Well played, Palm Royale. After my nitpicking and fact-checking of the previous episode, Palm Royale Season 2 Episode 5, “Maxine is Ready to Single Mingle,” throws the factual and historical Richest Woman in America, Marjorie Merriweather Post, into the mix.
Of course, they couldn’t cast just anyone as the mistress of Mar-a-Lago. Patti LuPone, in all her glory as the four-times-divorced 80-year-old Post, couldn’t be more perfect.
Not only is Post an even more Alpha Female than Norma or Evelyn, but LuPone also shines as the star of a four-minute-long musical production number, complete with yodeling and backup dancers.
Palm Royale, “Maxine is Ready to Single Mingle”
Typically, a well-executed musical number seals the deal for me, but this is a LONG episode, and it’s crammed full of more narrative conceits than you can shake a Fabergé egg at.
While it’s nice to find out what Linda’s been up to, the radio messages Mary conveniently intercepts and delivers seem an improbable system of communication. Did Linda really believe Maxine would be listening to a short-wave radio?
I hold nothing against Linda for living her best life. But the entitlement in thinking that she could still access the Rollins fortune after escaping to Cuba is staggering. Also, the fourth-wall-breaking direct address that worked for Norma’s letter to Robert doesn’t work as well here.
There’s also the question of the logistics of receiving a wire transfer while stranded in the flooded regions of the Sierra Chicas. And how did she get in touch with Dr. Dusty to arrange courier services? So many questions.
Dusty Magic
Palm Royale is eminently female-led and driven. So, why does Maxine need a white knight lawyer-gynecologist cowboy to ride in and save her day?
Maxine deserves love and respect, and a guy who doesn’t play Brick-on-a-Dick with a cinder block. But Dr. Dusty Magic is both too conveniently placed to be genuinely serendipitous and too multi-skilled and knowledgeable to be legit.
I don’t trust the guy. He’s clearly studied Maxine. He knows she drinks grasshopper cocktails and probably profiled her as a woman who wants love with a kindred spirit. He establishes superficial commonalities and builds a false bond with her.
So what’s his endgame? Is it a seduction scam? She literally gave him her only bags of money. Is it a sexual competition? Because with Douglas’s bent bat as the opponent, that’s not much of a feat.
All roads lead to Norma, usually. Could Dr. Dusty Magic be involved, employed, or insinuated into her grand scheme?
Surprising Sweetness
The more I see of Allison Janney, the more I admire her talent and presence. As Evelyn Rollins, she’s demonstrated ruthless calculation and biting sarcasm. Here, with her hopes pinned on buying the Palm Royale and facing the possibility that the dream will crash and burn, she reveals some genuine vulnerability.
Who would’ve guessed that of all the couples swirling and twirling through the Palm Royale maze of shenanigans, Evelyn, the ex-showgirl, and Eddie, the tennis pro, who be the love match?
They’re a May-December couple with little shared life experience to connect with. Different worlds, different goals, different priorities. And yet, when Evelyn assumes he’ll walk out, he leans in.
Given the opportunity to pocket any of Marjorie Merriweather Post’s trinkets, he smuggles out the statuette he knows means the world to Evelyn. (Now, where he hid that thing on his person is a whole other conversation.)
Yes, if anyone’s getting a happy ending out of this whole sordid mess, it’s Evelyn and Eddie.
The Subtle Bits
“Maxine is Ready to Single Mingle” progresses the plot action considerably while seeding new complications.
Pinky and Raquel have a handshake deal to take over the Dellacorte mansion. Evelyn knows that Maxine helped Linda escape and cuts ties with her. Maxine knows the truth about Agnes/Norma, but can’t quite leverage that effectively.
Meanwhile, I’m intrigued to know whose letters Robert has been pouring over. With “Prince” Reginald appearing in the final scene, it could be him, but the tone of that first letter Robert read out loud in bed to Sanka seemed to be from someone of a more distant past.
Anyone have any guesses as to why Maxine wore gloves with her square dance outfit? On a show with such outstanding costuming, it’s a strange accessory choice. She wasn’t wearing them at dinner — RIP, Hildegard — and didn’t wear them to the restaurant.
I could ask why Pinky had a pig in captivity, but I can’t really be bothered. It was yet another plot device meant to distract and misdirect.
I honestly didn’t know that it was the FBI who black-bagged Douglas, but I knew it wasn’t Pinky’s men. The set-up was too contrived.
Madge Post’s reveal that Axel Rosenhips taunted her with the Fabergé egg she needs to complete her collection hints that Dinah has an ace in her pocket for future consideration.
How it will draw Post into the thick of the action is a tantalizing prospect. Personally, seeing her and Norma/Agnes go head-to-head would be a real battle of the octogenarian titans. Totally worth the ticket price.
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