Indeed, it's Brimming with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. But I Do Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the season, it's perpetually hunting season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the lifestyle show's initial installments apart. The common opinion held that a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the now-infamous pretzel re-packaging incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (aka a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, it's different. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but within the context of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The elements have slid into place; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan is like the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing unasked-for guidance, and supplying 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 seems content; she's causing a bit of damage.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, syllable and glance will be dissected and judged, but manages to seem carefree and remarkably at ease.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. The reason is, you know what?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Admittedly, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and over the top – but is that not exactly what Christmas is about? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the example she sets appears to be beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with panache. Her recipes looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she creates is gorgeous, her gifts are almost too pretty to open. Not a single thing is average or visually unappealing – including the way she secures her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she creases wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, bursting with holiday spirit 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, obviously, but despite that, after the intensity of examination she has weathered from the moment she met Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this naturally. Her refusal to modify or even soften her shtick, regardless of it being so persistently, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a thought that will surely come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are consumed by envy about her flawless Christmas, all is not lost either. Be you a duchess or a everyday person, no kid truly appreciates the dedication and labor their parent puts in in December. So you can take heart by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a candy.