Yes, it's Brimming with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the season, it's always fair game for scrutiny on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the lifestyle show's earlier episodes to pieces. The general consensus held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the now-infamous snack re-labeling incident.
Now, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned once again with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a Christmas special). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements we've come to expect ā psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining ā remain, but within the context of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The puzzle has come into place; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
At this stage, Meghan is like the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings ā providing random tips, and supplying the periodic peculiar declaration. ("I love spinach!" ā¦ "A tradition has to have a beginning." ā¦ "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 appears happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, word and look will be picked apart and judged, but nonetheless looks carefree and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying ā "Ignore them, they're just jealous" ā could actually be true. The reason is, in all honesty, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is lovely. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and flamboyant ā but is that not exactly what Christmas is about? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the example she sets genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she executes with style. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the wreath she crafts is stunning, her presents are almost too pretty to tear into. Nothing is mediocre or visually unappealing ā even the way she fastens her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she creases gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, filled with festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where greens is organized in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the intensity of scrutiny she has faced from the moment she became involved with Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her decision to change or even soften her routine, regardless of it being so persistently, globally mocked, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will always know our position with her.
If you're remaining skeptical of her brand, a reminder that will surely come as a relief: you don't have to. The UK has abolished the draft these days, and were it to return, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you willingly check it out and are overcome with jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a office worker, no kid fully understands the dedication and labor their parent expends in December. So you can find comfort by envisioning Archie and Lilibet's faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a sweet treat.
