Indeed, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's constantly hunting season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the series' first and second seasons to shreds. The general consensus was that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she is back for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a yuletide episode). Yet now, it's different. The standard components audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, extreme hosting – persist, but within the context of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a perfect snow storm.
Now, Meghan resembles the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – dispensing random tips, and supplying the periodic peculiar declaration. ("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 company is customary and strangely comforting. And she appears pleased; she's inflicting the slightest hurt.
She is aware her every micro expression, syllable and glance will be dissected and criticised, but manages to seem carefree and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – might be true. Since, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, foolishness and extravagant – but is that not precisely what Yuletide is for? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks impeccably styled.
Anything she attempts, she accomplishes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she creates is breathtaking, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Nothing is average or ugly – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself from start to finish. How could any cynical observer not be won over, bursting with festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is arranged in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the level of examination she has endured ever since she became involved with Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her refusal to change or even moderate her routine, regardless of it being so persistently, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of what she's selling, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you don't have to. The UK has abolished mandatory conscription in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, hardly any child truly appreciates the time and energy their parent puts in in December. So you can find comfort by imagining the young royals' faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a sweet treat.
