'Palm Royale' Episode 5 Takeaway: With Douglas Dellacorte's secrets exposed, Maxine Simmons has to make a choice
Contains spoilers for 'Palm Royale'
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: 'Palm Royale', streaming on Apple TV+, has ramped up its intrigue to keep fans hooked to the world of Palm Beach high society.
In 'Palm Royale' Episode 5, the narrative shifts from Maxine Simmons' (Kristen Wiig) struggles in elite circles and her controversial decisions to a deeper exploration of each character.
'Palm Royale' Episode 4 left audiences on edge with Maxine's discovery of a gun and wedding card in Norma's safety deposit box.
Episode 5, released on Wednesday, April 3, further explores this revelation as Maxine confronts Douglas Dellacorte (Josh Lucas) about his secrets.
What was Douglas Dellacorte hiding in 'Palm Royale'?
In 'Palm Royale' Episode 5, it is found out that Douglas Dellacorte was engaged to Penelope Rollins, now known as Linda Shaw (Laura Dern), about 20 years ago.
However, on the wedding day, Douglas ditches Penelope after she shoots her own father, Skeet Rollins (Bruce Dern).
Penelope is suspicious of Douglas having an affair and even confronts him about the same before the wedding. However, he keeps denying it and calls Penelope "crazy".
On their wedding day, Linda hears the sounds of a man moaning behind a closed door. In a moment of rage, she fires a bullet, assuming Douglas is getting involved with one of her bridesmaids.
In a twist of events, it is found out that she accidentally shot her own father who was getting a massage from his then-lover and now-wife, Evelyn Rollins (Allison Janney). The gunshot paralyzes her father.
Norma Dellacorte (Carol Burnett) takes over the situation and covers Penelope's crime while Douglas sees this as an opportunity to escape the arranged marriage and finally reunite with his lover, Maxine Simmons.
What's the future of Maxine Simmons and Douglas Dellacorte's marriage in 'Palm Royale'?
Throughout the episode, we see Maxine being furious and hurt by the revelation. She maintains distance from Douglas even though he tries to reason with her and win her over again.
With conflicting emotions, she even has a moment of distraction when she flirts and throws herself at Robert Diaz (Ricky Martin).
Among all the things going haywire in her life, one thing Maxine has always been confident of is her marriage with Douglas. Now when she discovers that Douglas kept a big secret from her, she begins to question everything about their relationship.
However, when Linda comes clean and narrates the events of the day of the wedding, Maxine comes to understand that Douglas' love has always been solely for her, and no one else. Even after 20 years of marriage, Douglas' affection for her hasn't faded away.
During her phone call with Douglas near the episode's conclusion, Maxine appears noticeably composed, indicating that she may have forgiven him. It appears she is prepared to let go of the past and concentrate on the present.
Meanwhile, it would be interesting to see how she navigates her marriage from here on, especially after she flirted with Robert.
Five episodes of 'Palm Royale' are available to stream on Apple TV+.
