Admittedly, it's Brimming with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the time of year, it's perpetually fair game for commentary on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's earlier episodes apart. The general consensus held that a more egregious regal scandal had never been witnessed than the notorious snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a Christmas special). But this time, things have shifted. The usual elements we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – persist, but within the context of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The elements have slid together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and delivering 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 strangely comforting. And she seems pleased; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, syllable and gaze will be picked apart and criticised, but manages to seem carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. Since, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and extravagant – but is that not exactly what Yuletide is all about? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the example she sets appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with flair. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the wreath she crafts is gorgeous, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to unwrap. Not a single thing is ordinary or ugly – including the way she fastens her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be convinced, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the degree of examination she has endured from the moment she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her unwillingness to alter or even soften her persona, despite it being so constantly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of what she's selling, a point that will surely come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. There isn't the draft anymore, and if there were, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are overcome with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a royal or a everyday person, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their mother puts in in December. So you can take heart by envisioning the young royals' 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 sweet treat.
