Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for the Jan. 7 episode of “Palm Royal,” “Maxine Hears a Confession,” now streaming on Apple TV.
Over two seasons and 18 episodes of Palm Royale, the one lie that led to years of cheating, theft, arranged marriages, and infighting is finally exposed. Norma (Carol Burnett) isn’t really Norma. And as it turns out, she’s not that evil.
The episode begins with Lotte, played by Vicki Lawrence, taking Evelyn (Allison Janney) to a secret passageway in a Swiss hotel where she meets Norma. “Special delivery,” Lotte sings of their arrival. Evelyn is stunned to see a formally dressed Norma sitting at the end of a very long table in the dining room. “Mom, leave me alone,” Norma says. Yes, mom! Evelyn tries her best to beat her up and assures her that Maxine (Kristen Wiig) is waiting downstairs to pounce on her with a “bug net.” But the warm and charming Norma says she is confident that Evelyn will not reveal her secret and has returned to Switzerland to get her affairs in order and ask for a pardon.
Later, Norma is shocked to find Linda/Penelope (Laura Dern) at church. “I thought I lost you forever,” Norma says softly, fighting back tears. “I have been lying for a long time. Here, in this room, I am a different person for the first time and I can be myself again.” She honestly says that she is not Norma, but rather Agnea, and she is Linda’s mother. She explains that in the past, the shame of having a child out of wedlock would have destroyed everything, and even though there was another way, they couldn’t allow it. “Losing you was the greatest pain of my life,” she says sadly. And now she wants to make up for it.
Since the premiere in March 2024, Burnett’s Norma has been set up as a money- and status-hungry snob, willing to do whatever it takes to do the bidding of others and maintain a lavish lifestyle at the top of high society. The legendary Barnett, known primarily for his comedic touch, played it straight. This plot and character twist turns the harsh, joyless, and unscrupulous Norma into a wounded, repentant Agnes.
“I like the fact that she’s ultimately redeemable,” Burnett said in a joint Zoom interview with Vicki Lawrence. “I think it was because she was able to tell[Penelope]the truth. And once she felt it and[Penelope]accepted it, her whole demeanor relaxed and changed. It was fun to see that revealed. She’s not the villain that people think she is, but,” she added, “I love playing the villain. It’s so much more fun to be the villain than the good guy.”
Carol Burnett (Norma/Agnes) and Laura Dern (Linda/Penelope)
Provided by Apple TV
If you’re a fan of the classic television series “The Carol Burnett Show,” you may have noticed a little tidbit about her “Palm Royale” character. You might have thought it was an Easter egg, a reference to Nora Desmond, the famous character she played decades ago, a parody of Norma Desmond from “Sunset Boulevard.” But those homages were just a coincidence.
The name Norma was already written into the script, but the origin of the name Agnes is another story. “The funny thing is, when I took on the show[in1967]the vice president at CBS didn’t want me to do an hour-long comedy variety show. ‘This is a man’s game, it’s not for women.'” And he said, “There’s a great sitcom called ‘Here’s Agnes,’ and I’d love to have you do it.” I said, “I don’t want to be Agnes every week.” I want to do a comedy variety show. ‘ (Palm Royale author) Abe (Sylvia) remembered that. That’s why he gave her that name. ”
And did Nora Desmond’s turban become Norma/Agnes’ signature look in Palm Royale? Yes, it’s just a happy coincidence.
“The truth is, things like turbans came about by accident,” Barnett says. “There was a scene in the first season where they go back 20 years. So they have to look 20 years younger. So they’re supposed to look different than they do in modern times, so we have to make new wigs. I told the wig maker, “Don’t make me a new wig. Just put a turban on my head.” It was great because when I went in the morning it was ready and everyone else had their wigs on. ”
Vicky Lawrence guest stars as Lotte
But “Palm Royale’s” most significant nod to classic variety shows is a cameo by Burnett’s longtime co-star and friend Lawrence, who plays the eccentric Lotte.
“I knew we were going to do a season two, so I was getting ready to call Abe and say, ‘Maybe we have something for Vicki?'” Barnett recalled. “And before I did that, he called me and said, ‘You know, I’m thinking of Vicki for this role. What do you think?’ I said, ‘Oh my God, I was going to call you.’ He had the idea before I got to it. Every scene that Vicki appears in, she steals. I mean, in a great way. It’s just amazing. And the makeup they used on Vicki was hysterical. I couldn’t stop laughing when you showed up on set. ”
Lotte’s accent? Lawrence says the famous sex therapists of yore should be thanked for that. “[Abe]came to the trailer to see how my makeup was going, and I said, ‘Well, how do you see her, other than just looking older?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s kind of a fun European accent. So you know who my role models were? It was Dr. Ruth. I went on YouTube and looked up Dr. Ruth Westheimer. ”
Lawrence, who won an Emmy Award for The Carol Burnett Show in 1976, said, “I’ll tell you, I always learned from people who made it happen, and it was a good opportunity. You know what I learned from you, Carol?” she asks Burnett. “The most important thing I learned is that everything comes down from above. And you should have fun and think more deeply about how business and show business should be run. It should be a fun time.”
