Admittedly, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No matter the season, it's perpetually fair game for scrutiny on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the series' earlier episodes apart. The general consensus seemed to be a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the notorious pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Festive Special" (also known as a holiday episode). But this time, things have shifted. The standard components audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but within the context of a holiday show, the purpose becomes clear. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
Now, Meghan has become the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and delivering 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 aura is known and strangely comforting. And she seems content; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her every micro expression, syllable and gaze will be picked apart and judged, but nonetheless looks relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. Because, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and over the top – but isn't that exactly what the holiday season is for? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the life she leads seems authentically beautifully curated.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the wreath she crafts is breathtaking, her gifts are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Nothing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the intensity of attention she has weathered ever since she started dating Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her unwillingness to modify or even soften her shtick, despite it being so persistently, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of what she's selling, a point that will certainly come as a relief: you are not obligated to. There isn't mandatory conscription in this country, and if there were, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you choose to watch and are overcome with longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a duchess or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the time and energy their mum does in the holiday season. So you can take heart by imagining the young royals' faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a candy.
