Yes, it's Full of Gibberish, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the season, it's constantly hunting season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the program's first and second seasons apart. The prevailing view was that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, like a merry renegade master, she has returned with a new offering with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a holiday episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, overzealous entertaining – remain, but within the context of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, 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 quite a personality, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she looks content; she's inflicting any harm.
She understands her all subtle gestures, word and gaze will be dissected and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks carefree and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. The reason is, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not just what Christmas is all about? And the talk she's talking might be laughable, but the life she leads appears to be shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she accomplishes with style. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she crafts is gorgeous, her gifts are almost too pretty to tear into. Not a single thing is mediocre or aesthetically displeasing – even the way she secures her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "has a moment", and she folds gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be won over, overcome by holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is organized in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but despite that, after the level of scrutiny she has weathered ever since she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would struggle to act this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even soften her persona, regardless of it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will be like this, no matter what. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a thought that will surely come as a comfort: you aren't required to. There isn't national service these days, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are consumed by envy about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a royal or a everyday person, hardly any child completely grasps the time and energy their parent does in December. So you can find comfort by picturing her children's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, instead of a sweet treat.
