Indeed, it's Brimming with Absurdity, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Adore Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the season, it's perpetually hunting season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the program's first and second seasons apart. The general consensus seemed to be a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Festive Special" (also known as a holiday episode). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – remain, but within the context of a holiday show, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan has become the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – providing random tips, and supplying the odd random outburst. ("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 unexpectedly soothing. And she looks content; she's causing any harm.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, word and gaze will be analyzed and criticised, but nonetheless looks relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. Since, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and flamboyant – but isn't that exactly what the holiday season is about? And the talk she's talking might be absurd, but the example she sets genuinely looks impeccably styled.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she accomplishes with flair. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the wreath she makes is breathtaking, her presents are almost too pretty to unwrap. Not a single thing is mediocre or visually unappealing – even the way she fastens her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a meal in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but despite that, after the degree of scrutiny she has faced since she became involved with Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her unwillingness to change or even tone down her persona, regardless of it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will surely come as a relief: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished the draft anymore, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are gripped with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a everyday person, few children truly appreciates the time and energy their parent does in the holiday season. So you can take heart by envisioning the young royals' faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a candy.