Admittedly, it's Full of Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the time of year, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when eagerly tearing the series' first and second seasons apart. The general consensus seemed to be a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, it's different. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, overzealous entertaining – are still present, but set of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan has become the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing unasked-for guidance, 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 a bit of a character, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she looks content; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her every micro expression, utterance and glance will be picked apart and judged, but still appears carefree and remarkably at ease.
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. Because, you know what?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Granted, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and extravagant – but doesn't that represent just what Yuletide is all about? And the words she speaks might be absurd, but the example she sets appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she accomplishes with style. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her presents are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Not a single thing is mediocre or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be convinced, filled with holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but even so, after the intensity of scrutiny she has faced from the moment she met Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this naturally. Her unwillingness to change or even soften her shtick, even though it being so constantly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will remain herself, whatever happens. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you don't have to. There isn't mandatory conscription anymore, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are consumed by jealousy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a duchess or a everyday person, hardly any child truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mum does in December. So you can take heart by envisioning the young royals' faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a chocolate.
