Yes, it's Brimming with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. However, I Honestly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No matter the time of year, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's first and second seasons apart. The general consensus held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the notorious pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a holiday episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients audiences anticipate – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – persist, but set of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
Now, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at most festive family gatherings – dispensing unasked-for guidance, and supplying the occasional strange exclamation. ("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 presence is familiar and unexpectedly soothing. And she looks pleased; she's not doing any harm.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, syllable and gaze will be picked apart and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the initial instance in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. Because, you know what?, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and flamboyant – but isn't that just what Yuletide is about? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the walk she's walking seems authentically impeccably styled.
Anything she sets her mind to, she pulls off with panache. Her recipes looks delicious, the festive decoration she makes is breathtaking, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Nothing is ordinary or ugly – even the way she ties her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she folds wrapping paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, filled with holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where greens is organized in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, of course, but even so, after the level of attention she has weathered from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would have difficulty behaving this genuinely. Her decision to modify or even soften her routine, even though it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will always know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a point that will surely come as a comfort: you are not obligated to. The UK has abolished the draft anymore, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are consumed by envy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the effort and hard work their parent puts in 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 handcrafted holiday countdown, instead of a sweet treat.
