Indeed, it's Full of Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the season, it's perpetually open season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the program's earlier episodes to shreds. The prevailing view held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a Christmas special). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The standard components viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, extreme hosting – persist, but within the context of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing 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 quite a personality, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she looks pleased; she's not doing the slightest hurt.
She knows her all subtle gestures, utterance and look will be picked apart and judged, but nonetheless looks carefree 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" – might be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and over the top – but isn't that precisely what Yuletide is for? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the example she sets appears to be beautifully curated.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she executes with panache. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the wreath she crafts is gorgeous, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is mediocre or ugly – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a meal in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she wraps wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any hate-watcher not be convinced, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a intense desire for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is organized in the form of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the level of attention she has faced ever since she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even soften her persona, regardless of it being so constantly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're not yet convinced by what she's selling, a point that will surely come as a relief: you don't have to. We don't have national service anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, no kid fully understands the effort and hard work their parent does in December. So you can find comfort by picturing her children's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, instead of a chocolate.