Admittedly, it's Packed with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Self-Help Jargon. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the season, it's always open season for scrutiny on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's earlier episodes apart. The prevailing view seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she makes a comeback once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a holiday episode). But this time, things have shifted. The usual elements we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, intense hospitality – are still present, but within the context of a Christmas special, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come together; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the quirky relative at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing unasked-for guidance, and contributing the periodic peculiar declaration. ("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 presence is familiar and unexpectedly soothing. And she appears content; she's inflicting any harm.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, word and glance will be picked apart and judged, but still appears unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Perhaps this is the initial instance in history where that old chestnut – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. Because, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Yes, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and extravagant – but is that not exactly what Christmas is about? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the walk she's walking seems authentically impeccably styled.
Anything she attempts, she accomplishes with style. Her cooking looks scrumptious, the wreath she crafts is gorgeous, her presents are practically too exquisite to tear into. Nothing is ordinary or ugly – including the way she secures her kitchen garment is artful and chic. She doesn't bung a dish in the oven, it "has a moment", and she wraps gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be completely savoring herself throughout. How could any cynical observer not be charmed, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is arranged in the likeness of a festive circle?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but even so, after the degree of scrutiny she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her refusal to alter or even soften her routine, regardless of it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're still not buying what she's selling, a point that will surely come as a relief: you don't have to. The UK has abolished national service in this country, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are overcome with longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. If you are a royal or a everyday person, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their parent puts in in December. So you can find comfort by picturing her children's faces when they unfold a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, rather than a sweet treat.
