Admittedly, it's Packed with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the time of year, it's always fair game for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the program's first and second seasons to pieces. The common opinion seemed to be a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback once again with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but framed of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing random tips, and contributing 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 an interesting figure, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she looks happy enough; she's inflicting any harm.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, word and glance will be analyzed and judged, but still appears unburdened and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the only time in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – might be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Admittedly, it's all painfully excessive, foolishness and over the top – but doesn't that represent exactly what the holiday season is all about? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the example she sets seems authentically beautifully curated.
Anything she attempts, she pulls off with panache. Her cooking looks tasty, the festive decoration she crafts is breathtaking, her gifts are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Not a single thing is average or ugly – including the way she secures her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be convinced, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where greens is arranged in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the intensity of examination she has weathered from the moment she became involved with Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would struggle to act this genuinely. Her refusal to change or even soften her shtick, regardless of it being so persistently, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will consistently know our position with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her message, a reminder that will certainly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. There isn't mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you choose to watch and are gripped with jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a duchess or a data administrator, no kid completely grasps the effort and hard work their mum expends in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by imagining the young royals' faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a chocolate.
