Admittedly, it's Brimming with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the time of year, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the program's initial installments apart. The general consensus held that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback once again with a "Christmas Special" (aka a yuletide episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – remain, but within the context of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
Now, Meghan is like the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and delivering 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 strangely comforting. And she appears happy enough; she's not doing the slightest hurt.
She is aware her every micro expression, syllable and gaze will be analyzed and scrutinized, but still appears carefree and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. The reason is, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not precisely what the holiday season is about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the life she leads genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Whatever she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with flair. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she crafts is breathtaking, her presents are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Not a single thing is mediocre or ugly – including the way she ties her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she creases wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself from start to finish. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is organized in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the intensity of examination she has faced ever since she became involved with Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this authentically. Her unwillingness to change or even soften her routine, even though it being so persistently, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a reminder that will undoubtedly come as a comfort: you aren't required to. The UK has abolished mandatory conscription these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you choose to watch and are overcome with longing about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a duchess or a data administrator, hardly any child truly appreciates the dedication and labor their parent expends in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by picturing Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a chocolate.
