Maxine’s (Kristen Wiig) voiceover opens Palm Royale Season 1 Episode 10, “Maxine Throws a Party,” musing over the improbability of her managing to climb to the peak of Palm Beach society as the camera pans into the Beach Ball pavilion. The Beach Ball emcee, Benny Barnhill (Wesley Mann), introduces Maxine, Evelyn (Allison Janney), and Norma (Carol Burnett) as the event’s hostesses.
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Evelyn and Maxine greet the guests as Maxine prattles on about how much they have in common. Off to the side, Norma complains to Robert (Ricky Martin) about how the 50th Anniversary Gala Beach Ball was supposed to be her night. She bemoans the loss of control of her own life.
Evelyn asks Maxine where her astronaut, Grant Herkimer (Avi Rothman), is. Maxine makes excuses for his absence, but Evelyn sends her off to find him while the guests continue to arrive.
Norma tells Robert that he’s her only true family. When he promises they have lots of fun times still ahead, she tells him her plan. They’ll go to the courthouse the next day and get married. This will give him control over the Dellacorte Estate and she’ll leave it all to him when she dies.
The Author of His Own Destruction
Douglas (Josh Lucas) comes over to talk to Evelyn who reminds him that if he’d just married Linda/Penelope (Laura Dern) he would have inherited two fortunes. Douglas assures her that he and Pinky Kimberly-Marco (Roberto Sanchez) have the future of Palm Beach in their grasp.
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Maxine looks for Grant backstage where Mitzi (Kaia Gerber) tells her he left twenty minutes ago. She lets Maxine know that she’s going to go. She’s taught a couple of the showgirls her part of the act. Maxine looks at the astronaut costume and tells Mitzi her country needs her.
Mitzi finds Robert and tells him Maxine needs his help. Over Norma’s protests, Robert leaves her with Mitzi.
A Davidsoul on the Grassy Knoll
Mary (Julia Duffy) arrives and resists letting the Secret Service agents examine her bag. They inspect it and let her proceed. Evelyn welcomes her. Mary tells her that Linda’s gone to an ashram for a year and that the other women have been arrested by the FBI. Evelyn is very interested to note that the Rollins house is empty.
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Virginia (Amber Chardae Robinson) walks into the Rollins house and finds Linda’s bag and its contents on the ground where Mary assaulted her. She hears Linda calling for help and finds her tied up in a cellar. The door slams behind her, locking them both in. Linda tells her that Mary plans to shoot the President.
At the piano, Maxine asks Robert to impersonate Grant by wearing the space suit when the President comes to meet the astronaut. She pitches it as a favor for Norma, making her the center of attention for the evening despite missing out on most of the season. He agrees to do it for both her and Norma.
Curtain Up
Eddie (Jason Canela) brings Evelyn a drink, compliments her appearance, and kisses her. Just then, Dinah (Leslie Bibb) arrives with Axel Rosenhips (Paul Sand). Spotting their kiss, Dinah is livid. Evelyn is triumphant.
Maxine takes the stage and introduces Robert as Major Grant Herkimer, explaining his closed visor as a precaution from spreading space laryngitis. One of the Secret Service agents comes up and informs her the President will arrive in 90 minutes.
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Robert poses for photos with guests, standing next to Norma. During a break, he reveals that it’s actually him. Norma warns him that he will have to choose between her and Maxine one day.
Sitting down to dinner, Evelyn and Eddie find they’re at the same table as Dinah, Axel, and Mary. It feels incredibly awkward although Evelyn arranged it in the first place.
Douglas calls Maxine over to sit with him, Pinky, and Raquel (Claudia Ferri). Raquel tells Maxine they want to announce the club that night. Maxine says it’s premature since she hasn’t signed the paperwork yet. Douglas pulls her aside, reminding her they’d discussed this. She reminds him that he can’t do anything without her say-so and she doesn’t want to give Norma’s house away.
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Suddenly, Dinah erupts at her table, calling Evelyn a backstabbing strumpet. Evelyn fires back, calling her an adulterous titmouse. Maxine rushes over and invites the women to the house to settle things.
