Admittedly, it's Brimming with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. However, I Honestly Love Meghan's Festive Episode.
No considering the season, it's perpetually open season for criticism on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have rarely been so united as when enthusiastically shredding the program's earlier episodes to pieces. The prevailing view held that a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she is back with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (or a yuletide episode). However on this occasion, it's different. The familiar ingredients we've come to expect – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – remain, but set of a Christmas special, suddenly it all makes sense. The pieces have fallen perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan resembles the eccentric aunt at most festive family gatherings – offering 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and oddly reassuring. And she appears pleased; she's not doing any harm.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, word and gaze will be analyzed and criticised, but manages to seem unburdened and too blessed to be stressed.
Maybe this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration honestly feels lovely. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and over the top – but isn't that exactly what Christmas is for? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the life she leads genuinely looks shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she accomplishes with style. Her recipes looks delicious, the wreath she makes is gorgeous, her gifts are practically too exquisite to open. Nothing is average or visually unappealing – even the way she fastens her kitchen garment is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a meal in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she folds gift paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself the entire time. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, filled with festive joy and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where greens is positioned in the form of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but despite that, after the intensity of scrutiny she has endured since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would have difficulty behaving this genuinely. Her refusal to modify or even moderate her persona, regardless of it being so constantly, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our unpredictable world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, come what may. We will consistently know what to expect with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will undoubtedly come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. There isn't the draft anymore, and should it be reinstated, it would be doubtful to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you choose to watch and are gripped with envy about her picture-perfect Christmas, all is not lost either. Be you a royal or a everyday person, no kid truly appreciates the effort and hard work their mother does in December. So you can take heart by imagining her children's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, in place of a chocolate.
