Indeed, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the season, it's always hunting season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when eagerly tearing the lifestyle show's earlier episodes to pieces. The common opinion was that a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Now, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a yuletide episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements audiences anticipate – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – persist, but set of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a perfect snow storm.
At this stage, Meghan has become the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unasked-for guidance, and contributing 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and strangely comforting. And she seems pleased; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She knows her all subtle gestures, utterance and gaze will be dissected and criticised, but nonetheless looks unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. Because, in all honesty, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels charming. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and over the top – but is that not just what Yuletide is for? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the example she sets genuinely looks shop-bought.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she pulls off with flair. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she makes is stunning, her gifts are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is mediocre or ugly – including the way she ties her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't bung 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 the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be won over, bursting with festive joy and left with a deep longing for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where greens is organized in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but even so, after the intensity of examination she has endured from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of acting royalty would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her unwillingness to alter or even soften her shtick, even though it being so constantly, widely parodied, is weirdly comforting. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will consistently know our position with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her message, a thought that will surely come as a reassurance: you aren't required to. There isn't the draft in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be improbable to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are gripped with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. Whether you're a royal or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mum does in December. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they reveal a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, rather than a sweet treat.
