Yes, it's Brimming with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Adore Meghan's Holiday Special.
No concerned with the time of year, it's always fair game for criticism on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's earlier episodes apart. The common opinion seemed to be a greater royal outrage had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she makes a comeback for another round with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). But this time, it's different. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, extreme hosting – persist, but set of a Christmas special, it all clicks into place. The pieces have fallen together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan resembles the quirky relative at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing 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 aura is known and strangely comforting. And she seems happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her all subtle gestures, word and glance will be picked apart and judged, but nonetheless looks relaxed and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – might be true. The reason is, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and flamboyant – but doesn't that represent precisely what Yuletide is for? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she attempts, she accomplishes with panache. Her cooking looks delicious, the festive decoration she creates is stunning, her presents are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Nothing is mediocre or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be won over, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for crafted festive snaps or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the level of examination she has endured ever since she started dating Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of two legendary actresses would struggle to act this authentically. Her refusal to modify or even moderate her persona, even though it being so constantly, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will consistently know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a relief: you don't have to. We don't have national service these days, and were it to return, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are overcome with envy about her flawless Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a royal or a everyday person, hardly any child completely grasps the effort and hard work their mum puts in in the holiday season. So you can find comfort by envisioning her children's faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a sweet treat.
