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Oh Meghan, Meghan.
You are such a divisive person and yet – everyone is seemingly (hate) watching your show. Well that’s the ‘consensus’ I’m seeing in my news feeds on mainstream and social media.
All things considered… it’s been a tumultuous journey with this former Suits TV actress who was catapulted in Duchess realm when she wed Prince Harry back in 2018. At first, we loved (!) her – adored (!) her because she was ‘one of us’ – ‘a commoner’ – a modern-day Cinderella kind of fairy tale. She was to be the Diana of our generation. And then, welp – society does what it does – and then decided to tear her down because she was suddenly the ‘sh*t’ disturber of the Royal family, oftentimes pitted again the ‘perfect, prim and proper’ Kate Middleton.
Fast-forward a few years and after a rocky departure from Royal-ty life… she still retains her title, lives in California with her ginger prince + children… and returning to her roots as a ‘lifestyle maven’ (think trying to achieve a cross between Martha Stewart & Gwyneth Paltrow). For those unfamiliar… this isn’t too far from her now defunct blog ‘The Tig’ – where she did precisely what’s she’s doing now with this new Netflix series. Musing about food, drink, entertaining, fashion, style, travel & more… except this time, she has an unlimited budget and friends with far more fancy/ high profile people. So is there relatability with us ‘commoners’ still? Well, you need to read on and find out, now don’t you?
And with my little preamble – here are my thoughts and my own musings about each episode.
Episode 1: Hey, Honey.
The key thing to do when watching any of these shows is to know what mindset you’re adapting. You can choose to easily hate or love her show/Meghan herself… but then this truly sets the tone for the remainder of the episodes, how you feel about her, and how you react in terms of how she’s presenting herself to you, the viewer.
For instance, while I was eating my day old bagel with cream cheese, she’s telling the viewer plus her guest friend Daniel Martin ‘how to harvest honey’ – as though we conveniently have a hive in our backyard. It’s actually comical and surreal (because logistics and maintenance show that it can be very expensive to care for)… but the slow-mo camera shots of sexy honey drizzling down the combs… well, it actually is enjoyable and soothing to watch. This isn’t a show that’s going to change the world or to use a cliched line ‘find a cure for cancer’, but it’s something where you have playing casually in the background while getting on with your real life. And if you pick up a purposeful tip along then way… then all the more power to you.
She does things like harvesting honey, making candles, and bath salts. Again, no real person (unless they’re rich or have a super type-A personality) have time to do ALL these things (because ya know, we have jobs and bills to pay). But again, I reiterate, it’s fun to watch – and if my neighbourhood has a local candle making event… I may consider doing it now. But relatability with her making a honey cake isn’t there (it’s actually a very costly ingredient to make a cake with – I would know. I did it once for a passover party and I think it would have been CHEAPER for me to buy something). To cap it all of, she’s eating her ‘everyday treat’ at her mansion in Montecito with a mountainous backdrop to go with her meal. But again… if this was Martha doing the exact same – would there still be a riot? I think not.
Overall – cute and quirky thus far.
Episode 2: Welcome to the Party
‘Bacon brings all the boys to the yard’ – muses Meghan Markle as she preps a frittata. Print that on a shirt and it will sell like hotcakes. Ha.
Her guest is Mindy Kaling (who is there to chill but also help with prepping for a kids garden party…hypothetically speaking – because we actually see no kids in this episode) FYI, as they tuck into a parfait with her preserves – and Meghan adds ‘flower sprinkles’ to finish her frittata with. Cute.
I gotta say while watching this – it’s clearly out of touch with reality. Especially with the state of the economy … and her being able to just casually find time to make preserves, freshly squeezed OJ for Bellinis, artisan garden themed goodie bags, cut-out sandwiches, a balloon arch for her kids and a fruit platter which looks like it would easily cost $300 (because it includes a cornucopia of berries and tropical fruit) BUT… that’s kind of the point of this show. Aspirational to a certain extent. None of this is impossible for us ‘commoners/viewers’ to achieve… but finding the time to do so is definitely a luxury for the majority of us.
lol not her saying ‘our little family name’ – as a not so casual flex about being royalty (which I’m not even sure she still is… did she not renounce her title when she left her duties in England?) – as she speaks to ‘peasant’ Mindy. Kidding.
It’s an otherwise easy-going episode, but I’m not going to lie, the way it’s filmed, frame-by-frame, I was having Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) deja-vu. It is a low-key compliment but on the other hand, if this gets renewed for another season, I think she should speak to her producer about making tweaks to make her stand-out from her competition.
Episode 3: Two Kids from LA
She makes baked donuts to start the episode. And I have a side-thought. All the episodes are very digestible (see what I did there?! ha) because they’re only 35 minutes long.
Roy Choi is her guest today (an iconic LA chef)… who is actually not a friend but clearly the producers have connections and wanted to put them together and see what happened.
She charms him with donuts (sprinkled with the same ‘flower sprinkles’ used in the previous episode). And it works. And fun fact: LA is the donut capital of the world… not NYC. Did you know this? I did not know this!
I’m watching her make a brine for chicken … and again – because of the aesthetic of how her narrative/show is told, I reiterate (and yes, with some redundancy – but it’s valid!) that my only constructive criticism is that it doesn’t really have an identity of its own (yet). Sure – she pretty, intelligent, and personable – but the filming/voice-overs, storytelling style – is too much into copycat territory of Ina Garten. If you took screen grabs without her in them, I swear it’s like you’re watching an episode of the Barefoot Contessa (the OG and Back to Basics) and her Be My Guest shows.
And did I mention I freaking LOVE Roy Choi and their verbal love-letter to Los Angeles?? So this episode is 100% my jam… and my favorite one thus far. This is also the strongest ‘cooking’ show-y vibes compared with episodes 1 and 2 which dabbled in a bit of everything (tablescapes, decor, style/fashion, etc).
I don’t mind Meghan – but when you have THE Chef Roy Choi on your show (making kimchi, fried chicken, crudités), he’s gonna steal your thunder lol.
Overall – this was a fun one – but also, I’m super biased as you can tell. NGL!
Episode 4: Love Is In the Details
She’s making sun tea? Okay, didn’t know this existed or what a thing. Out of the gate, I learned something new.
And now she’s making treats for her doggie Guy. It’s so fancy that it looks like human treats HAHA.
Her guest friend du jour is Delfina Figueras – they go for a hike. Do a little jig.
And then MM makes lavender towels (again, what?! My basic a$$ has no clue). Learned something new again (p.s. it’s basically soaking lower grade towels in essential oils – then using it for whatever you want…like a ‘hotel/spa’ experience, apparently!).
After their hike, tea break, they’re back to baking (making focaccia) – it looks delicious (studded with rosemary)… then a garden pasta (using ingredients from MM’s garden… because of course, she has one of those too…and I’m writing this while watching my house-plants die their sloooow deaths, no matter how much I attempt to care for my chlorophyll cuties).
There was nothing wrong with this episode but honestly, I think the reason why this was more on the dull side is that the guest was not particularly memorable (compared with the previous three friends that Meghan had over).
And that’s my recap on episodes 1-4. Stay tuned for the remaining ones to come in the next few days. I know you’re in great anticipation. 😉
With Love, Tiffany. HAHAHA.
