Admittedly, it's Packed with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the time of year, it's always open season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the series' earlier episodes to shreds. The prevailing view seemed to be a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back once again with a "Christmas Special" (or a Christmas special). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – persist, but within the context of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, 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 quite a personality, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she appears pleased; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She knows her all subtle gestures, utterance and glance will be dissected and judged, but manages to seem unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. The reason is, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and over the top – but doesn't that represent precisely what the holiday season is about? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks impeccably styled.
Anything she sets her mind to, she pulls off with panache. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she creates is gorgeous, her presents are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Not a single thing is average or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a meal in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where greens is arranged in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the intensity of examination she has faced from the moment she met Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this naturally. Her unwillingness to change or even moderate her persona, despite it being so constantly, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will be like this, no matter what. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of what she's selling, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a relief: you aren't required to. The UK has abolished mandatory conscription in this country, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are overcome with jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a royal or a everyday person, few children fully understands the effort and hard work their mother expends in the holiday season. So you can take heart by picturing the young royals' faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a chocolate.
