"With Love, Meghan" thoughts

I can’t say why I started watching “With Love, Meghan”. I guess I can always say that it was curiosity that made me do it. On the other hand, I was looking for something light to watch during my meals, so I went in with an open mind. I didn’t read or watch any reviews prior to watching the programme. I never do. I didn’t even have any idea about what type of programme it was going to be. Once I started watching, I actually found classifying it somewhat difficult. At first I thought it was going to be something like a lifestyle show, but, considering that each episode revolves heavily around cooking, I’m guessing it is properly classified as a culinary show. Though, really, it matters very little what type of show it is, because, despite the gorgeous picture, it completely lacks substance. That was my first observation. No substance at all. Nothing to feed the brain despite plenty of food around. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I realised that throughout the whole first episode there wasn’t a single thread of meaningful conversation or a spark of original thought. Nothing but raptures and delight filled the air. Compliments to the chef, so to speak. The chef being Meghan, of course. I can tell you that I was at least a little bit disgusted by how self-centered, self-indulgent, and self-congratulatory it all was. Meghan appeared completely at ease when she was moving around the kitchen in some fancy breezy fashions on her own, talking to the filming crew and explaining what she was doing, saying how good this or that was, and laughing at her own silly jokes. However, she often appeared awkward and even cringy with her guests. I’m guessing it was supposed to look like a fun and relaxed get-together with friends, but, in reality, she barely knew most of the people she invited (at least in the first few episodes) and so she often missed hitting the right note with them, often than not making me suffer through horrible bouts of second-hand embarrassment. Yet I kept watching. As I said, the picture was gorgeous. And, yes, I was morbidly curious to find out whether there would be anything else. It is extremely easy to ridicule the whole thing. It is quite ridiculous. Funnily enough, having watched three episodes, I realised what I was really looking at. I was looking at someone who was craving validation for every little thing that she enjoyed doing. I was looking at someone who didn’t have many talents but who really wanted to be good at something – to be seen by others as being good at something, to be recognised as this kitchen, home, and garden guru (or rather goddess), to be admired, to be patted on the back, to be congratulated on a job well done, to be looked at with open-mouthed amazement and admiration and constantly showered with praise. Yet not within the tight-knit circle of family and friends – no – it just wouldn’t do. It had to be done on TV for everyone else to see it too. She needs to be seen by the whole world. She craves to be accepted by the world. Her childlike enthusiasm and raptures over every little thing that she did (making little fancy bags with gifts, writing cards in perfect hand, cutting the edges of a ribbon in just the right way, making preserves, desserts, drinks, dog treats, etc.) made me think of an extremely lonely child other children wouldn’t play with, who was used to spending all her time on her own, coming up with her own games to amuse herself, pretending to be surrounded by a crowd of people, and imagining being the centre of attention. Except that in this case we actually have an equivalent of a friendless child with extremely rich parents who can afford to “buy” friends and bring them over for a playdate. And the best part? They will play your cooking and decorating games and will keep telling you how great and wonderful you are.