Admittedly, it's Full of Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the season, it's always open season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the series' earlier episodes apart. The general consensus was that a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Festive Special" (aka a holiday episode). Yet now, 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, it all clicks into place. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – offering 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 a bit of a character, but her presence is familiar and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, syllable and look will be analyzed and judged, but manages to seem unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. The reason is, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and over the top – but doesn't that represent just what Christmas is for? And the words she speaks might be ridiculous, but the example she sets appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she sets her mind to, she pulls off with flair. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she makes is gorgeous, her presents are almost too pretty to unwrap. Nothing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a meal in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, bursting with festive joy and left with a intense desire for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the level of attention she has weathered from the moment she became involved with Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her refusal to alter or even tone down her shtick, regardless of it being so constantly, widely parodied, is weirdly comforting. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will consistently know our position with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you aren't required to. The UK has abolished the draft these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are consumed by envy about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a data administrator, hardly any child fully understands the dedication and labor their mum does in December. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a candy.
