Yes, it's Full of Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the season, it's constantly fair game for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's first and second seasons to shreds. The prevailing view was that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the notorious pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she has returned with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – persist, but within the context of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan is like the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – providing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and delivering 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 a bit of a character, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she appears content; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She is aware her every micro expression, word and look will be dissected and scrutinized, but manages to seem carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe 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?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is lovely. Yes, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent precisely what the holiday season is about? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the life she leads appears to be impeccably styled.
Whatever she attempts, she accomplishes with style. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her gifts are almost too pretty to tear into. Nothing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is arranged in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but despite that, after the degree of scrutiny she has faced ever since she met Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this genuinely. Her refusal to modify or even soften her persona, despite it being so persistently, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, whatever happens. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a reminder that will surely come as a reassurance: you don't have to. We don't have the draft in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are gripped with jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a royal or a office worker, no kid truly appreciates the time and energy their parent puts in in December. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a sweet treat.
