Yes, it's Packed with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the season, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the series' initial installments to shreds. The prevailing view held that a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she has returned with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – remain, but within the context of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the quirky relative at most festive family gatherings – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and contributing 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 aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she appears pleased; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She is aware her every micro expression, syllable and gaze will be analyzed and criticised, but still appears carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. Because, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is delightful. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and over the top – but doesn't that represent precisely what Yuletide is all about? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the walk she's walking genuinely looks impeccably styled.
Whatever she attempts, she accomplishes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the festive decoration she makes is breathtaking, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is mediocre or ugly – even the way she fastens her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't toss a meal in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the level of attention she has faced since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her decision to change or even moderate her routine, regardless of it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, whatever happens. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by what she's selling, a reminder that will surely come as a relief: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, few children truly appreciates the time and energy their parent puts in in December. So you can find comfort by imagining her children's faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a candy.
