Indeed, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the time of year, it's perpetually open season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's earlier episodes to shreds. The general consensus was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she has returned once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a Christmas special). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – remain, but set of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
Now, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – providing unasked-for guidance, 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 presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she seems happy enough; she's not doing any harm.
She knows her every micro expression, word and gaze will be picked apart and judged, but still appears relaxed and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. Because, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is delightful. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent precisely what Yuletide is all about? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the example she sets genuinely looks shop-bought.
Anything she attempts, she pulls off with style. Her recipes looks tasty, the wreath she makes is breathtaking, her gifts are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she secures her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she folds wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is arranged in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of scrutiny she has weathered ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this authentically. Her refusal to change or even soften her routine, despite it being so persistently, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our volatile world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will certainly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. We don't have national service in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are overcome with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a royal or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the effort and hard work their parent puts in in December. So you can find comfort by imagining the young royals' faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a chocolate.
