No considering the time of year, it's always hunting season for criticism on the Meghan Markle's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Commentators, expert and amateur alike, have seldom found such common ground as when gleefully ripping the program's earlier episodes to shreds. The common opinion was that a more egregious regal scandal had seldom occurred than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned with a new offering with a "Festive Special" (or a holiday episode). But this time, the dynamic has changed. The usual elements we've come to expect – psychobabble word salads, intense hospitality – remain, but within the context of a yuletide episode, it all clicks into place. The pieces have fallen into place; it's a perfect snow storm.
At this stage, Meghan has become the eccentric aunt at the typical holiday get-together – providing unsolicited, unnecessary advice, 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 a bit of a character, but her company is customary and unexpectedly soothing. And she looks content; she's not doing any harm.
She knows her each tiny facial movement, syllable and look will be analyzed and judged, but still appears unburdened and serenely untroubled.
Perhaps this is the first occasion in history where that well-worn saying – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – may well be true. Since, you know what?, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is charming. Admittedly, it's all painfully excessive, silliness and flamboyant – but isn't that exactly what Christmas is about? And the talk she's talking might be absurd, but the life she leads genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she sets her mind to, she accomplishes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the wreath she crafts is stunning, her gifts are practically too exquisite to unwrap. Not a single thing is ordinary or visually unappealing – including the way she secures her apron is creative and fashionable. She doesn't throw a dish in the oven, it "goes for a spin", and she folds gift paper like an origami guru. She also seems to be completely savoring herself the entire time. How could any hate-watcher not be convinced, bursting with holiday spirit and left with a deep longing for personalized Christmas crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the likeness of a Christmas ring?
Meghan was once an actress for a living, of course, but even so, after the level of attention she has faced from the moment she became involved with Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this naturally. Her decision to modify or even moderate her shtick, even though it being so relentlessly, widely parodied, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can depend on: Meghan will remain herself, come what may. We will forever know our position with her.
If you're not yet convinced by her message, a point that will surely come as a comfort: you don't have to. The UK has abolished national service these days, and if there were, it would be improbable to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, however, you willingly check it out and are overcome with jealousy about her flawless Christmas, there is hope either. Whether you're a duchess or a office worker, few children truly appreciates the effort and hard work their parent expends in the holiday season. So you can console yourself by envisioning her children's faces when they open a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, rather than a candy.