Indeed, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the season, it's perpetually hunting season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the series' earlier episodes apart. The common opinion seemed to be a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a holiday episode). However on this occasion, it's different. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but set of a holiday show, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – providing 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she looks content; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her every micro expression, utterance and look will be dissected and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks carefree and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. Because, let's face it, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and over the top – but is that not precisely what Christmas is for? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the life she leads appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she pulls off with style. Her recipes looks delicious, the festive decoration she crafts is stunning, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she secures her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but even so, after the level of scrutiny she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this naturally. Her decision to modify or even soften her persona, even though it being so relentlessly, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her message, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are gripped with envy about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. Be you a duchess or a everyday person, hardly any child fully understands the time and energy their mum puts in in December. So you can find comfort by imagining her children's faces when they reveal a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a candy.
