Admittedly, it's Full of Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's always fair game for criticism on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the program's earlier episodes to shreds. The prevailing view seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a yuletide episode). Yet now, it's different. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – vague self-help platitudes, overzealous entertaining – persist, but set of a Christmas special, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – dispensing unasked-for guidance, and supplying 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 a bit of a character, but her presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she seems happy enough; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She knows her all subtle gestures, word and gaze will be picked apart and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. The reason is, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Admittedly, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and flamboyant – but is that not precisely what Christmas is about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the life she leads seems authentically shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with flair. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the festive decoration she crafts is breathtaking, her presents are nearly too beautiful to open. Nothing is ordinary or visually unappealing – even the way she ties her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she folds wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the degree of attention she has weathered from the moment she met Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this genuinely. Her decision to change or even tone down her persona, even though it being so persistently, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of what she's selling, a reminder that will certainly come as a relief: you don't have to. We don't have the draft anymore, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are consumed by longing about her flawless Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a duchess or a everyday person, few children truly appreciates the dedication and labor their parent does in December. So you can find comfort by picturing her children's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a candy.
