Indeed, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the time of year, it's constantly open season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the series' initial installments apart. The common opinion held that a more egregious regal scandal had hardly ever taken place than the now-infamous pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she is back with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (or a Christmas special). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – persist, but framed of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come into place; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan has become the quirky relative at most festive family gatherings – providing random tips, and contributing 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 an interesting figure, but her presence is familiar and oddly reassuring. And she seems content; she's causing any harm.
She understands her every micro expression, utterance and gaze will be picked apart and scrutinized, but manages to seem carefree and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the only time in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. Since, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and over the top – but doesn't that represent just what the holiday season is all about? And the words she speaks might be ridiculous, but the life she leads genuinely looks shop-bought.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with panache. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the wreath she makes is stunning, her presents are almost too pretty to tear into. Not a single thing is mediocre or ugly – including the way she ties her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "has a moment", and she folds wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be won over, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of examination she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her decision to change or even moderate her persona, regardless of it being so persistently, widely parodied, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will be like this, no matter what. We will always know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a point that will surely come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished the draft in this country, and were it to return, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a royal or a data administrator, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their mother expends in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they reveal a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, instead of a candy.
