Admittedly, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the season, it's perpetually fair game for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the program's first and second seasons to pieces. The general consensus seemed to be a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the now-infamous pretzel re-packaging incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a holiday episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – remain, but framed of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing random tips, and supplying 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 quite a personality, but her company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she looks pleased; she's causing a bit of damage.
She is aware her every micro expression, word and look will be dissected and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. Since, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and over the top – but isn't that precisely what Yuletide is all about? And the words she speaks might be absurd, but the example she sets genuinely looks shop-bought.
Anything she attempts, she accomplishes with style. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the wreath she makes is gorgeous, her gifts are practically too exquisite to tear into. Not a single thing is ordinary or ugly – even the way she secures her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't bung a dish in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, overcome by festive joy and left with a intense desire for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the intensity of scrutiny she has weathered since she met Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even tone down her shtick, despite it being so relentlessly, internationally ridiculed, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a thought that will surely come as a reassurance: you don't have to. We don't have national service anymore, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are consumed by jealousy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, hardly any child completely grasps the effort and hard work their mother expends in the holiday season. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they reveal a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a candy.
