No concerned with the season, it's always open season for commentary on the Meghan Markle's TV show, With Love, Meghan. Critics, expert and amateur alike, have hardly ever agreed so completely as when gleefully ripping the program's first and second seasons apart. The general consensus held that a greater royal outrage had never been witnessed than the much-discussed snack re-labeling incident.
Currently, in the spirit of a holiday maverick, she has returned for another round with a "Christmas Special" (also known as a holiday episode). However on this occasion, things have shifted. The usual elements we've come to expect – psychobabble word salads, overzealous entertaining – persist, but set 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 resembles the quirky relative at the typical holiday get-together – providing 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 a bit of a character, but her presence is familiar and oddly reassuring. And she seems happy enough; she's not doing a bit of damage.
She is aware her all subtle gestures, syllable and look will be picked apart and scrutinized, but nonetheless looks carefree and too blessed to be stressed.
It could be this is the first occasion in history where that old chestnut – "Don't listen, it's pure jealousy" – might be true. The reason is, let's face it, all aspects in Meghan's Holiday Celebration truly is lovely. Granted, it's all cringily ultra-extra, silliness and over the top – but is that not just what Christmas is about? And the advice she gives might be absurd, but the walk she's walking genuinely looks beautifully curated.
Anything she turns her beautifully manicured, diamond-adorned hand to, she executes with panache. Her culinary efforts looks delicious, the festive decoration she creates is breathtaking, her presents are nearly too beautiful to tear into. Nothing is average or aesthetically displeasing – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a meal in the oven, it "takes a twirl", and she creases wrapping paper like an craft master. She also seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be won over, filled with festive joy and left with a powerful yearning for handmade crackers or a vegetable display where broccoli is arranged in the form of a Christmas ring?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the degree of scrutiny she has endured ever since she met Prince Harry, even a hypothetical offspring of acting royalty would struggle to act this authentically. Her unwillingness to alter or even soften her routine, regardless of it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is strangely reassuring. In our uncertain world, here is one thing we can rely on: Meghan will stay true to form, come what may. We will consistently know our position with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a thought that will certainly come as a comfort: you aren't required to. There isn't mandatory conscription these days, and were it to return, it would be unlikely to include streaming With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, on the other hand, you decide to tune in and are consumed by jealousy about her idyllic Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a duchess or a data administrator, few children fully understands the dedication and labor their parent puts in in December. So you can take heart by envisioning her children's faces when they unfold a handwritten message that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a homemade Advent calendar, instead of a sweet treat.
A tech journalist and AI enthusiast with over a decade of experience covering digital transformation and emerging technologies.