Yes, it's Brimming with Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. But I Do Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the time of year, it's constantly hunting season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the series' earlier episodes to shreds. The general consensus held that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned with a new offering with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a yuletide episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, extreme hosting – persist, but set of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The pieces have fallen together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan has become the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she appears pleased; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, utterance and glance will be picked apart and scrutinized, but still appears unburdened and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. The reason is, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and flamboyant – but is that not exactly what Christmas is about? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the walk she's walking appears to be shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her gifts are almost too pretty to tear into. Nothing is average or visually unappealing – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she folds gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be convinced, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of examination she has weathered from the moment she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her unwillingness to alter or even tone down her shtick, even though it being so constantly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by what she's selling, a reminder that will undoubtedly come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished the draft these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are consumed by jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a royal or a everyday person, no kid truly appreciates the dedication and labor their parent expends in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by picturing the young royals' faces when they reveal a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, instead of a candy.
