Admittedly, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. But I Do Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the time of year, it's always hunting season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the lifestyle show's initial installments to shreds. The general consensus held that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (or a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, things have shifted. The standard components we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, overzealous entertaining – are still present, but framed of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles 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 quite a personality, but her presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she seems content; she's causing a bit of damage.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, word and gaze will be picked apart and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. The reason is, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Granted, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and over the top – but isn't that precisely what Christmas is all about? And the words she speaks might be absurd, but the walk she's walking appears to be shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with panache. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she crafts is stunning, her gifts are almost too pretty to unwrap. Not a single thing is mediocre or visually unappealing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is organized in the form of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the intensity of attention she has faced from the moment she met Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would struggle to act this genuinely. Her refusal to change or even soften her persona, despite it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, whatever happens. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. The UK has abolished the draft these days, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are overcome with jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a duchess or a office worker, hardly any child fully understands the time and energy their parent puts in in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a chocolate.
