Yes, it's Full of Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the season, it's perpetually fair game for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the series' earlier episodes to pieces. The prevailing view was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the notorious pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she has returned with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (or a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, things have shifted. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – are still present, but within the context of a Christmas special, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and supplying the periodic peculiar declaration. ("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 aura is known and unexpectedly soothing. And she appears happy enough; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, utterance and look will be picked apart and criticised, but nonetheless looks carefree and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that well-worn saying – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent just what the holiday season is for? And the advice she gives might be laughable, but the walk she's walking genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with flair. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she crafts is gorgeous, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Not a single thing is mediocre or ugly – even the way she secures her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she creases wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where greens is organized in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the degree of attention she has weathered from the moment she met Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would struggle to act this naturally. Her unwillingness to change or even moderate her persona, despite it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a reminder that will certainly come as a relief: you don't have to. The UK has abolished national service these days, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are overcome with envy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, hardly any child completely grasps the time and energy their mother puts in in December. So you can console yourself by envisioning her children's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, instead of a candy.
