Yes, it's Brimming with Nonsense, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No considering the season, it's always hunting season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when enthusiastically shredding the series' earlier episodes to pieces. The common opinion seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she makes a comeback once again with a "Festive Special" (aka a yuletide episode). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The standard components viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – remain, but framed of a yuletide episode, suddenly it all makes sense. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan is like the oddball family member at most festive family gatherings – providing 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 quite a personality, but her aura is known and unexpectedly soothing. And she seems happy enough; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She understands her every micro expression, syllable and gaze will be analyzed and criticised, but manages to seem carefree and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. Because, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and over the top – but isn't that just what the holiday season is about? And the words she speaks might be ridiculous, but the example she sets genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Whatever she sets her mind to, she executes with style. Her cooking looks delicious, the holiday arrangement she makes is stunning, her presents are almost too pretty to open. Nothing is average or ugly – including the way she secures her apron is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she creases gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is arranged in the form of a festive circle?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the degree of attention she has weathered from the moment she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of two legendary actresses would have difficulty behaving this authentically. Her refusal to alter or even soften her persona, even though it being so constantly, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our volatile world, here is one thing we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will always know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her brand, a thought that will undoubtedly come as a comfort: you aren't required to. There isn't the draft anymore, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are overcome with longing about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a royal or a everyday person, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their mum puts in in December. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they open a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a sweet treat.
