Yes, it's Full of Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the time of year, it's perpetually open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's initial installments to pieces. The common opinion seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the notorious pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned for another round with a "Christmas Special" (aka a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but framed of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a perfect snow storm.
At this stage, Meghan has become the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering random tips, 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 a bit of a character, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she seems pleased; she's inflicting any harm.
She is aware her every micro expression, syllable and look will be analyzed and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the initial instance in history where that well-worn saying – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – may well be true. Since, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and over the top – but doesn't that represent exactly what Christmas is all about? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she attempts, she executes with panache. Her cooking looks delicious, the wreath she crafts is breathtaking, her gifts are practically too exquisite to open. Not a single thing is average or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she ties her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a dish in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but even so, after the degree of scrutiny she has weathered from the moment she met Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her unwillingness to modify or even soften her persona, despite it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you don't have to. The UK has abolished mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are gripped with longing about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. Be you a royal or a data administrator, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their parent expends 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, rather than a sweet treat.