This is Second Thought, where we plunder the zeitgeist each week for the strangest and the smartest and the silliest things going on. First up: All hail the Duchess of Sussex of Northern California.
I’ve come the whole way around on Meghan Markle. I started, where everyone did, completely enchanted by the gorgeous American actress who got to ride an actual carriage to marry a real-life prince. The drama with her shitty dad made her relatable; she looked stunning at her wedding; she could do no wrong.
Then, she did wrong—or, at least, she admitted a major mistake when she decided that actually she didn’t want to be in the royal family. They are, allegedly, stuck up, and repressed, and kinda racist. Who woulda thought!? She fled to Canada, then California, with her husband and new baby, and the good people of England called it “Megxit.” What followed was years of tabloid drama and lawsuits against the press and an Oprah Winfrey interview in which Meghan said no one ever asked if she was okay. But she would not be silenced. She launched a podcast about girlbosses, which lasted a couple of months. (The final episode was called “Man-ifesting a Cultural Shift.”) Then there was a lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard that’s now called As Ever that sells jam. She and her husband signed a $100 million Netflix deal, which was not renewed this past summer.
Nevertheless, she persisted. She has made a holiday special for the streamer, and in doing so has totally won me back over. It is unhinged and unintentionally hilarious. I could not recommend it more.
The premise of the hour is to watch Meghan get ready for Christmas by cooking various holiday treats and doing arts and crafts, with similarly well-coiffed or else famous guests. Meghan and two mom friends make homemade wreaths in their pajamas. She and Naomi Osaka eat spicy tahini dip and decorate some plates. Solo, she shows the viewer how to put a sprig in the folds of a wrapped gift. Or a bow! Which could be “awfully darling.” Meghan will never give up the shtick. Which is great, since she has found the shtick that’s right for her.
