Palm Royale Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Maxine Bags a Prince

Palm Royale Season 1 Episode 7, “Maxine Bags a Prince,” sees mayhem unfold at Skeet’s funeral, with standout performances from Josh Lucas, Kristen Wiig, and Allison Janney. The episode doesn’t do much to move the overall narrative forward and feels somewhat disjointed, but there’s still plenty to love about it. 

Maxine Bags a Prince 

Thankfully, this outing resolves that ridiculous “fake prince” plot. While the series boasts a larger-than-life feel, it was never too ludicrous until this particular thread. The Prince of Luxembourg and his princess being scam artists was heavily apparent from the get-go. 

Thus, the reveal with the princess doesn’t land. Instead, it fizzles out, making that scene with Stephanie and Ann feel unnecessary and ridiculous. 

That said, perhaps this lends an air of sadness to Robert’s story. His heart yearns for love. Being a gay man in the 1960s, especially residing in a predominantly conservative city, made Robert understandably keep his walls up until he fell for the prince. 

Palm Royale plays into the stereotype that queer people’s lives are steeped in trauma and pain. As mentioned above, this series teems with big, bold characters in a setting that feels not of this world. Why not let Robert find — and hold onto — love? 

At least his friendship with Maxine is flourishing. Their relationship is a fun grounding element in this series. Of course, her throwing the fake prince under the bus and withholding that info from Robert will undoubtedly return to bite her in the bum later. 

The Worm Turns

While the Beach Ball plot doesn’t get much traction, Linda and Evelyn’s entwined narrative chugs along in “Maxine Bags a Prince.” Linda inheriting Skeet’s assets and estate gives Evelyn another obstacle to bypass (along with Maxine seizing control of the Beach Ball). 

Linda is a feminist and freedom fighter, but this outing, even more than her conversation with Virginia after burning the Rolodex’s contents, reveals her glaring ignorance. Firstly, she doesn’t understand why Virginia would face repercussions for stealing from Evelyn while the rest would get off scot-free. 

Secondly, Linda seemingly doesn’t comprehend why Robert won’t share the identity of his lover. Sure, she follows this up with her desire to see him “shout it from the rooftops,” but this indicates her silver-spoon upbringing. 

Performances

On a separate note, Palm Royale continues to sideline its women of color despite the series touching on themes of racism and misogyny. Virginia and Raquel are given little to do, but perhaps we’ll see the former further shake the status quo in the last three episodes. Amber Chardae Robinson and Claudia Ferri deliver solid performances despite this. 

Julia Duffy is one of the funniest performers on the show. Mary’s recurring “Fibrosis” bit never gets old, with Duffy’s pitch-perfect comedic timing making her scenes in “Maxine Bags a Prince” all the funnier. Allison Janney never misses a beat as Evelyn, and her eulogy at Skeet’s funeral, where she not-so-subtly shades Linda, is hilarious. 

However, Josh Lucas steals the episode as the hapless Douglas. This reviewer has said this once, but it bears repeating: we need to put Lucas in more comedies. Everything from his line delivery to his physicality puts him on par with the inimitable Kristen Wiig. Although, no one can top Carol Burnett. She’s untouchable. 

“Maxine Bags a Prince” somewhat muddies the show’s overall direction. For example, we’ve only seen the titular country club twice at most. Will we ever return to it? In addition to hosting the Beach Ball, doesn’t Maxine still have ambitions of ruling the Palm Royale with a well-manicured, bejeweled fist? 

Inconsistencies in tone and narrative structure aside, we can still look forward to the top-tier performances from this delightful cast. “Maxine Bags a Prince” isn’t Palm Royale‘s best, but the dangling threads it leaves could be fun to explore in the remaining episodes. 

Stray Observations: 

• Is it me, or does the fake Prince of Luxembourg look like Gwilym Lee, aka Grigor from The Great? They could pass for brothers. 
• Take a shot every time Mary says “Fibrosis” in this show. You’ll be buzzed five minutes in. 
• I instantly started singing the Outlander theme song to myself during the bagpipes scene. I half expected Jamie and Claire to show up. 
• You have to applaud Norma’s commitment to the bit. She could easily telegraph her health improvements to the world but keeps her cards close to the vest. Respect. 
• You know you’re rich when you have an orangery in your mansion. 
• Dinah hilariously wooing a sugar daddy at the funeral is an episodic highlight. Leslie Bibb is a treasure. 

What did you think of this episode of Palm Royale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Palm Royale drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+. 

 Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!