Admittedly, it's Packed with Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the season, it's always open season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the program's earlier episodes apart. The common opinion seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the now-infamous pretzel re-packaging incident.
Now, like a merry renegade master, she has returned with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (also known as a Christmas special). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – persist, but set of a Christmas special, suddenly it all makes sense. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a perfect snow storm.
Now, Meghan is like the oddball family member at most festive family gatherings – providing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and supplying 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and strangely comforting. And she appears content; she's causing a bit of damage.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, word and gaze will be analyzed and criticised, but nonetheless looks relaxed and remarkably at ease.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not just what the holiday season is about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the example she sets seems authentically shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with flair. Her cooking looks delicious, the wreath she crafts is stunning, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to open. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she secures her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a meal in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she wraps wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any skeptical viewer not be convinced, bursting with festive joy and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the shape of a Christmas ring?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the intensity of attention she has weathered since she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this naturally. Her unwillingness to alter or even moderate her shtick, even though it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are overcome with envy about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a royal or a everyday person, no kid fully understands the effort and hard work their mum expends in December. So you can find comfort by envisioning the young royals' faces when they reveal a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a candy.
