Indeed, it's Full of Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the season, it's perpetually open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the series' earlier episodes to pieces. The common opinion was that a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a Christmas special). However on this occasion, it's different. The standard components viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – are still present, but set of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The puzzle has come together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan has become the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and supplying 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 aura is known and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems content; she's inflicting the slightest hurt.
She understands her every micro expression, word and look will be picked apart and criticised, but manages to seem relaxed and remarkably at ease.
It could be this is the only time in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. The reason is, in all honesty, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and over the top – but doesn't that represent exactly what the holiday season is about? And the words she speaks might be absurd, but the life she leads appears to be beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with style. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the wreath she makes is breathtaking, her presents are practically too exquisite to tear into. Nothing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she fastens her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't bung a meal in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but even so, after the level of attention she has faced ever since she met Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this authentically. Her decision to change or even soften her routine, even though it being so persistently, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a reminder that will surely come as a relief: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished the draft these days, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are gripped with envy about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a royal or a data administrator, hardly any child truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mum puts in in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by imagining her children's faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a candy.
