Indeed, it's Full of Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the season, it's constantly open season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have seldom found such common ground as when enthusiastically shredding the series' earlier episodes apart. The general consensus seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the notorious pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Festive Special" (aka a holiday episode). But this time, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, overzealous entertaining – persist, but within the context of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a perfect snow storm.
Now, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing unasked-for guidance, and delivering 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 unexpectedly soothing. And she seems content; she's not doing the slightest hurt.
She knows her all subtle gestures, word and gaze will be picked apart and judged, but manages to seem relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. The reason is, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is lovely. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and flamboyant – but isn't that precisely what Yuletide is for? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the example she sets seems authentically beautifully curated.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with style. Her recipes looks tasty, the wreath she makes is breathtaking, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she secures her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she wraps wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, bursting with festive joy and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but even so, after the degree of scrutiny she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would struggle to act this genuinely. Her unwillingness to change or even moderate her persona, despite it being so persistently, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will always know where we are 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. We don't have mandatory conscription anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a duchess or a office worker, few children completely grasps the dedication and labor their parent puts in in the holiday season. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, rather than a sweet treat.
