Admittedly, it's Full of Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the season, it's always fair game for commentary on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's earlier episodes apart. The common opinion was that a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the notorious pretzel re-packaging incident.
Now, as a festive rebel, she has returned for another round with a "Festive Special" (or a yuletide episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The standard components audiences anticipate – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – persist, but framed of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a perfect snow storm.
Now, Meghan is like the quirky relative 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 aura is known and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems content; she's not doing any harm.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, utterance and look will be dissected and judged, but nonetheless looks unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that old chestnut – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – might be true. Because, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and flamboyant – but is that not exactly what Christmas is for? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the example she sets seems authentically impeccably styled.
Anything she attempts, she executes with panache. Her cooking looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she creates is gorgeous, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to unwrap. Nothing is average or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a meal in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any hate-watcher not be won over, bursting with festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, obviously, but nonetheless, after the degree of examination she has endured ever since she met Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her decision to change or even moderate her shtick, regardless of it being so relentlessly, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, no matter what. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a reminder that will surely come as a relief: you don't have to. There isn't mandatory conscription these days, and if there were, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you willingly check it out and are gripped with jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a duchess or a data administrator, few children completely grasps the dedication and labor their mother does in the holiday season. So you can take heart by imagining the young royals' faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a chocolate.
