No concerned with the season, it's perpetually hunting season for scrutiny on the Meghan Markle's televisual offering, With Love, Meghan. Reviewers, both professional and armchair, have rarely been so united as when gleefully ripping the series' first and second seasons to shreds. The prevailing view seemed to be a bigger monarchy-related faux pas had never been witnessed than the much-discussed pretzel re-packaging incident.
Presently, like a merry renegade master, she has returned once again with a "Holiday Celebration" (aka a yuletide episode). Yet now, things have shifted. The familiar ingredients viewers are accustomed to – meaningless jargon salads, intense hospitality – remain, but set of a holiday show, the purpose becomes clear. The elements have slid perfectly; it's a ideal seasonal storm.
Now, Meghan resembles the oddball family member at the typical holiday get-together – dispensing unasked-for guidance, and supplying 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 quite a personality, but her aura is known and strangely comforting. And she looks content; she's inflicting any harm.
She knows her every micro expression, word and look will be dissected and judged, but still appears unburdened and serenely untroubled.
Maybe this is the only time in history where that well-worn saying – "Ignore them, they're just jealous" – could actually be true. The reason is, let's face it, everything in Meghan's Holiday Celebration is lovely. Admittedly, it's all awkwardly over-the-top, foolishness and over the top – but doesn't that represent just what Christmas is for? And the talk she's talking might be absurd, but the walk she's walking appears to be impeccably styled.
Anything she attempts, she executes with style. Her recipes looks tasty, the wreath she crafts is breathtaking, her presents are nearly too beautiful to unwrap. Nothing is average or ugly – including the way she ties her kitchen garment is stylish and elegant. She doesn't throw a dish in the microwave, it "goes for a spin", and she wraps gift paper like an paper-folding expert. She also seems to be completely savoring herself from start to finish. How could any skeptical viewer not be charmed, filled with festive joy and left with a deep longing for crafted festive snaps or a vegetable display where broccoli is positioned in the shape of a festive circle?
Meghan used to pretend for a living, of course, but nonetheless, after the degree of attention she has endured from the moment she met Prince Harry, the love child of Meryl Streep and Judi Dench would find it hard to appear this genuinely. Her decision to change or even tone down her persona, regardless of it being so persistently, internationally ridiculed, is oddly heartening. In our unpredictable world, here is something we can count on: Meghan will stay true to form, whatever happens. We will always know our position with her.
If you're still not buying her message, a reminder that will certainly come as a relief: you don't have to. There isn't national service anymore, and if there were, it would be unlikely to include viewing With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. If, conversely, you decide to tune in and are consumed by jealousy about her picture-perfect Christmas, all is not lost either. Whether you're a duchess or a everyday person, few children fully understands the effort and hard work their mother puts in in December. So you can take heart by picturing the young royals' faces when they reveal a calligraphy note that says, 'I love you because you are brave,' from a handcrafted holiday countdown, instead of a candy.
A professional gambler with over 15 years of experience in casino gaming, specializing in slot machine analytics and strategy development.