelyn tells her that Penelope did not want her to marry her dad and her improper aim to shoot her caused Eugene's paralysis. She says that Norma noticed, filed and utilized their secrets to keep the balance in Palm Beach then they show their appreciation. When asked why Eugene didn't want to marry her at first, she admits that she was not wealthy and that's how she was able to recognize it in Maxine. The subject of the gun comes up and Evelyn tells her it's important for the gun to remain in the safety deposit box. She says it served as insurance for a lot of things getting out of balance and Maxine hurries off to return it. Linda hands the Rolodex to the sisterhood group and they wonder how to use it. They doubt the validity but Linda confirms it before they recognize it's true worth as a hub of blackmail for funding. Linda says they should run their first test case on Perry Donahue.

Virginia says she's too close to it but she says he's the scummy best man to her scummy fiancé and he's not at the very top of things anyway. They decide to start with him. Maxine talks to Dinah asking if she knew about it but she says she truly didn't. Maxine feels foolish thinking that everyone was clued into something she didn't. This ties to the episode 1 ending claim of everyone being a liar. Dinah says she's not interested in anything "Before Dinah" and she should consider it too. She encourages her to get a lover to avoid the emotional turmoil and Maxine not liking her husband right now seemingly considers it looking at Robert. Douglas and Perry talked about Perry's plan for redevelopment in West Palm Beach but their nonchalance encouraged Robert to spit in their drinks. Maxine is abandoned at the golf course and has to figure a way out. Linda confronts Douglas in the restroom. Similar to her talk with Evelyn in episode 2, she brings up the fact that they have a deal tied to the situation. She says it's fine if he stays in Palm Beach but needs clarification that the deal is still on. She also says she hopes he treats Maxine better than he did her.

Defending her plea, she says he was a perpetual liar and when he tells her this is not appropriate she says she feels the toilet is an appropriate place for a discussion about their relationship. He refers to his past self but Linda objects to that saying, "Was, are, right? Semantics.If you haven't changed." They continue arguing and he says it's hard to be a man having to uphold things. When asked what he's upheld he mentions his 20-year marriage and she goes silent. She feels regretful and says she just wanted to ensure he was not going to talk about their wedding day before Perry's interruption. He says that she's changed and she says he hasn't. We see Maxine away from the golf course. Ann tries to ask her some questions concerning her pageant accomplishments but she is too drunk to answer anything. Robert intervenes to help take her home and their appearance seems too friendly for the editor who smiles before leaving.

Maxine still has the gun in her bag and it's discovered by Robert. As they get home, she flirts with and kisses Robert. She's happy thinking they can finally acknowledge the tension between them in this way but he has no idea what she's talking about. This incident is interrupted by Mitzi who Maxine brought to take care of Norma for the day. Before Mitzi leaves, she lets her know that Perry got her a job at the club and Maxine tells her to be careful. She searches for Robert and looks longingly at how he cares for Norma. She is woken up by Linda's knocks on the door and despite her unwillingness, allows her in to hear the story about the wedding. Linda confesses that she actually wanted to shoot Douglas.

She felt he was with someone else but he kept calling her crazy until she snapped. She felt certain that he was with one of the bridesmaids and was fed up. In the flashback, we see Norma handling the situation, telling them what's going to happen. To avoid prison time, Linda is blackmailed into allowing Evelyn finally marry her father. They say it's for her own good but she doesn't feel the same way. Douglas draws their attention asking for a one-way ticket to Chattanooga and $100,000 to keep his mouth shut. They say he's asking for it to meet with the "gutter slut" and we return to Maxine realizing that she is the "gutter slut". Maxine is apologetic saying she didn't know he was with them both but Linda says it's fine because she was saved from a loveless marriage. A call from Douglas interrupts their discussion. He tells her they're about to finalize the deal and reminds her that he loves her which she says she knows. She cuts the line after seeing Linda run. Linda burns the secrets in the Rolodex which panics Norma but allows Maxine to follow her path of freedom by throwing the gun in the ocean.

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Apple TV+'s 2024 show, Palm Royale focuses on the determination for betterment through class and acknowledgement implemented in the story of Maxine Simmons. Kristen Wiig is Maxine Simmons, a woman dedicated to joining the distinguished Palm Royale club and The Shiny Sheet to improve her social standing to where she and her husband belong. Created by Abe Sylvia based on the book "Mr. & Mrs. American Pie" by Juliet McDaniel, new episodes will be released on Wednesdays to stream the 10 Apple TV+ episodes.

I wrote about the other 4 episodes in my "Palm Royale 1st 5 episodes" article.

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