Indeed, it's Full of Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the season, it's perpetually hunting season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Critics, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the series' initial installments apart. The general consensus was that a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a Christmas special). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The standard components viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but set of a Christmas special, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing random tips, and contributing 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and strangely comforting. And she looks happy enough; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She knows her all subtle gestures, word and look will be analyzed and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and remarkably at ease.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Yes, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent just what Yuletide is for? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the walk she's walking genuinely looks shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she pulls off with flair. Her cooking looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her presents are nearly too beautiful to unwrap. Nothing is ordinary or ugly – even the way she fastens her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a meal in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be convinced, filled with holiday spirit and left with a deep longing for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where broccoli is organized in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but even so, after the level of examination she has endured from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her refusal to change or even moderate her persona, despite it being so relentlessly, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will certainly come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. We don't have the draft anymore, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are overcome with longing about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mum puts in in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by imagining her children's faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, in place of a chocolate.
