Apple TV+ ‘Palm Royale’ Season 2 Episode 8 Review - A Trip That Unearths More Than Snow

I watched “Maxine Hits the Slopes” with the feeling that this show is at its best when it embraces its own momentum and chaos, and this episode largely delivers on that front. From the moment the ensemble jets off to the snow-covered landscapes of Switzerland, it’s clear the writers wanted to push this season’s sprawling narrative into new terrain, literally and figuratively. We’ve spent much of this season watching Maxine and her circle navigate Palm Beach scandals, schemes, staged deaths, lost twins, and fake funerals, so relocating the action to the Alps feels like both a narrative reset and an escalation. The choice to bring all these characters out of their familiar sunny haunts plays to the series’ strengths: fish-out-of-water comedy married to soap drama intensity.

Kristen Wiig’s Maxine continues to be the central engine of the story. Here, she’s not just trying to stay ahead of threats tied to Norma and the fallout from the fake funeral gambit; she’s trying to keep the fractured group together while all of them deal with their own issues. Wiig carries this episode with committed energy—her Maxine still has that blend of ambition, vulnerability, and bewilderment that makes her compelling to watch even when she’s out of her depth. Her scenes are well-paced and grounded enough to keep the story anchored amid the many moving parts. Wiig’s work here feels like someone who understands both the dramatic stakes and the inherent quirkiness of the show’s tone, and that duality is what keeps the episode from feeling flat.

The ensemble around her adds depth and texture. Josh Lucas’s Douglas is in a difficult emotional place as he grapples with his complicated love life and loyalty to Maxine. His arc in this episode—moving from cynical to more introspective—felt honest and gave weight to what could otherwise have been a series of punchlines in a winter setting. Allison Janney’s Evelyn, too, benefits from the compressed environment; away from Palm Beach politics and society gossip, her more reflective side emerges, especially in quieter moments where she confronts what she actually wants moving forward. These character beats are subtle and well-timed, reminding you that even in a show that thrives on heightened reality, the human core is important.

One of the episode’s strongest features is its ability to build tension without making everything bleak. The looming presence of Norma in Switzerland, which motivates much of the group’s travel, gives the narrative forward motion. There’s a sense that the chase isn’t just physical but symbolic: each character has something unresolved that they’re literally chasing across borders. Director Claire Scanlon stages this pursuit with a mix of brisk pacing and thoughtful pauses that let the performances breathe, and there are moments—especially in the interstitial scenes set against Swiss backdrops—where the cinematography feels more considered than in some earlier episodes this season.

At the same time, the episode isn’t without its problems. For all the interesting character dynamics, there are stretches where the plotting feels congested. With so many overlapping agendas—Maxine’s attempt to confront Norma, Virginia’s plans to arrest her, the Fabergé egg subplot hanging over Dinah’s head, and everyone’s personal baggage—the momentum occasionally becomes muddled. There are points where the narrative seems more interested in juggling plot balls than in letting individual threads play out with clarity, and that can dilute emotional resonance. A tighter focus or trimming some of the peripheral beats might have given the central stakes more room to breathe.

Another minor critique lies in the tonal shifts. Palm Royale thrives on its blend of comedy and drama, but in this episode, the balance sometimes tilts abruptly. Scenes that aim for tension can veer so quickly into satire that the emotional beats don’t land as strongly as they should, and a few comic moments come at the expense of narrative coherence. This isn’t an unusual choice for the series, and many viewers will enjoy the ride, but as an episode trying to carry so much weight, the tonal zig-zag can feel uneven.

Despite these flaws, the episode succeeds in moving the overarching arc forward and setting up intriguing possibilities for the final stretch of the season. The stakes feel legitimately elevated as characters confront hidden truths in a setting that visually underscores isolation and reinvention. This season has done well when it leans into transformation, and placing these characters in Switzerland at this point in their journeys amplifies that theme. The conclusions of several scenes here don’t resolve so much as pivot to new questions, which is exactly what you want from penultimate-arc storytelling. The dialogue continues to be sharp and clever, even when the situations verge on ridiculous, and that blend has become something of Palm Royale’s signature.

In the end, “Maxine Hits the Slopes” is a serviceable chapter in a season that has found renewed focus compared with earlier episodes. It benefits greatly from committed performances, thoughtful staging, and a willingness to propel the story into unfamiliar territory while still respecting the emotional threads that have been woven throughout Maxine’s arc. If it occasionally feels overstuffed or tonally inconsistent, those are issues that can be cleaned up as the season heads toward its finale. Overall, this episode stands as a testament to the show’s ambition and its capacity to surprise, even if it doesn’t fully resolve the narrative knots it unravels here.

Final Score- [6/10]