Yes, it's Full of Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the time of year, it's perpetually open season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the program's earlier episodes apart. The prevailing view held that a more egregious regal scandal had hardly ever taken place than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned for another round with a "Festive Special" (or a holiday episode). But this time, things have shifted. The usual elements we've come to expect – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but set of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing unasked-for guidance, 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and strangely comforting. And she looks happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, word and glance will be dissected and criticised, but nonetheless looks unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and extravagant – but is that not exactly what Christmas is about? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Whatever she attempts, she pulls off with style. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the festive decoration she creates is breathtaking, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to open. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – even the way she fastens her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she wraps wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, bursting with festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but even so, after the intensity of attention she has weathered ever since she became involved with Prince Harry, the love child of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her unwillingness to change or even tone down her persona, despite it being so constantly, widely parodied, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a point that will undoubtedly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. We don't have the draft these days, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are overcome with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a everyday person, few children completely grasps the dedication and labor their mother puts in in December. So you can take heart by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, rather than a sweet treat.
