Palm Royale – Season 1 Episode 1 “Maxine Goes to Palm Beach” Recap & Review

Maxine Goes to Palm Beach

Palm Royale Episode 1 opens with Maxine, our protagonist, drowning. At this point, she brings up the idea that everyone else is a stumbling block for women who aspire to be somebody. 

Following that, we go back in time and meet the affluent ladies of Palm Beach, including Evelyn Rollins, Dinah Donahue, Mrs. Kimberly Marco, and Mary Davidsoul. We learn a bit about these women. Evelyn Rollins has held the title of Volunteer of the Year for multiple years, confidently asserting her dominance within the group. In contrast, Dinah Donahue is fiercely competing for the award this year and has a good chance of winning. We find out that Mary Davidsoul is a drunk widow and that Mrs. Kimberly Marco is a sugar heiress.

Additionally, we can see Maxine hopping the fence in Palm Royale. She is confident that she belongs there. However, there’s a catch: she can’t join Palm Royale unless another member of the group endorses her. For the first two weeks, she blends in with the Palm Royale members while hiding her identity. However, she accidentally exposes herself while speaking to Robert. 

Mrs. Kimberly Marco, Evelyn Rollins, Dinah Donahue, and Mary Davidsoul are all members of the Shiny Sheet women’s group, and Maxine is attempting to make amends for the issue by attempting to blend in with them. Regardless, they have no interest in being her friends. The ladies raise a glass in Dinah’s honor as she receives the year’s volunteer award. Not long after that, Palm Royale kicks Maxine out.

After this, Maxine pays a visit to Norma, a woman who is in a coma. She goes to her walk-in wardrobe, retrieves a fresh outfit, takes a quick glance at her jewelry, and then leaves. Maxine is about to leave when the camera pans in on Norma, who is in a coma and clearly unhappy about everything that’s happening.

After that, we follow Maxine as she walks towards a salon. A woman named Linda approaches her outside the salon and attempts to convince her to join the women’s club by explaining their feminist goal. As Maxine does not support the agenda, she tells her that women are privileged and capable. After that, she walks into the salon.

As Maxine sits in the salon, she spots Dinah and the man she’s having an affair with fighting outside. After this, she begins to sob as the man walks away. Maxine sees an opportunity and befriends Dinah to use her to get a Palm Royale membership. When Dinah feels vulnerable, she tells Maxine that she is pregnant with the man she has been having an affair with. In her conversation, she reveals her intent to get an abortion. Following that, with Linda’s and the women’s group’s help, Maxine accompanies Dinah while she has an abortion. Following this, Dinah tells Maxine that she is the closest friend she has ever had.

Additionally, we witness Maxine visiting Norma again. On this occasion, she takes more than just her clothing; she also takes her jewelry. Following this, she pawns the jewelry for a sum of twenty thousand dollars so that she can use the money to compensate Dinah after she has successfully persuaded her to endorse her at Palm Royale.

Maxine asks Dinah for a favor when she offers Dinah a drink: to help her become a member of Palm Royale. Following this, Dinah harshly refuses to help her out. Maxine then goes to Grayman’s boutique to retrieve Dinah’s outfit. In Evelyn’s presence, Maxine implies that Dinah is sick. Then, as is customary when someone is sick, Grayman and Evelyn send cupcakes to Dinah.

Following this, Dinah goes to Maxine’s motel in order to confront her over the situation. Maxine is wearing Dinah’s outfit as she opens the door. She gets even more furious at this and eventually asks her what she told Grayman and Evelyn. However, Maxine’s husband, Douglas, shows up just in time and saves the day. When he goes to freshen up, Maxine tells Dinah that she wants her to have true love just like hers. She continues by saying that she’s making a sincere effort to be her friend, but that she finds it exceedingly challenging.

Following that, we see Maxine as she joins Palm Royale with Dinah’s help. After this, Maxine pays Norma another visit and steals more jewelry and clothing from her closet.

Both Maxine and Douglas are present for the Volunteer Awards event that takes place in the final moments of the episode. When she and Douglas are dancing, Evelyn joins the couple and asks Douglas to get them drinks. After Douglas has left, Evelyn accuses Maxine of deceiving him into marrying her against Norma’s wishes. 

The Episode Review

The first episode of Palm Royale introduces us to Maxine, a woman who has a strong desire to join Palm Royale and become a member of the elite group. The key figures of the affluent society are thereafter introduced to us. In order to gain access to Palm Royale, Maxine befriends Dinah in this episode. She faces multiple challenges in this episode. Her optimism and ambition to be a part of the elite group, on the other hand, are what drive her to do what she has set out to do.

This episode appears to lack a strong plot, and the introduction of the main characters is not particularly effective. To make matters worse, the characters and their motivations seem shallow as well, so you can’t really relate to them. Even if you consider them to be the upper crust, the crème de la crème, they don’t do justice to that role either.

At this point, the motivation of the show and the direction it’s taking are quite unclear. Furthermore, there is nothing of substance here. We are hopeful that things will improve in subsequent episodes, as we are just one episode in.