'Palm Royale' Episode 6 Takeaway: Maxine Simmons' dirty trick against Palm Beach socialites brings chaos
Contains spoilers for 'Palm Royale'
PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: 'Palm Royale', streaming on Apple TV+, sees a pivotal shift for its major characters as the series hits its mid-point.
Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), smitten by the elite life, gets a big shock when she starts to discover what lies underneath the surface. However, she finds herself succumbing to the superficial lives of the elite, suppressing her moral compass, and progressing from theft to blackmail by Episode 6.
Maxine Simmons resorts to blackmail in 'Palm Royale' Episode 6
So far, Maxine has been able to afford her lavish lifestyle by stealing jewels and artifacts from Norma Dellacorte, followed by her eventual control over Norma's conservatorship.
However, her fortunes take a downturn as Douglas Dellacorte (Josh Lucas) depletes their wealth in a real estate deal. Financially broke, Maxine chooses to give up the idea of hosting Beach Ball until Robert Diaz (Ricky Martin) saves the day.
He provides her with Norma's invites to socialites that contain threats of exposing their secrets unless they contribute to Norma's trust at the event. With Norma struggling healthwise, Maxine steps in to host the Beach Ball, leveraging the invitations to secure attendees' participation and eventual financial gain.
What's next for Maxine Simmons in 'Palm Royale'?
Maxine is in dire need of money and Beach Ball seems to be her only way out, especially when Douglas' investment deal seems to be going down the drain.
The invitations sent out by her are set to create chaos in Palm Beach, bringing Maxine back to the spotlight. However, we expect that her relationship with her new best friend Linda Shaw (Laura Dern) is about to hit rock bottom.
On one hand, Linda, out of concern for the good people in her life, including Maxine, destroyed the Rolodex containing people's secrets. In contrast, Maxine chose to exploit others' secrets for personal gain, making her no different from Norma and other hypocrites in society.
Moreover, it would be interesting to see Evelyn Rollins' (Allison Janney) reaction who insulted Maxine after learning that the Rolodex is gone and so is the gun hidden in Norma's safety deposit box.
Six episodes of 'Palm Royale' are available to stream on Apple TV+.