Admittedly, it's Brimming with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Love Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the time of year, it's constantly hunting season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the program's first and second seasons apart. The common opinion seemed to be a more egregious regal scandal had never been witnessed than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – persist, but framed of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan is like the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing random tips, 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she appears content; she's not doing any harm.
She knows her every micro expression, word and look 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 – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. Since, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Yes, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and flamboyant – but isn't that precisely what the holiday season is about? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the walk she's walking appears to be shop-bought.
Anything she attempts, she executes with style. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she makes is gorgeous, her presents are almost too pretty to unwrap. Nothing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she secures her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself from start to finish. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the intensity of scrutiny she has faced ever since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her refusal to alter or even moderate her persona, despite it being so relentlessly, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our volatile world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will always know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by what she's selling, a reminder that will certainly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. There isn't mandatory conscription anymore, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are consumed by longing about her flawless Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a royal or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mum does in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by imagining the young royals' faces when they unfold a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a candy.
