Admittedly, it's Packed with Absurdity, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. Yet I Truly Cherish Meghan's Holiday Special.
No matter the time of year, it's perpetually open season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's earlier episodes apart. The prevailing view was that a more egregious regal scandal had never been witnessed than the much-discussed pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (aka a yuletide episode). Yet now, it's different. The usual elements we've come to expect – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – are still present, but within the context of a holiday show, suddenly it all makes sense. The puzzle has come together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
At this stage, Meghan is like the oddball family member at Christmas celebrations everywhere – dispensing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and delivering 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 an interesting figure, but her aura is known and strangely comforting. And she looks happy enough; she's not doing the slightest hurt.
She knows her all subtle gestures, syllable and gaze will be dissected and judged, but nonetheless looks unburdened and remarkably at ease.
Maybe this is the initial instance in history where that well-worn saying – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – could actually be true. Since, you know what?, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is delightful. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, nonsense and over the top – but isn't that exactly what Yuletide is all about? And the talk she's talking might be absurd, but the life she leads genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Whatever she attempts, she executes with flair. Her cooking looks tasty, the holiday arrangement she crafts is breathtaking, her presents are almost too pretty to tear into. Nothing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she ties her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't bung a dish in the microwave, it "has a moment", and she wraps wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be completely savoring herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be charmed, bursting with seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for personalized Christmas crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is positioned in the shape of a wreath?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, obviously, but even so, after the level of scrutiny she has weathered since she started dating Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this authentically. Her unwillingness to change or even tone down her persona, despite it being so constantly, globally mocked, is weirdly comforting. In our uncertain world, here is something we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, whatever happens. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're still not buying her brand, a thought that will surely come as a reassurance: you aren't required to. The UK has abolished mandatory conscription these days, and if there were, it would be improbable to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you decide to tune in and are consumed by longing about her picture-perfect Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a duchess or a everyday person, no kid completely grasps the time and energy their mum expends in December. So you can find comfort by imagining the young royals' faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a DIY festive calendar, in place of a chocolate.
