Admittedly, it's Packed with Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the season, it's always hunting season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the series' first and second seasons apart. The prevailing view was that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Presently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (also known as a Christmas special). However on this occasion, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – persist, but within the context of a Christmas special, the purpose becomes clear. The puzzle has come perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
By this point, Meghan is like the quirky relative at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing random tips, 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 quite a personality, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she seems happy enough; she's causing any harm.
She understands her each tiny facial movement, word and look will be analyzed and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. The reason is, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels delightful. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and over the top – but is that not just what Christmas is for? And the talk she's talking might be ridiculous, but the life she leads genuinely looks shop-bought.
Whatever she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with style. Her cooking looks tasty, the festive decoration she makes is stunning, her gifts are practically too exquisite to tear into. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she secures her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't bung a meal in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself from start to finish. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is organized in the form of a wreath?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the degree of examination she has weathered ever since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her refusal to alter or even soften her routine, even though it being so constantly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, no matter what. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a reminder that will undoubtedly come as a relief: you don't have to. We don't have mandatory conscription in this country, and if there were, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you choose to watch and are gripped with longing about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. Be you a duchess or a everyday person, hardly any child completely grasps the effort and hard work their parent does in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by imagining her children's faces when they reveal a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, instead of a chocolate.