Indeed, it's Full of Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Love Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the time of year, it's perpetually fair game for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's initial installments to shreds. The prevailing view seemed to be a more egregious regal scandal had never been witnessed than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she is back for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – persist, but within the context of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan resembles the quirky relative at the typical holiday get-together – providing unasked-for guidance, and contributing 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 presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she looks pleased; she's causing any harm.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, utterance and glance will be analyzed and judged, but nonetheless looks carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – might be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, foolishness and over the top – but isn't that precisely what Christmas is about? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the life she leads seems authentically beautifully curated.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with style. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the wreath she makes is breathtaking, her gifts are almost too pretty to unwrap. Not a single thing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a dish in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she wraps gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, overcome by holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is organized in the form of a Christmas ring?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of scrutiny she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even tone down her shtick, regardless of it being so relentlessly, internationally ridiculed, is weirdly comforting. In our uncertain world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a point that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are gripped with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a duchess or a data administrator, hardly any child fully understands the dedication and labor their mum puts in in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a chocolate.
