Admittedly, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the season, it's always open season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Critics, both professional and armchair, have seldom found such common ground as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's first and second seasons to shreds. The prevailing view seemed to be a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (or a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, overzealous entertaining – remain, but set of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan is like the quirky relative at the typical holiday get-together – offering 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 presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she looks content; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, utterance and look will be analyzed and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that well-worn saying – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, foolishness and over the top – but doesn't that represent just what the holiday season is about? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the walk she's walking appears to be shop-bought.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with style. Her recipes looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her presents are almost too pretty to open. Not a single thing is average or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she ties her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she creases gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be won over, overcome by holiday spirit and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, obviously, but even so, after the intensity of scrutiny she has endured ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this genuinely. Her unwillingness to change or even moderate her persona, despite it being so constantly, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a point that will certainly come as a comfort: you aren't required to. There isn't national service anymore, and if there were, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are overcome with envy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, hardly any child completely grasps the dedication and labor their parent does in December. So you can take heart by envisioning Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a candy.
