By: Gabriela Yareliz
Palm Royale gives us interesting and known tidbits of what it was like to be a woman in the late 60s and early 70s. Nixon, feminists, old money, Vietnam and headscarves.
Season 1 ended (spoiler alert!) with Maxine finding out her husband cheated on her and is having a child with her manicurist Mitzi. Maxine finds out during the Beach Ball (while on stage), where she also finds out her husband’s (alleged) aunt has tried to kill her repeatedly.
Season 2 opens with the truth that women who had warranted nervous breakdowns or just came out of childbirth (and likely suffering from postpartum depression) were often seen as crazy. A human woman with hormones or with real emotions was seen as insane. Men would hurt these women or leave them without support, and then institutionalize them and put them in a 5150. We see Maxine held against her will and drugged because God-forbid she is angry at the man who destroyed their lives.
In addition to Dinah’s impeccable fashion in every shot (our black widow— she makes me laugh)— Maxine Drinks Martinis Now? was a powerful episode with a powerful message (yes, I am a year late to the party).
No tv episode has made me more grateful that I live in this time and not the past. While the extreme of modern feminism has wrecked us as a society, feminism itself has also given us gains in that we no longer have to wait for our husbands to check us out of an institution they places us in out of convenience. (Many husbands simply abandoned women to their fate there and moved on with their lives).
Maxine (the most iconic character of the series— truly) tries her escape many times (and does sneak out once or twice). She gets dragged back in and injected with drugs. And while her husband leaves her there to rot and starts planning his new life with the pregnant Mitzi, Maxine convinces Evelyn Rollins to come check her out of the place.
My favorite scene was when Maxine decides she will follow the inscription on the mental hospital doorway, Melior De Cinere Surgo, and she will rise from the ashes stronger than ever. I mean, lesson #1 is never give up. I know if you are reading this, you too would be hurling yourself over the hospital gates and causing distractions to get to the phone to plot your escape from a place holding you captive. (I totally would).
Lesson #2 is that you not only plot an escape, but you plot your rise. Maxine was not only after physical freedom, but she serves divorce papers on her idiot husband, Douglas. She was after true freedom. She was no longer leaving her fate in the hands of anyone else.
She tells Douglas that he is an idiot (which he is) and any power he had was because of her, which is true. Throughout the entire series, he destroys things and gets them into trouble, financial and otherwise. She always finds a way out of it. She even gets him out of prison. He repays her by leaving her institutionalized while he expects a child with another. Maxine comes into her power, which was there all along. She finally sees it.
Lesson #3 is agency. I love that Maxine calls Evelyn to pick her up and check her out. She calls the other strong woman on the show, even though they are far from being friends. Strength recognizes strength. I love when Maxine tells Evelyn in the car as they leave the hospital that she will never feel like she did inside of that place again. Evelyn asks her what she felt. Maxine responds with “powerless.”
Maxine understands the game. Her advantages and disadvantages. She knows who is out to literally destroy her, and she also knows who she can count on and who is a friend (see episode 2 which revolves around helping Linda).
Our imperfect but plucky heroine is onto something. I have no doubt Maxine will rise. I am sure she will land herself in some predicaments but also, work her way out of them. Palm Royale shows us the struggle for money, position and power. Lies, secrets, and horrific marriages. We see how the women maneuvered their toxic situations in toxic ways.
But more importantly, it showcases friendship (I do think Linda and Dinah are true friends to Maxine). I feel like Linda empowers Maxine; Maxine never stops helping Linda where she can; Maxine empowers Dinah; and Dinah helps Maxine where she can.
Finally, Palm Royale showcases the fact that nothing— and I mean nothing— can keep a determined woman down. It’s about the maturing and leaving behind of the stories we tell ourselves to survive. About gaining agency, and stumbling into truth.
Once a woman recognizes her power, there is no stopping her.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 