Admittedly, it's Packed with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the season, it's constantly fair game for scrutiny on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the series' earlier episodes to shreds. The general consensus was that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Festive Special" (or a Christmas special). Yet now, it's different. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – persist, but set of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing random tips, 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 company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems content; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her every micro expression, utterance and gaze will be picked apart and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks carefree and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. Since, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and flamboyant – but is that not exactly what Yuletide is all about? And the talk she's talking might be absurd, but the example she sets seems authentically shop-bought.
Whatever she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she pulls off with panache. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the festive decoration she crafts is gorgeous, her gifts are practically too exquisite to open. Not a single thing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she ties her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a dish in the oven, it "has a moment", and she folds gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be convinced, overcome by holiday spirit and left with a intense desire for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the level of scrutiny she has endured from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this naturally. Her decision to alter or even moderate her routine, regardless of it being so constantly, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will always know our position with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a thought that will surely come as a reassurance: you aren't required to. We don't have the draft these days, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. Be you a duchess or a data administrator, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their parent puts in in the holiday season. 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 homemade Advent calendar, instead of a chocolate.
