Admittedly, it's Packed with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. But I Do Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No concerned with the season, it's perpetually fair game for criticism on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the series' initial installments to shreds. The general consensus held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the notorious pretzel-bagging incident.
Now, like a merry renegade master, she is back once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a Christmas special). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – remain, but set of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The elements have slid into place; it's a perfect snow storm.
By this point, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – providing 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 a bit of a character, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she seems pleased; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She understands her all subtle gestures, word and glance will be picked apart and judged, but still appears relaxed and remarkably at ease.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. The reason is, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Yes, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, silliness and extravagant – but doesn't that represent just what Christmas is all about? And the advice she gives might be ridiculous, but the life she leads genuinely looks shop-bought.
Anything she attempts, she pulls off with panache. Her culinary efforts looks scrumptious, the holiday arrangement she makes is breathtaking, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Not a single thing is average or ugly – even the way she fastens her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't toss a dish in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she wraps gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be genuinely relishing herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be convinced, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is organized in the likeness of a wreath?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, naturally, but even so, after the intensity of attention she has weathered since she met Prince Harry, a theoretical combination of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her unwillingness to modify or even soften her routine, even though it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will remain herself, no matter what. We will forever know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a comfort: you aren't required to. We don't have the draft 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 consumed by longing about her idyllic Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a data administrator, few children truly appreciates the time and energy their mum expends in December. So you can take heart by picturing her children's faces when they unfold a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a candy.
