Admittedly, it's Packed with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the season, it's always hunting season for criticism 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 gleefully ripping the series' earlier episodes apart. The common opinion held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she has returned once again with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – are still present, but set of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come together; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan has become the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unasked-for guidance, and delivering 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 presence is familiar and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems content; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She understands her all subtle gestures, word and look will be analyzed and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks relaxed and remarkably at ease.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. Since, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and flamboyant – but is that not just what Yuletide is all about? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the walk she's walking seems authentically beautifully curated.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the festive decoration she creates is breathtaking, her gifts are almost too pretty to unwrap. Nothing is mediocre or visually unappealing – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is organized in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but despite that, after the level of examination she has endured from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her refusal to change or even soften her shtick, despite it being so constantly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you don't have to. The UK has abolished national service these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are gripped with longing about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, few children fully understands the effort and hard work their mother expends in the holiday season. So you can take heart by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, instead of a chocolate.
