Palm Royale – Season 1 Episode 8 “Maxine Saves the Whale” Recap & Review

Maxine Saves the Whale

Palm Royale Episode 8 opens with a flashback. We are transported to the year 1950 in Korea, and we get a glimpse of Robert back then. We see him in a war setting, with a man who’s most likely his partner. We see his partner go into the sea, while guns are being fired in the background.

In the present timeline, we see Maxine get distracted by Robert playing the trumpet on the beach. Following this, she goes to the beach and consoles him as he blames his past mistakes for the prince not showing up. On the other hand, Maxine is ridden with guilt, as she is the cause of Robert’s sadness.

Later that day, Robert runs into the cop who arrested him previously. The cop unknowingly mentions Maxine tipping the cops regarding the fake prince. Following this, Robert feels extremely betrayed by Maxine.

On the other hand, Maxine is seen dealing with another crisis. A whale has washed up on the shore of the beach and the beach ball is three days away. This causes a lot of stress to Maxine, who attempts to rectify the situation by asking the authorities to get rid of the whale. However, she’s told that nothing can be done about it. Following this, Maxine is seen learning about whales in order to rectify the situation. Meanwhile, Evelyn is quite enamored by the whale and she spends the episode talking to it.

At the mansion, Anne is seen looking at Norma’s things and is quite fascinated by Norma. We see Norma attempting to kill Maxine yet again by mixing something in her drink. However, when Norma is about to sip the drink, she is interrupted by Anne, who tells her about Norma’s past lover Axel. Following this, Maxine decides to play Cupid and takes Norma on Dinah’s Yacht to fix Norma and Axel. On the other hand, Anne is seen sipping on the spiked drink.

Meanwhile, we see Robert run into Mitzi. At this point, it seems as though she and Douglas had an affair. Following this, we get a glimpse of Robert and Douglas, who are having a conversation at a gay bar. Shortly after though, they get arrested after the gay bar is raided.

On the yacht, a bunch of plots unfold. To begin with, Eddie isn’t happy with Dinah attempting to woo Axel. He asks her to leave him and get together with him. At this point, it seems like he gives her an ultimatum. However, Dinah ends up choosing Axel.

Secondly, we see Maxine offer to raise a toast to Axel. However, she instead makes whale noises. On the other hand, Evelyn is deep in conversation with the whale, when it goes back into the water after listening to the noises Maxine has been making. This leaves Evelyn feeling more hurt and lonely. However, that doesn’t last for long, as she meets Eddie shortly after, who calls her “the saddest woman alive and the most beautiful”. Following this, the two of them share a kiss.

Meanwhile, on the yacht, we see Norma seize an opportunity and she pushes Maxine into the sea. During the closing moments of the episode, Maxine is seen calling for help, while the Yacht is making its way ahead. At this point, she spots the whale she helped and says “you’re welcome”.

The Episode Review

Things start to go downhill in episode eight, right before the show’s finale. A wave of guilt washes over Maxine. Meanwhile, the beach ball is three days away, and a new problem presents itself in the form of a fish, apologies, mammal. Douglas may be having an affair while Norma keeps trying to kill Maxine.

The show’s plot has grown increasingly fragmented and absurd as the episodes have progressed. The episode’s plot twists and turns don’t add up; for example, the whole Eddie and Evelyn romance is completely unexpected.

With the series finale quickly approaching, we’re crossing our fingers that things improve. Watching the show’s trajectory going forward will be intriguing, especially since the grand finale is just two episodes away.