Yes, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. But I Do Adore Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the time of year, it's constantly fair game for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the lifestyle show's earlier episodes to pieces. The prevailing view held that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a yuletide episode). But this time, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – are still present, but within the context of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan is like the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – offering unsolicited, unnecessary advice, 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 an interesting figure, but her aura is known and unexpectedly soothing. And she appears happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She understands her all subtle gestures, utterance and gaze will be picked apart and criticised, but still appears relaxed and remarkably at ease.
Perhaps this is the only time in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. Since, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not precisely what Christmas is about? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the walk she's walking seems authentically shop-bought.
Anything she attempts, she accomplishes with flair. Her cooking looks delicious, the festive decoration she crafts is stunning, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is average or ugly – even the way she ties her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't bung a dish in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. 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 intense desire for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the intensity of scrutiny she has weathered from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this naturally. Her unwillingness to change or even moderate her routine, regardless of it being so constantly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you aren't required to. There isn't mandatory conscription anymore, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are gripped with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their mum expends in December. So you can find comfort by picturing her children'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 candy.
