Admittedly, it's Full of Gibberish, Extreme Hosting and Psychobabble. But I Do Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No considering the season, it's perpetually open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, from seasoned journalists to online pundits, have rarely been so united as when eagerly tearing the series' initial installments to pieces. The prevailing view seemed to be a more egregious regal scandal had hardly ever taken place than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Presently, as a festive rebel, she is back with a new offering with a "Christmas Special" (or a Christmas special). Yet now, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements audiences anticipate – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – persist, but framed of a Christmas special, it all clicks into place. The elements have slid together; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
Now, Meghan has become the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – providing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, and supplying 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 quite a personality, but her presence is familiar and strangely comforting. And she appears content; she's inflicting any harm.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, syllable and look will be analyzed and criticised, but still appears unburdened and serenely untroubled.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that clichéd phrase – "Pay no mind, it's only envy" – could actually be true. Because, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is charming. Yes, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and over the top – but doesn't that represent precisely what the holiday season is for? And the words she speaks might be laughable, but the example she sets genuinely looks shop-bought.
Whatever she attempts, she accomplishes with flair. Her cooking looks tasty, the festive decoration she crafts is gorgeous, her presents are nearly too beautiful to unwrap. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she fastens her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "has a moment", and she folds gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout. How could any hate-watcher not be convinced, overcome by holiday spirit and left with a intense desire for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where greens is positioned in the form of a Christmas ring?
Meghan had a career in acting for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the level of examination she has endured ever since she met Prince Harry, the love child of acting royalty would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her refusal to modify or even tone down her persona, regardless of it being so persistently, globally mocked, is strangely reassuring. In our volatile world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will be like this, no matter what. We will forever know where we are with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will certainly come as a reassurance: you are not obligated to. We don't have national service anymore, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are overcome with envy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Be you a royal or a office worker, hardly any child completely grasps the dedication and labor their parent puts in in the holiday season. So you can find comfort 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, in place of a chocolate.
