Maxine Shouldn’t Be Norma’s Target on ‘Palm Royale’ — This Character Should

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Palm Royale.

The big picture

• In
  Palm Royale
  Norma's problems would not be solved by killing Maxine, who has entered her home and taken control of her money.
• Norma wants revenge for Maxine and Douglas coming to her house, but her hatred is focused on the wrong person.
• The person responsible for wasting her money is not Maxine, but her nephew, Douglas, who is recklessly using her money for illegal purposes.

Palm Royale tells a complex story with many mysteries yet to be revealed, but one thing is clear: Norma (Carol Burnett) is a victim. The series centers on Maxine Dellacorte-Simmons (Kristen Wiig) and her attempt to gain a place in Palm Beach High Society using her husband's last name. While exposing the many scandals of the social elite, the Apple TV+ series features many colorful characters, but Norma is one of the most important. As the undisputed queen of Palm Beach, she ruled by fear, but her embolism left a power vacuum. While Norma was incapacitated, Maxine showed up with her husband and Norma's estranged nephew Douglas (Josh Lucas). Claiming to be there to look after Norma, the couple have moved into her house and taken control of her money without her consent, blowing most of the fortune. And now that she's on the mend, Norma understandably wants revenge.

However, he has focused on the wrong person. Norma targets Maxine, but she's not the person responsible for wasting all her money, Douglas is. Douglas imprudently used Dellacorte's fortune for illegal bribes, coming dangerously close to ruining his aunt. Maxine's desperate attempt to raise her social standing requires money, but she also maintains Norma's reputation by making sure the Beach Ball happens as Norma planned, and thus brings in money. Maxine is not innocent, but she is far less of a threat to Norma than Douglas. If Norma is going to get revenge, she should focus her energy on Douglasno maxine

How does Norma plan revenge?

Although Norma is well enough to know what's going on, which Maxine and Douglas don't give her credit for, Norma isn't fully mobile yet, so her plan has to be simple. She grabbed a revolver from the crowd while she was alone and put it in her bag. Throughout episode 7, “Maxine Bags a Prince,” Norma hides the gun, waiting for her chance. While attending Skeet's (Bruce Dern) funeral, Norma springs into action, pulling Maxine away from the crowd, supposedly to take her to the bathroom. With the noise of the bagpipe that Norma expected, no one would hear the blast of the gun, and Norma's immobility would make her an unlikely suspectallowing the woman to get away with murder and free herself from Maxine.

However, when Norma gets her chance, the plan goes awry. Maxine gets lost looking for a bathroom, and instead of finding a secluded spot perfect for Norma's crime, the two women run into Robert (Ricky Martin) have sex with “the prince of Luxembourg” (Ben Palacios), shocking Norma, who was apparently unaware of Robert's sexuality. Not only does this stop Norma from killing Maxine at the funeral, but as he takes her home, Robert discovers Norma's plan, hiding the weapons in the house, so he doesn't have another chance. Robert tries to convince Norma that Maxine isn't so bad, but Norma isn't convinced. He's right though. Maxine isn't the biggest problem Norma has to face.

Douglas is the real threat to Norma

Douglas is entitled, reckless, and a far greater threat to Norma than Maxine. Maxine can be the legal janitor, though Douglas is the one who squandered most of the fortune. Become business partners with your old school friend Perry (Bridges of Jordan), Douglas used large sums of money from his aunt to grease his palms and bribe people to get his apartments off the ground. This backfires when Perry's business comes under investigation in response to Linda (Laura Dern) and his friends leaking the secrets that Norma saved. Douglas's illegal activity put the Dellacourte fortune in such a perilous situation, he managed to freeze the assets. Douglas should be the focus of Norma's wrath because he is the worst offender.

Beyond Douglas's literal crimes, if Norma is going to get out of her predicament, Douglas must be eliminated. It is Douglas who has a family connection to Norma, which gives him a better claim on the money than Maxine. Without Douglas, Maxine wouldn't be attached to Norma in the first place. Killing Maxine wouldn't solve Norma's problem because Douglas would still be there. Although she does nothing to stop him, Maxine is suspicious of Douglas's spending. Douglas expects to inherit Norma's money, so he thinks spending it is no problem. Maxine is not the root of the problem, although Evelyn (Allison Janney) revealed that Norma blames Maxine for stealing her nephew. Norma should be more concerned about Douglas and what his negligence will do to him than Maxine.

Maxine is not innocent, but she is not the biggest obstacle for Norma

Maxine has used Norma's money for herself, but she's not as bad as Douglas. Maxine has stolen, lied and stolen a good deal of Dellacorte's money in her attempt to fit in with the filthy rich. Maxine didn't meet Norma until she showed up in Palm Beach, and she pawned Norma's stuff for money to achieve her own goals, but Norma should be able to admire her work. If nothing else, Norma should recognize their similarities. Norma is not an innocent woman as she uses blackmail to maintain her place in society, just as Maxine will do anything to become a member of society. Maxine plans to continue with Norma's famous beach ball, which could turn them into allies. Norma is not able to plan the party on her own, but if it is cancelled, she will lose her crown. In addition, the Beach Ball will help replenish the Dellacourte fortune.

Maxine has her flaws, and she's taken from Norma. It is true that Maxine should be stopped, but when comparing the two, Douglas is worse. Maxine is better for the old woman than Douglas. Although Maxine is selfish, she takes care of Norma or at least makes sure someone is there to take care of her, but Doug, who has known and supposedly cared for Norma all her life, barely interacts with her. Maxine is manipulative and self-centered, but she hasn't committed the most significant crimes against Norma. Realistically, Norma will only have one chance to kill those who hurt her without raising suspicionand you must focus on your main goal.

Palm Royale now streaming on Apple TV+ in the US

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