Indeed, it's Packed with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. But I Do Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the season, it's always open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the series' earlier episodes apart. The common opinion seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (or a holiday episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – remain, but framed of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, 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 company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she appears happy enough; she's inflicting the slightest hurt.
She is aware her every micro expression, utterance and look will be picked apart and judged, but still appears unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. The reason is, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Yes, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and extravagant – but is that not exactly what Yuletide is about? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the example she sets seems authentically shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with style. Her cooking looks delicious, the wreath she makes is breathtaking, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Not a single thing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, filled with festive joy and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of examination she has endured since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her decision to change or even tone down her shtick, despite it being so relentlessly, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain 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 remaining skeptical of her brand, a reminder that will certainly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. There isn't national service in this country, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are gripped with longing about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, hardly any child fully understands the effort and hard work their parent does in December. So you can console yourself by picturing Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a sweet treat.
