Indeed, it's Packed with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Adore Meghan's Festive Episode.
No matter the season, it's constantly open season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when eagerly tearing the lifestyle show's earlier episodes apart. The general consensus seemed to be a greater royal outrage had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned with a new offering with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a holiday episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, overzealous entertaining – remain, but framed of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The puzzle has come into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – providing random tips, and delivering 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 happy enough; she's causing a bit of damage.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, utterance and look will be picked apart and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – may well be true. Because, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all cringily ultra-extra, foolishness and flamboyant – but isn't that just what Yuletide is for? And the words she speaks might be absurd, but the walk she's walking appears to be shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with flair. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she crafts is gorgeous, her presents are nearly too beautiful to open. Nothing is mediocre or ugly – including the way she secures her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself throughout. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, bursting with festive joy and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where greens is arranged in the form of a wreath?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but nonetheless, after the degree of examination she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would have difficulty behaving this genuinely. Her refusal to modify or even moderate her persona, even though it being so relentlessly, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a reminder that will surely come as a reassurance: you don't have to. We don't have mandatory conscription in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are gripped with envy about her flawless Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a royal or a data administrator, hardly any child truly appreciates the dedication and labor their parent puts in in the holiday season. So you can find comfort 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, rather than a candy.
