Admittedly, it's Brimming with Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Love Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the season, it's constantly open season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the series' initial installments to shreds. The prevailing view was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Christmas Special" (aka a holiday episode). However on this occasion, it's different. The standard components viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – persist, but within the context of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a perfect snow storm.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – offering 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 quite a personality, but her presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she appears content; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She knows her all subtle gestures, word and look will be analyzed and judged, but nonetheless looks carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and over the top – but isn't that precisely what Christmas is about? And the words she speaks might be ridiculous, but the walk she's walking seems authentically shop-bought.
Anything she attempts, she accomplishes with panache. Her cooking looks delicious, the wreath she crafts is gorgeous, her gifts are practically too exquisite to tear into. Nothing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a meal in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she folds gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, filled with festive joy and left with a intense desire for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is arranged in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the degree of attention she has faced since she met Prince Harry, the love child of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even soften her routine, regardless of it being so constantly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our volatile world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of what she's selling, a reminder that will certainly come as a comfort: you aren't required to. We don't have the draft anymore, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are overcome with longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a office worker, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their mum does in December. So you can take heart by envisioning the young royals' faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, instead of a sweet treat.
