Yes, it's Packed with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the season, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the lifestyle show's earlier episodes to pieces. The prevailing view seemed to be a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she is back for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a holiday episode). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, overzealous entertaining – remain, but set of a holiday show, the purpose becomes clear. The puzzle has come into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – offering unsolicited, unnecessary advice, 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 a bit of a character, but her presence is familiar and unexpectedly soothing. And she appears content; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, word and glance will be picked apart and criticised, but manages to seem relaxed and remarkably at ease.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – may well be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and over the top – but isn't that precisely what Yuletide is for? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the walk she's walking seems authentically impeccably styled.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with panache. Her recipes looks tasty, the wreath she makes is stunning, her presents are practically too exquisite to tear into. Not a single thing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, overcome by festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but despite that, after the level of examination she has faced ever since she became involved with Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would struggle to act this naturally. Her decision to change or even tone down her shtick, despite it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will surely come as a comfort: you don't have to. We don't have mandatory conscription anymore, and if there were, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are gripped with longing about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a duchess or a everyday person, no kid fully understands the dedication and labor their parent puts in in December. So you can find comfort by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, instead of a candy.
