Yes, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the season, it's perpetually fair game for criticism on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's first and second seasons apart. The common opinion was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (aka a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – persist, but within the context of a holiday show, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come together; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and contributing 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 a bit of a character, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she seems content; she's inflicting any harm.
She knows her all subtle gestures, utterance and gaze will be analyzed and scrutinized, but still appears carefree and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. The reason is, you know what?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, foolishness and over the top – but is that not just what the holiday season is for? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the life she leads seems authentically shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the wreath she crafts is gorgeous, her presents are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Not a single thing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a meal in the oven, it "has a moment", and she folds wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, overcome by festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the intensity of attention she has weathered since she became involved with Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her decision to alter or even moderate her shtick, even though it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will always know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a reminder that will surely come as a reassurance: you don't have to. We don't have national service in this country, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are overcome with envy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a royal or a office worker, no kid fully understands the time and energy their mother does in December. So you can find comfort by envisioning her children's faces when they unfold a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, in place of a chocolate.