Admittedly, it's Brimming with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No matter the season, it's constantly fair game for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have seldom found such common ground as when eagerly tearing the series' initial installments to shreds. The general consensus held that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Festive Special" (aka a yuletide episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – remain, but framed of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan is like the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing random tips, and supplying the periodic peculiar declaration. ("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 strangely comforting. And she seems pleased; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, syllable and glance will be analyzed and judged, but manages to seem unburdened and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. Because, in all honesty, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Granted, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, foolishness and extravagant – but doesn't that represent exactly what Christmas is about? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with panache. Her cooking looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she makes is stunning, her gifts are almost too pretty to unwrap. Nothing is average or ugly – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, filled with festive joy and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the intensity of scrutiny she has faced ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this genuinely. Her decision to modify or even moderate her shtick, despite it being so persistently, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will always know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a point that will surely come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription anymore, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are overcome with longing about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a royal or a office worker, few children fully understands the effort and hard work their mum puts in in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by envisioning the young royals' faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a chocolate.