For the US of Goddamn A
Inside the house, Dinah and Evelyn stop fighting with each other briefly to unite and blame everything on Maxine. Maxine quickly reminds them that she’s been a very good friend to both of them and would appreciate it if they could behave civilly for the arrival of the President.
Evelyn refuses and leaves. Dinah concurs and also walks away. Maxine is stunned.
Pinky approaches Douglas and asks what’s the hold up on making the announcement. Douglas tells him that Maxine’s said no. This isn’t acceptable as Pinky’s bought up all the land around the Dellacorte mansion. The deal doesn’t work without Norma’s house. Pinky says they will announce tonight or else, implying a threat to Douglas.
Carrying On
Evelyn takes to the stage and introduces The Coconuts, a musical drag act of grass-skirted lip-syncing overweight men.
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Dinah returns to the dining area and finds Perry (Jordan Bridges) at her table, talking to Axel. She’s shocked and Perry gives her a meaningful look.
Maxine tries to get Douglas to dance with her but he tells her he doesn’t feel like dancing since Pinky’s going to cut off his pinkies. He walks away and Maxine follows him into a secluded area. He tells her that he sees the club as a legacy they could leave Palm Beach. Overcome with emotion, Douglas confesses that he always felt like a failure and wanted to do something on his own. Feeling bad for him, Maxine agrees. She says they can announce after her number but she wants to tell Norma first.
Alliances Aren’t Friendships
Alone with Mitzi, Norma asks if she’s all right. After getting over the fact Norma can talk, Mitzi confides that she’s in trouble. Norma promises to keep her secret safe.
In the cellar, Virginia and Linda are still stuck. Linda’s given up on helping to save Nixon from Mary. Virginia says she can’t just let it happen. She has never felt comfortable sharing secrets with Linda. Linda asks why since they’re friends. Virginia says they’re allies, not friends.
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Linda realizes that Virginia’s free even though everyone else is still locked up and asks how that happened. Virginia replies that she has friends in high places. Linda drunkenly hypothesizes that Virginia’s actually an undercover narc, helping the government round up all the draft dodgers and dissidents. Virginia states that Linda’s drunk but never answers the allegations.
Spies in the Crowd
On the dance floor, Perry and Dinah get reacquainted. She finds out he’s wearing a wire. He pulls her away and tells her that he’s spying on Axel, a big Democratic donor, for Nixon.
Ann Holiday (Mindy Cohn) arrives at the Beach Ball. Maxine greets her excitedly. Ann has a retrospective slideshow of Norma’s life and offers to give a speech as well. She tells Maxine that her coma was caused by too much insulin after she drank Maxine’s Grasshopper cocktail. Maxine processes this information as Ann goes to give the slideshow to the stage manager.
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Evelyn dances over to Norma and gloats about Eddie and the agreement Maxine’s made to split the proceeds of the Beach Ball with her. Norma gestures to her to lean in close and tells her that she’s calling the shots and Evelyn will get Beach Ball money over Norma’s dead body.
Evelyn storms away and tells Maxine what Norma’s just revealed. Maxine adds the information that Norma’s been playing possum to what Ann told her. Evelyn shouts to Eddie that they’re leaving.
The Real Norma
Maxine wheels Norma into a secluded space and confronts her. She points out that between Ann’s exposure to insulin and her falling off the yacht, there have been a lot of accidents lately. Norma tells her she wants Maxine out of her house. Maxine explains their house is about to become a club but Norma will always have a home there. It would be a shame if she had to move back to Destiny Villas. Agent Stevens (Adam J. Harrington) sticks his head in and informs them that the President will be arriving in ten minutes.
Maxine returns to the stage and lets everyone know about the President’s imminent arrival. She introduces Ann. As Ann gives her speech about Norma, Robert sits down with Axel and asks him what happened between the two of them. Axel tells him that just after her father died, she found her diabetic boarding school roommate, Agnes, dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. When Axel tried to see her again, she cut him out of her life, acting like a completely different person.
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Robert is intrigued that Agnes was a diabetic. When Norma tries to catch his eye to get him to come to her, he pretends not to see her.
