You know an episode of Palm Royale is especially kooky when a crocodile makes a special appearance. Palm Royale is one of those easy, breezy shows, though riddled with mysteries. Kristen Wiig truly is a powerhouse of comedy, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else in this role. Also, I can’t stop saying “Chattanooga.” Palm Royale Episode 5 reveals a lot of clandestine events in Palm Beach to Maxine and us. In episode 4, we learned that Douglas was the person who left Linda at the altar on her wedding night, and Maxine rushed home screaming for her husband. They had been married for 20 whole years, and she had no idea that he was almost married to someone else. On the other hand, Linda has the Rolodex and has her own secret to hide. Plus, there’s a gun in this chaotic mix, so let’s quickly find out what happens in Palm Royale episode 5.
Spoiler Alert
What’s Linda’s secret?
In 1947, Douglas took Maxine out on a plane ride, where he proclaimed his love for her. Apparently, he loved her so much that he’d quit his passenger plane pilot role and proclaim to the whole world that he loved Maxine by writing it in the sky on one of those small flights. Maxine is overjoyed to hear this, but when Douglas flips the flight, she says she’s a little bit scared because she’s pregnant. Unlike her imagined scenario, Douglas is overjoyed by the news. I suppose this is how Maxine “trapped” Douglas all those years ago. In the present day Maxine is fuming after seeing the invitation card to Douglas and Linda’s wedding. She doesn’t put two and two together and believes they were actually married for a bit. However, when she confronts him about it in the middle of golfing (in their little pastel outfits, might I add), Douglas tells her that Penelope tried to kill her father on their wedding day, and so he decided to essentially run away. At the same time, Norma is now well enough to be taken around by Maxine to golf courses, it seems, because she sits by her in the buggy and also occasionally makes sounds that are somewhat understandable to everybody except Maxine.
In the meantime, in her bookstore, Linda burns up her secret from the Rolodex. When Maxine visits, Virginia stops her from meeting Linda. Maxine tells Virginia that she knows about Linda and Douglas, and then screams at the top of her lungs that she also knows about Linda trying to kill her father. Virginia simply sends her away, so there’s no more yelling at the store. When she’s leaving the shop with Norma in a wheelchair, they bump into Robert, who is thrilled to see Norma well again. Hilariously, Maxine thinks that Norma and Robert are lovebirds (not going to lie, Ricky Martin is hilarious here). Back home, Douglas tries to make Maxine feel better by giving her a plate of peas and sausages (ugh). He explains to her that he loves her, and the best thing he did back then was escape that wedding because it brought him to Maxine.
Maxine asks Ann for a favor to try and find a scoop about the wedding night in the newspaper. She learns that no one was charged for the gunshot, though Skeet (Linda’s father) was injured and possibly paralyzed from the wound in his lower back. However, most importantly, the gun was never found; only Maxine knows exactly where it is. She immediately rushes to the safe and takes out the gun to keep with herself (not sure why).
What does Evelyn tell Maxine?
While heading out, Maxine meets Evelyn and tells her that she’s disappointed that nobody told her about her husband and Linda. Not even Evelyn, who would’ve become his mother-in-law. Maxine then tells Evelyn about the gun in the safe, and this seems to make Evelyn shed her layers and open up to Maxine. They sit down for some coffee, and Evelyn tells Maxine the whole story of the fateful day. Picture the scene: it’s a wedding in 1947, and a sore Skeet is getting massaged by his mistress Evelyn. Penelope Rollins has been very close to her father, Skeet, ever since her mother died back in the day. So, anyone who may want to come in the way of their closeness was a target for her. So, when the bullet came through the door of their room and went right into Skeet’s lower back, Evelyn’s only conclusion was that Penelope was trying to kill her!
In the meantime, Virginia has taken the Rolodex from Linda and wants to use it against someone rich and powerful. Linda tells her that Douglas’ best man and best friend, Perry Donahue, is the perfect scapegoat because he’s a mini-celebrity in the area because he’s the ambassador to Luxembourg. Apparently, Perry previously paid off inspectors for a building that collapsed. At the same time, Douglas and Perry are spending the day golfing with their wives, gossiping on the side. Perry and Douglas are coming up with business strategies while Robert spits in their drinks, and Dinah tells Maxine that she should get a lover on the side too (very fun). Somehow, this makes Maxine believe Robert is the perfect target. Somehow, Maxine gets left behind on the course alone. She sees a crocodile on her way out and panics. When she gets to the outside, she meets Ann, who is keen on throwing her under the bus because Maxine’s always lying about things. However, Robert saves her from Ann’s hawk eyes and drives her back home because she’s drunk and delirious.
Who was Linda actually trying to kill?
I’m not sure if Linda’s actually a good friend or if she simply needed closure, but she jumpscares Douglas in the restroom. They have a conversation about the past, and she reminds him that he’s meant to be keeping things hush-hush about that day. However, I think what she’s trying to do is gauge if he actually loves Maxine, because she’s sort of fond of her. In the meantime, Maxine thinks this is the perfect opportunity to sleep with Robert and hilariously tries to seduce the poor gay man. On the other hand, Mitzy has been in the house all day looking after Norma because Maxine got lost on the golf course. She tells Maxine that she’s going to have to quit because Perry got her a job at the club, which pays better. Maxine tells Mitzy that Perry isn’t a good person, and she should be careful. On the other hand, Maxine sees Robert look after Norma in the most loving manner, and she thinks about true love (oof this woman).
In the middle of the night, Maxine hears a loud banging, and to her surprise, it’s Linda at her door. She tries to send her away, but Linda tells her that she wants to tell her the truth. Now, we finally learn that it was Douglas that Linda was really trying to shoot. It seems Douglas was constantly lying to Linda back when they were engaged. Then she learned that he was cheating on her, and so, in a daze, she couldn’t recognize her own father’s voice and ended up shooting him, thinking it was Douglas and another woman (Scandy). Ultimately, Norma swooped in and saved the day, as she seems to have done numerous times. Douglas asked for 100,000 dollars to keep his mouth shut and left to marry Maxine (so much for being a feminist, Linda, and calling her dirty names). Maxine gets a call from Douglas then, and she tells him she’s proud of whatever he’s doing.
At the end of Palm Royale episode 5, Linda throws all of the secrets from the Rolodex into the fireplace in front of Norma, who is clearly very upset. Maxine is shocked to see that Linda had it this whole time, but it’s a shame she doesn’t get to see all the secrets Norma was keeping. According to Evelyn, Norma always kept Palm Beach balanced because of her little blackmail box. She tells Maxine that the gun is also needed to keep the place in check; however, all Maxine wants now is peace and for the pain to stop, so she throws the gun into the ocean. I don’t think that’ll do the trick, little Maxie.
