Yes, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Adore Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's perpetually open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the series' initial installments to pieces. The prevailing view was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a yuletide episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The standard components audiences anticipate – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but set of a holiday show, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan is like the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – providing 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she looks pleased; she's causing a bit of damage.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, utterance and gaze will be analyzed and judged, but manages to seem carefree and remarkably at ease.
It could be this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. Because, you know what?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is delightful. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and extravagant – but isn't that exactly what Yuletide is for? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the example she sets appears to be shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she pulls off with flair. Her cooking looks delicious, the wreath she creates is gorgeous, her gifts are almost too pretty to unwrap. Nothing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she folds wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a deep longing for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of examination she has faced since she started dating Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this authentically. Her unwillingness to alter or even tone down her persona, regardless of it being so persistently, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a reminder that will undoubtedly come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. There isn't mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are gripped with envy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a royal or a everyday person, hardly any child fully understands the time and energy their mother does in the holiday season. So you can take heart by envisioning her children's faces when they unfold a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a sweet treat.
