Yes, it's Full of Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's constantly open season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the series' initial installments apart. The common opinion held that a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a Christmas special). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The standard components we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – remain, but within the context of a Christmas special, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan is like the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unasked-for guidance, and delivering the periodic peculiar declaration. ("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 seems happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, syllable and gaze will be dissected and criticised, but nonetheless looks carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that clichéd phrase – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. Because, you know what?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and over the top – but doesn't that represent exactly what Yuletide is for? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the example she sets appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she accomplishes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she crafts is gorgeous, her gifts are almost too pretty to tear into. Nothing is average or visually unappealing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a dish in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she wraps wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, filled with holiday spirit and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the intensity of attention she has weathered since she became involved with Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this naturally. Her unwillingness to alter or even tone down her routine, despite it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, whatever happens. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by what she's selling, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished the draft anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are consumed by envy about her flawless Christmas, all is not lost either. Be you a royal or a office worker, hardly any child fully understands the dedication and labor their parent puts in in December. So you can console yourself by picturing Archie and Lilibet'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 chocolate.
