Indeed, it's Packed with Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the season, it's constantly hunting season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when eagerly tearing the series' initial installments to pieces. The common opinion held that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the now-infamous pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned once again with a "Festive Special" (also known as a Christmas special). But this time, it's different. The standard components we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but framed of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and delivering 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 quite a personality, but her aura is known and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems pleased; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, word and gaze will be picked apart and scrutinized, but still appears relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. Because, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent just what Yuletide is about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the example she sets appears to be beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she executes with flair. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her presents are practically too exquisite to tear into. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a meal in the oven, it "has a moment", and she creases wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself the entire time. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, filled with festive joy and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the form of a Christmas ring?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but even so, after the intensity of examination she has faced since she started dating Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her unwillingness to modify or even tone down her persona, even though it being so constantly, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a reminder that will certainly come as a relief: you aren't required to. The UK has abolished national service in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are overcome with longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, hardly any child completely grasps the time and energy their parent puts in in December. So you can console yourself by picturing Archie and Lilibet's faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, instead of a candy.
