Admittedly, it's Packed with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the season, it's perpetually hunting season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's earlier episodes to pieces. The prevailing view was that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, like a merry renegade master, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Festive Special" (or a Christmas special). However on this occasion, things have shifted. The usual elements we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – persist, but set of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan has become the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unasked-for guidance, and contributing 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 a bit of a character, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she seems content; she's inflicting any harm.
She knows her every micro expression, word and glance will be analyzed and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. Because, let's face it, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is lovely. Yes, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and over the top – but doesn't that represent precisely what Yuletide is all about? And the words she speaks might be ridiculous, but the life she leads appears to be impeccably styled.
Whatever she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with flair. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she makes is gorgeous, her presents are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Nothing is mediocre or visually unappealing – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but even so, after the degree of examination she has weathered ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her decision to modify or even soften her routine, even though it being so persistently, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will certainly come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished national service anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are gripped with jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a office worker, few children completely grasps the effort and hard work their parent does in December. So you can find comfort by envisioning Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a chocolate.
