Indeed, it's Packed with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the season, it's always open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the program's earlier episodes apart. The common opinion held that a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the now-infamous pretzel re-packaging incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back once again with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The standard components we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – are still present, but within the context of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come together; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the quirky relative at most festive family gatherings – providing random tips, 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 quite a personality, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she looks happy enough; she's causing any harm.
She is aware her each tiny facial movement, word and gaze will be dissected and judged, but still appears relaxed and remarkably at ease.
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, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and flamboyant – but isn't that just what Yuletide is about? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the life she leads seems authentically impeccably styled.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she executes with flair. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she creates is breathtaking, her presents are practically too exquisite to tear into. Not a single thing is mediocre or ugly – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she creases wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be convinced, filled with festive joy and left with a intense desire for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the intensity of scrutiny she has weathered since she met Prince Harry, the love child of two legendary actresses would have difficulty behaving this genuinely. Her decision to change or even tone down her shtick, regardless of it being so relentlessly, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will always know our position with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription in this country, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, 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 office worker, no kid fully understands the time and energy their mother does in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by imagining her children's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a chocolate.
