Admittedly, it's Packed with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the time of year, it's constantly hunting season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the series' first and second seasons to shreds. The general consensus held that a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a yuletide episode). But this time, things have shifted. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, overzealous entertaining – remain, but set of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan is like the quirky relative at most festive family gatherings – providing unasked-for guidance, 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 aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she seems content; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, utterance and look will be analyzed and criticised, but manages to seem relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. The reason is, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent precisely what Christmas is about? And the words she speaks might be absurd, but the example she sets appears to be beautifully curated.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she pulls off with flair. Her recipes looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she crafts is gorgeous, her presents are almost too pretty to unwrap. Not a single thing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't toss a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she creases wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where greens is arranged in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the intensity of attention she has faced since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her unwillingness to change or even soften her routine, despite it being so constantly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, whatever happens. We will always know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a relief: you aren't required to. The UK has abolished national service these days, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are overcome with longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a data administrator, hardly any child truly appreciates the effort and hard work their mum does in the holiday season. So you can take heart by envisioning her children's faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, in place of a sweet treat.
