Admittedly, it's Brimming with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the season, it's perpetually hunting season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the program's earlier episodes apart. The common opinion was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back once again with a "Christmas Special" (or a Christmas special). But this time, things have shifted. The standard components audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but framed of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The elements have slid together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing random tips, and supplying the occasional strange exclamation. ("I love spinach!" … "A tradition has to have a beginning." … "A tree is part of my memory and love of the holiday season.") She's quite a personality, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she looks happy enough; she's not doing the slightest hurt.
She knows her all subtle gestures, syllable and gaze will be dissected and judged, but manages to seem relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. The reason is, let's face it, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is lovely. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, foolishness and over the top – but doesn't that represent just what Christmas is all about? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the life she leads genuinely looks shop-bought.
Whatever she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she pulls off with style. Her cooking looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she creates is gorgeous, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Nothing is average or visually unappealing – including the way she secures her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a meal in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she creases wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be convinced, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but even so, after the degree of scrutiny she has weathered ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this naturally. Her decision to modify or even tone down her routine, regardless of it being so constantly, widely parodied, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a reminder that will surely come as a comfort: you aren't required to. There isn't mandatory conscription anymore, and if there were, it would be improbable to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you choose to watch and are gripped with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a duchess or a office worker, no kid fully understands the time and energy their parent expends in December. So you can find comfort by picturing Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, in place of a candy.
