Yes, it's Full of Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the season, it's always hunting season for scrutiny on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the program's first and second seasons to shreds. The general consensus held that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Now, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a yuletide episode). But this time, it's different. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – persist, but within the context of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
Now, Meghan has become the quirky relative at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and supplying the occasional strange exclamation. ("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 strangely comforting. And she looks content; she's causing any harm.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, word and look will be analyzed and judged, but nonetheless looks carefree and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the initial instance in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. The reason is, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and extravagant – but isn't that precisely what Christmas is for? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the life she leads genuinely looks shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she accomplishes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she makes is gorgeous, her gifts are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Not a single thing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she secures her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but even so, after the intensity of scrutiny she has faced since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would have difficulty behaving this genuinely. Her refusal to alter or even moderate her routine, despite it being so persistently, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, whatever happens. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a thought that will certainly come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. There isn't mandatory conscription these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are consumed by longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, no kid truly appreciates the dedication and labor their parent puts in in December. So you can take heart by picturing her children's faces when they reveal a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a chocolate.
