Indeed, it's Packed with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No matter the season, it's always hunting season for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the program's first and second seasons apart. The general consensus seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the notorious pretzel re-packaging incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (or a yuletide episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – are still present, but framed of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing unasked-for guidance, and contributing the odd random outburst. ("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 appears happy enough; she's causing a bit of damage.
She understands her every micro expression, word and look will be analyzed and judged, but manages to seem relaxed and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. The reason is, in all honesty, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Granted, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and over the top – but isn't that exactly what Christmas is about? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the life she leads genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with style. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the wreath she makes is gorgeous, her gifts are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Not a single thing is ordinary or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she ties her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "has a moment", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be won over, filled with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but despite that, after the intensity of attention she has faced ever since she became involved with Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her decision to change or even moderate her shtick, regardless of it being so relentlessly, internationally ridiculed, is weirdly comforting. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will consistently know our position with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a reminder that will certainly come as a relief: you are not obligated to. We don't have mandatory conscription in this country, and were it to return, it would be improbable to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are gripped with longing about her idyllic Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a royal or a office worker, hardly any child truly appreciates the dedication and labor their mum does in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by envisioning the young royals' faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a sweet treat.
