Yes, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the time of year, it's perpetually hunting season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the program's earlier episodes apart. The general consensus held that a more egregious regal scandal had never been witnessed than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback with a new offering with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a Christmas special). However on this occasion, things have shifted. The usual elements audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but set of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – providing unasked-for guidance, and contributing the odd random outburst. ("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 unexpectedly soothing. And she appears pleased; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, syllable and glance will be picked apart and criticised, but nonetheless looks relaxed and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – may well be true. Since, in all honesty, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and over the top – but isn't that exactly what Yuletide is about? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the life she leads seems authentically beautifully curated.
Anything she attempts, she executes with style. Her cooking looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she creates is breathtaking, her gifts are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Nothing is ordinary or ugly – even the way she ties her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't toss a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she creases wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, bursting with festive joy and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the form of a wreath?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but even so, after the intensity of examination she has faced ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her decision to change or even soften her persona, despite it being so constantly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will always know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. There isn't the draft these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you choose to watch and are consumed by longing about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a office worker, few children truly appreciates the effort and hard work their mother expends in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by picturing Archie and Lilibet's faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, rather than a candy.
