Yes, it's Brimming with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. But I Do Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the time of year, it's perpetually hunting season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when enthusiastically shredding the series' first and second seasons to shreds. The general consensus held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she is back for another round with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a yuletide episode). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements viewers are accustomed to – psychobabble word salads, extreme hosting – are still present, but set of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan is like the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unasked-for guidance, and supplying 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 a bit of a character, but her aura is known and oddly reassuring. And she seems content; she's causing the slightest hurt.
She knows her all subtle gestures, utterance and look will be picked apart and judged, but still appears carefree and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. Because, in all honesty, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Granted, it's all cringily ultra-extra, nonsense and flamboyant – but isn't that precisely what Yuletide is about? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the example she sets appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she attempts, she executes with flair. Her cooking looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she creates is stunning, her gifts are almost too pretty to tear into. Nothing is average or ugly – even the way she secures her apron is artful and chic. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, overcome by festive joy and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the intensity of attention she has weathered from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her refusal to alter or even soften her routine, despite it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is weirdly comforting. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a reminder that will undoubtedly come as a relief: you don't have to. There isn't mandatory conscription these days, and if there were, it would be doubtful to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are overcome with jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. If you are a duchess or a office worker, no kid completely grasps the dedication and labor their mum expends in December. So you can take heart by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a candy.
