Yes, it's Full of Nonsense, Over-the-Top Hospitality and Self-Help Jargon. But I Do Adore Meghan's Christmas Special.
No concerned with the season, it's constantly hunting season for commentary on the Duchess of Sussex's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the lifestyle show's first and second seasons to pieces. The general consensus was that a more egregious regal scandal had hardly ever taken place than the now-infamous pretzel-bagging incident.
Currently, as a festive rebel, she makes a comeback once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (also known as a Christmas special). However on this occasion, it's different. The standard components viewers are accustomed to – vague self-help platitudes, extreme hosting – remain, but set of a yuletide episode, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid into place; it's a flawless festive blizzard.
By this point, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at Christmas celebrations everywhere – offering unasked-for guidance, 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 an interesting figure, but her company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she looks pleased; she's inflicting a bit of damage.
She knows her every micro expression, syllable and glance will be dissected and judged, but manages to seem carefree and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the only time in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – may well be true. Because, let's face it, each element in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Granted, it's all painfully excessive, nonsense and flamboyant – but isn't that just what Christmas is for? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the life she leads genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she attempts, she pulls off with panache. Her recipes looks scrumptious, the festive decoration she makes is breathtaking, her gifts are nearly too beautiful to open. Nothing is mediocre or ugly – even the way she secures her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't toss a dish in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she folds wrapping paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, overcome by seasonal cheer and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a crudites platter where broccoli is organized in the form of a Christmas ring?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, naturally, but despite that, after the intensity of scrutiny she has endured ever since she became involved with Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her decision to alter or even moderate her shtick, despite it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is weirdly comforting. In our uncertain world, here is something we can rely on: Meghan will be like this, whatever happens. We will consistently know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will undoubtedly come as a reassurance: you don't have to. There isn't mandatory conscription in this country, and should it be reinstated, it would be improbable to include watching With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are gripped with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, you can take solace either. If you are a duchess or a office worker, no kid completely grasps the effort and hard work their mum puts in in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by imagining Archie and Lilibet's faces when they open a beautifully scripted letter that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, in place of a sweet treat.
