Admittedly, it's Packed with Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the season, it's perpetually fair game for scrutiny 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 lifestyle show's earlier episodes to pieces. The common opinion seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she has returned once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a yuletide episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but within the context of a holiday show, the purpose becomes clear. The puzzle has come into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan has become the oddball family member at most festive family gatherings – dispensing random tips, and contributing 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 a bit of a character, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she seems pleased; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, word and gaze will be analyzed and judged, but nonetheless looks unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. The reason is, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and extravagant – but doesn't that represent precisely what Christmas is all about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the life she leads seems authentically impeccably styled.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with panache. Her recipes looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she makes is gorgeous, her presents are almost too pretty to open. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't bung a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be convinced, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the form of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, obviously, but even so, after the level of examination she has endured from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this naturally. Her decision to change or even tone down her shtick, despite it being so constantly, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, no matter what. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a reminder that will certainly come as a relief: you are not obligated to. There isn't national service anymore, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are consumed by longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, all is not lost either. Be you a duchess or a data administrator, hardly any child fully understands the effort and hard work their mother puts in in December. So you can find comfort by picturing 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, in place of a sweet treat.
