Admittedly, it's Full of Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the time of year, it's perpetually open season for scrutiny on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the program's initial installments apart. The prevailing view held that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she is back once again with a "Christmas Special" (aka a holiday episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, extreme hosting – remain, but within the context of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The puzzle has come into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan resembles the quirky relative at most festive family gatherings – dispensing 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 oddly reassuring. And she appears content; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She is aware her every micro expression, word and look will be picked apart and scrutinized, but still appears unburdened and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Admittedly, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not precisely what Yuletide is about? And the words she speaks might be ridiculous, but the life she leads appears to be shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she makes is breathtaking, her presents are nearly too beautiful to open. Nothing is average or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she secures her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be convinced, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where broccoli is arranged in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but even so, after the degree of scrutiny she has weathered ever since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would struggle to act this naturally. Her unwillingness to change or even soften her shtick, even though it being so persistently, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a thought that will surely come as a relief: you aren't required to. We don't have the draft anymore, and were it to return, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are overcome with jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a royal or a data administrator, hardly any child completely grasps the effort and hard work their mother expends in the holiday season. So you can take heart by envisioning the young royals' faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a sweet treat.
