Admittedly, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the series' first and second seasons to shreds. The common opinion held that a more egregious regal scandal had never been witnessed than the notorious pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned for another round with a "Festive Special" (also known as a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – remain, but within the context of a holiday show, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – providing unasked-for guidance, and delivering 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 presence is familiar and oddly reassuring. And she seems pleased; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She understands her every micro expression, utterance and look will be analyzed and judged, but nonetheless looks relaxed and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the only time in history where that clichéd phrase – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. Because, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not just what the holiday season is for? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the life she leads seems authentically beautifully curated.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she pulls off with flair. Her culinary efforts looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she makes is stunning, her presents are almost too pretty to open. Not a single thing is mediocre or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a meal in the microwave, it "has a moment", 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, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is arranged in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but even so, after the degree of examination she has weathered ever since she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would struggle to act this genuinely. Her refusal to modify or even moderate her persona, regardless of it being so relentlessly, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will always know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a reminder that will surely come as a relief: you don't have to. There isn't the draft anymore, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are overcome with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, few children truly appreciates the effort and hard work their mum puts in in December. So you can take heart by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they unfold a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, rather than a sweet treat.
