Palm Royale – Season 1 Episode 2 “Maxine Saves a Cat” Recap & Review

Maxine Saves a Cat

Palm Royale Episode 2 opens with a glimpse into Maxine’s time competing in pageants. At this point, she goes on to explain that she has a talent for escaping.

After this, the scene shifts to Maxine shopping for gowns at Grayman’s boutique. We see her trying on outfits similar to Evelyn’s, who is also present. Following this, she has her eyes set on a blue dress. Evelyn then informs her that she had chosen the outfit for Norma, but Norma fell sick.

After that, we see Evelyn asking Maxine if Douglas is staying down the hall from Norma, which causes Maxine to grow frustrated with Evelyn. Following that, Evelyn leaves. Immediately after this, Grayman tells Maxine that she must make peace with Evelyn because she has the potential to be either her most powerful ally or her most formidable adversary.

After that, we see Robert explain to Maxine that, for her to become a member of Palm Royale, she needs to have two more sponsors. After this, we witness Maxine making an effort to fit in by presenting herself in a manner that is consistent with the fashion and jewelry trends of the moment. She accomplishes this by going to Norma’s house and repeatedly pawning her valuables until there is nothing left. 

Following that, we see Maxine making an effort to blend in with the members of Royal Palms. However, not a single one of them, including Dinah, treats her with any respect. When Maxine is sitting by the pool, Mary questions her about attending the upcoming auction. She also finds out that Mary is in need of some money in order to keep up with the donations made by the other ladies. On the condition that Mary endorses her, Maxine agrees to make a financial contribution to the auction and also offers to donate something to the sale. The two women then come to an agreement.

In this scene, we find Maxine paying Norma yet another visit. After that, she comes face-to-face with Linda, Evelyn’s stepdaughter. Following this, she and Linda get along well, and she goes with Linda to attend a feminist meeting. It becomes clear that Maxine is not on the same page as the other women while the discussion is in progress. 

Following this, we see Maxine break into Norma’s home. She then steals a cat statue from the house for the auction. However, a startled Robert, with a gun in his hand, catches her in the act. At this point, Robert and Maxine aren’t on good terms. Moreover, it appears as though he thinks even less of her after this.

As the focus shifts to the charity function, we see the wealthy women on Palm Royale bidding on several items of significant value. As a consequence of this, Maxine feels ashamed because the only thing she has to auction off is the cat statue that she took from Norma.

Ann, on the other hand, comes to her rescue and tells Maxine that she is going to attract a lot of attention. Anne then announces to the gathering that Maxine is auctioning a statue that had been an offering to the Egyptian goddess Bastet, who is considered to be the god of the sun. Only two other statues, located at the MET and the British Museum, are comparable to that one.

After this, the most powerful women place their bids on the statue. Maxine has developed a new perspective and now wishes to keep the statue for herself. Consequently, she starts placing her own offer on the statue, competing with Evelyn. After that, she purchases the statue for 75,000 dollars.

The fact that Ann has been promoted to the position of editor of the Shiny Sheet is revealed to us at this point. Maxine breaks down in front of Linda not long after that, telling her that everyone believes that she manipulated her husband into marrying her because she was pregnant at the time. In addition to this, she has lost the baby, and as a consequence, she has a feeling that her husband is trapped with her. After that, she expresses to Linda how much she longs to be a part of the Palm Royale community. We then see Linda sign her sheet as her last sponsor.

Subsequently, Robert plays a musical instrument for Norma, prompting her to awaken. In this scene, we see Maxine returning to the house in order to return the statue of the cat. However, she ends up breaking it. In addition, Robert tells Maxine that it seems like Norma is making progress in her recovery.

In the final moments of the episode, Maxine pays a visit to her motel, where she discovers that the owner has evicted her since she has not paid the rent. After that, as the episode draws to a close, we see her floating around in the pool.

The Episode Review

In the second episode, Maxine struggles to overcome yet another obstacle: to become a member of Palm Royale, she must find two more supporters. Additionally, for this to take place, Maxine will need to jump through several hoops because Linda and Evelyn are opposed to her being a part of the Palm Royale club. In addition to this, Norma begins to make progress in her recovery from the coma, and Robert has the potential to become a new enemy.

The storyline continues to be muddled, and there are a lot of issues with the pacing. The events that take place in the show appear to be quite rushed. Furthermore, the characters and their motives are quite weak. The fact that we are still unable to empathize with the protagonist or any of the other characters even though we have watched two episodes of the show is a significant indication of the quality of the show up to this point.

Having said that, the performers are doing an outstanding job in the roles that they are playing. As a matter of fact, Kristen Wiig, who plays Maxine Simmons, the main character, takes center stage in the show owing to her acting skills, and her accent is amazing. It is more likely that the poor script is to blame for the show’s overall quality.