The British media’s predictable hate-fest for With Love, Meghan hasn’t really hit this time around. Neither did that one dumb Hollywood Reporter “review.” The people “critiquing” WLM are not watching or writing about WLM in good faith, and in the British media’s case, they’ve had a vested interest in screaming, crying and throwing up about Meghan for the past eight years. That’s their whole business model. I think we, as fans, push back as much as we can and we obviously all enjoy WLM. I do think there’s room to make a few critiques in good faith though. Not even critiques, just suggestions about what parts of WLM work better than others, and our hopes for a few smaller changes if and when there’s a season 3, 4, 5, etc. People Mag actually noted something I mentioned in the first season, which is that WLM is better when Meghan is learning a new skill or learning how to cook something she’s never cooked before. I agree!!
What makes With Love, Meghan season 2 work? For me, it’s simple: Meghan Markle is in student mode.
In the latest offering from her Netflix series, the Duchess of Sussex, 44, signs up not as the expert, but as the learner — the sous chef, the assistant, the one rolling up her sleeves and saying, teach me your ways. We saw glimpses of this last season, when Chef Roy Choi showed her how to fry chicken, or farm-to-table pioneer Alice Waters guided her through washing lettuce. But this time, it’s the throughline of the series, and it helps elevate the show.
My favorite moments are the ones where you can practically see the A+ flash across her face when an expert approves of something she’s made. A green juice they liked, a piece of sourdough that impressed them — she boldly cooked and baked for masters in their craft, and they loved it. There’s an eagerness to meet her guests where they are, to make them feel seen. Just watch Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, react to Meghan making her lavashak, a traditional Iranian fruit leather: “No one has ever made this for me other than my grandmother…Thank you.” You can feel Meghan’s pride.
It’s striking to someone who once occupied the world’s largest stage to light up simply because she nailed the butter or nailed the bread.
This is absolutely true, and I think it’s because in those episodes, Meghan is standing in for the audience and we’re all learning how to cook a vegan curry or a bread salad or Korean chicken wings. It feels like we’re learning something together. That being said, I love the cutaways of Meghan cooking or crafting something by herself and explaining in a simple way what she’s doing. That is better than Meghan teaching someone how to do something, honestly. The “Meghan as student” episodes also work because she’s not starting at zero – she’s a home cook with a lot of experience, and so the cooking lessons don’t feel dumbed-down. It feels like she’s a sous chef to someone more experienced. Those are my favorite episodes – the ones with Roy Choi, Samin Nosrat, Ramon Velazquez, Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia, and especially the Clare Smyth episode.
Photos courtesy of Netflix.