Indeed, it's Brimming with Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the time of year, it's perpetually fair game for criticism on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the series' first and second seasons apart. The common opinion was that a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned once again with a "Christmas Special" (aka a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The standard components audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – are still present, but within the context of a holiday show, suddenly it all makes sense. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan has become the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing random tips, 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 a bit of a character, but her aura is known and strangely comforting. And she looks pleased; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, utterance and glance will be dissected and judged, but manages to seem relaxed and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. Since, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and flamboyant – but is that not exactly what Yuletide is about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the walk she's walking genuinely looks shop-bought.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with style. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the wreath she creates is stunning, her gifts are practically too exquisite to open. Not a single thing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, obviously, but even so, after the intensity of attention she has weathered from the moment she became involved with Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even tone down her shtick, even though it being so persistently, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a point that will certainly come as a relief: you are not obligated to. There isn't mandatory conscription anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you choose to watch and are gripped with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a royal or a everyday person, few children fully understands the effort and hard work their parent does in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by picturing her children's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a chocolate.
