Palm Royale Season 1’s ending explained - Norma's big secret

The big event of Palm Royale – the Beach Ball – was finally here and it was not the spectacle Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiigg) hoped it would be. There was a lot of heart ache in store for her as she realizes that the husband she loved with all her might had been cheating on her, while his aunt, whose fortune they were hoping to inherit had been plotting to kill her.

Who is Norma Dellocorte?

The 10-episode Apple TV show Palm Royale, was centred on Maxine Simmons, the pageant queen wife of Douglas Simmons (Josh Lucas), a pilot and potential heir to the fortunes of the Dellacorte family that is into plastics and mouthwash. When Douglas’ aunt Norma Dellacorte (Caroll Burnett) becomes comatose after an insulin shot goes wrong, Maxine brings him back to Palm Beach and sets in motion a series of events that will, hopefully, help her climb the ranks in the town’s social circle.

While Maxine takes charge of Norma’s affairs, including the responsibility of holding the annual Beach Ball, the latter keeps her recovery a secret from the former and constantly plots to get rid of her. After her attempt to spike Maxine’s drink with an overdose of insulin goes wrong, Norma manages to knock her off a yacht and into the sea. The question that arises is, ‘Why is Norma so hell bent on not having Maxine and Douglas inherit her fortune as her only living relatives?’

Palm Royale Season 1 series review: Kristen Wiig’s late burst of brilliance may not be enough to keep this ship from sinking 

Norma, who was never married, had a relationship when she was young, but called it off shortly after she lost her dad, as well as her college roommate, Agnes. Her then boyfriend, Axel Rosenhips reveals to bartender and Norma’s friend and companion Robert Diaz (Ricky Martin) that she was a different person after Agnes supposedly died following diabetes complications.

This revelation and Norma’s diabetic status has Robert making an explosive deduction. The queen bee of Palm Beach, who maintained a Rolodex full of some the sleaziest secrets of the town, had quite a secret of her own. She is Agnes and had killed the real Norma Dellacorte all those years ago. Her conniving murderous way didn’t rear its head with Maxine around.

No ashram but jail time for Linda? 

Linda Shaw (Laura Dern) may have escaped jail time by making Douglas an offer in the two-decade-old case in which she had accidentally shot her dad. But this time around, although she averted an assassination attempt on President Nixon, a shot still went off from the gun that Mary Jones Davidsoul (Julia Duffy) had smuggled into the Dellacorte mansion to kill the POTUS. Linda’s second accidental shooting hits Robert (Ricky Martin), only moments after he confronts Norma about her big secret. Whether or not he makes it and if he does survive, in what condition, will be relevant to how Season 2 plays out. As the only person who knows Norma’s secret, it suits her if he were to perish from the shooting. But if he were to hang in there, he’d be the Damocles’ sword above her. As for Linda, she may finally have to atone for her sins.