As Palm Royale antics spiral deeper and deeper into an unrecognizable chasm of chaos with Season 2 Episode 8, “Maxine Hits the Slopes,” there’s a little voice in my head that wonders if we’re being punked.
Maybe it’s a Palm Beach Inception moment where Maxine never left Sunny Tides? She’s still strapped into a straitjacket, being jabbed with needles full of martinis and the denizens of Palm Beach are still reeling in the aftermath of the Beach Ball.
Mary’s still in the bootlegger tunnels, and Linda’s in a federal prison. In this alternate reality, Robert probably died of the gunshot wound, and Norma might’ve died of grief. Maybe. Unlikely. But that all seems about as likely as what we just watched.
Palm Royale, “Maxine Hits the Slopes”
For the sake of discussion, let’s assume that everything that happens on “Maxine Hits the Slopes” is reality.
To recap, the convent/boarding school where Agnes killed Norma and stole her identity later became a birthing center for rich socialite mothers, where Penelope Rollins was born, and is now, improbably, a ski resort.
Additionally, Sister Lotte who allegedly came up with the plan for Agnes to impersonate Norma is also Mother Charlotte, Agnes’s unwed mum, who, as a nun/nurse took care of the newborn Penelope and now works as the bell-woman at the resort.
Based on Agnes’s (Norma’s) gravestone, conveniently engraved with Agnes’s nearest relation’s details, Lotte is at least 105 years old by the time Maxine and her entourage check in. They grow them mighty spry in the Alps.
Mommy Issues
Talk about whacking us over the head with a running theme. See if I’ve missed anything in this summary:
Lotte is Agnes’s mother. Agnes assumed the identity of Norma Dellacorte. Norma/Agnes adopted Robert, so now he’s a Dellacorte.
Mitzi’s about to become a mother, and Douglas Dellacorte-Sims accepted that he’s the father, although Evelyn’s figured out that it’s actually Jed. But that won’t matter since Norma’s had Douglas’s marriage to Mitzi annulled so she can marry Robert.
Presumably, this is all so the baby will be born a Dellacorte through Robert’s adopted legitimacy and activate the generation-skipping trust, all of which Norma will control as the matriarch of this branch of the family. By cutting Douglas out — doubly since Lotte also killed him — Maxine loses her split of the trust.
As a jaw-dropping also-ran bit of news, Dinah has FOUR kids at a Swiss boarding school? Going back to her overshare about her first marriage to Maxine in the Palm Royale series premiere, she only mentions his trust fund and her Park Avenue floor-through and divorce settlement. Funny how the FOUR kids slipped her mind.
Frampus Frolicking
There’s a non-zero chance they came up with the Frampus mythology just so they could throw the word “whore” around as much as possible. If Palm Royale ever flirted with subtle social commentary, they’ve clearly given up on that aspiration.
The implication is that Lotte ended up at the convent because she’d gotten pregnant with Agnes. Evelyn was a showgirl second wife who married the hot tennis instructor. Dinah’s on the verge of being publicly (albeit falsely) shamed as Nixon’s bit on the side. Over an egg. Maybe the subtlety is still in play, after all.
It’s interesting to note that while the locals – led by Borg Barnhill, Benny’s estranged twin — celebrate the “whore broom” burning as a way to commemorate Frampus’s shame, Lotte reveres the scullery maid as a martyr, cautioning her listeners to beware the curse of the wronged.
Is Frampus’s story actually Lotte’s story? Could Lotte have fallen in love and in bed with a rich married man? Perhaps a Dellacorte? Does Norma have a legitimately illegitimate claim to the Dellacorte fortune?
It all feels curiouser and curiouser the farther down this wonderland rabbit hole we go.
Fatherhood’s No Picnic Either
Can we all agree that Douglas would’ve been a disaster as a father? Totally, absolutely, and without a doubt. So, dying by poison before Maxine can forgive him, Mitzi gives birth, or he can take part in another Stag Brother activity was probably the best conclusion the show could’ve given him.
Meanwhile, learning that Robert’s anxiety-triggering letters were written by his child is just bewildering. He doesn’t seem like the guy who would run out on his kid. Maybe the mother insisted he leave? Did Norma know? Does this mean there’s another Dellacorte in the picture now?
More importantly, does Robert’s biological offspring have the ability to trigger the generation-skipping trust?
The End Is Nigh
As Palm Royale Season 2 nears its finale, it’s anyone’s guess who will be left standing at the end of this off-season. My money’s on Mary shooting Jed before Mitzi gets back to Florida and possibly taking the throne with the help of Axel via the Ouija board. What? It could happen.
We know that Linda’s on her way from Poland. Although with Douglas dead and Mitzi marrying Robert, her signature is not nearly as important anymore. But Evelyn’s close examination of Lotte’s photographs might unveil yet another layer in her and Agnes’s schemes.
Questions That Need Answering
- Why did Douglas’s mother stay in the disgraced socialite’s suite?
- Who is the Russian mole in Palm Beach?
- How long were Mitzi and Jed plotting to entrap Douglas? Was he always their target? Did Mitzi deceive Maxine from the beginning?
- Where’s Axel’s damned egg?
Finally, is it really Palm Royale if all the players are in Switzerland and the club’s locked down by the IRS? I love that Ann and Virginia are still partnering up. I’d totally sign onto a Shiny Sheet-FBI buddy crime procedural series. Anything for more Mindy Cohn.
One thing is clear: we should strap in for a wild ride as Maxine deals with Douglas’s death, Norma and Lotte make their final play, and Dinah reaches peak panic.
As Palm Royale careens into unknown territory, all we can do is trust — Maxine-like — that things will turn out for the best. Murder, poison, and whores, be damned.
Agree? Disagree? Have a theory?
Let us know in the comments, or share this article with someone who will want to argue about it with you. That’s what makes it fun.
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