Two Things at Once
He returns to his pool house. Sanka (Rick Cosnett) follows him and discovers he isn’t Herkimer. When Robert offers him a drink, he declines, stating he’s on the job and his wife would kill him if he came home with liquor on his breath.
Robert tells Sanka that someone asked him to marry that just that night but he doesn’t want to live a lie. Sanka tells him faking being a husband isn’t all that different from being a fake astronaut. Telling him being two things at the same time is possible, he kisses Robert.
Hail to the Chief
Maxine finds Douglas, Dinah, and Perry backstage. She tells Douglas she’s spoken to Norma and everything’s a go for the Dellacorte Club.
They hear the President’s arrival music playing. Nixon (Rich Skidmore) steps into the Beach Ball pavilion as the dancers finish their number on the stage and Maxine prepares to perform.
As Nixon makes his way to the table at the front of the stage, out on the lawn, Robert gets ready for his entrance.
Over at the Rollins house, Evelyn comes down the stairs to Eddie dressed in one of her old showgirl costumes with music blaring. Down in the cellar, Linda recognizes the music as what Evelyn and Skeet (Bruce Dern) would play when they had sex.
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On the stairs, Evelyn comes clean with Eddie about her finances and living situation. He kisses her. They hear Linda screaming for help in the cellar. When they find her and Virginia, Evelyn refuses to let them out until Linda promises to give back the house and split her inheritance with her. Eddie tries to talk Evelyn out of it but she begs him to trust her. Linda finally agrees and after she pinky-swears, Evelyn lets her and Virginia out.
Mitzi’s Move
Maxine finds Mitzi and Norma waiting backstage but Robert’s nowhere to be found. At Norma’s urging, Mitzi tells Maxine that she’s pregnant. Assuming Perry’s the father, Maxine encourages Mitzi to tell the baby’s father the truth and demand he marry her. Norma agrees and tells Mitzi to go. Maxine says the same. She leaves, sniffling miserably. Maxine tells Norma she’s happy to see that they can all get along. Norma smiles knowingly and arches an eyebrow at her.
The musical number begins and Maxine makes her entrance. She welcomes her guests and thanks the President for attending. Douglas is sitting at the President’s table and Mitzi comes up and whispers in his ear. He jumps up and asks if she’s sure. Maxine sees this from her place on stage.
Maxine Opens Up
Seeing Norma’s look at her from the wings, Maxine realizes what’s happened. She carries on with her act as best she can. Making a decision, she introduces Raquel and spills the tea on the fact Pinky’s buys his wife’s jewelry from a pawn shop. She reveals to everyone Evelyn’s poverty and then shines a literal spotlight on Dinah who warned her about Palm Beach.
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She tells her story of falling in love with Douglas and believing in that love right until just now when she realized he had slept with Mitzi, her manicurist and friend, and got her pregnant. Robert’s at the back of the room and walks towards the stage.
Linda runs across lawn with Virginia chasing behind her. Evelyn and Eddie follow behind. Mary watches Maxine from the upper level of the pavilion.
Agnes
Inside, Maxine concludes her song, barely keeping her composure. Norma’s gleeful at how everything’s turned out. Robert kneels at her side, commenting he can’t believe he considered spending his life with her. He calls her, “Agnes,” which gets her attention.
Nixon tells his security detail he’s had enough and wants to leave. Maxine sees this and begs him not to go. As she runs after him and is dragged away by Robert and other agents, Mary lifts her hair weave and pulls out the gun concealed inside. Linda rushes in and pushes the gun down. Mary fires it and hits Robert who is trying to get Maxine back on stage.
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As he falls to the ground, chaos ensues. Two agents drag Maxine away from him. Everyone in the pavilion scrambles to run out. Norma stands up and walks over from the wings. Linda looks down from the balcony and screams Robert’s name.
Sanka runs onto the balcony and finds Linda on the ground with the gun next to her. Mary is nowhere in sight. Lying in the spotlight on the steps to the stage, with Maxine crying his name, Robert’s eyes slowly close.
Palm Royale streams on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
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