Yes, it's Packed with Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's constantly open season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the series' first and second seasons to shreds. The general consensus seemed to be a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Festive Special" (or a Christmas special). Yet now, it's different. The standard components audiences anticipate – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but framed of a holiday show, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering 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 a bit of a character, but her aura is known and strangely comforting. And she looks happy enough; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She understands her all subtle gestures, utterance and look will be dissected and judged, but manages to seem unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, foolishness and flamboyant – but isn't that precisely what the holiday season is all about? And the talk she's talking might be absurd, but the example she sets genuinely looks impeccably styled.
Whatever she attempts, she accomplishes with flair. Her recipes looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she makes is breathtaking, her presents are practically too exquisite to open. Not a single thing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, filled with holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is arranged in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but even so, after the degree of scrutiny she has weathered ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would struggle to act this genuinely. Her decision to modify or even moderate her persona, even though it being so constantly, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. We don't have national service these days, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are gripped with longing about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a royal or a office worker, hardly any child truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mother expends in December. So you can find comfort by envisioning Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a chocolate.
