The six-part Netflix documentary from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has viewers (including our critics) divided.
KRISTEN:First off, a disclosure: I am and always have been 100 percent #TeamHarryAndMeghan.
Of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex likely never planned to disappear from public life.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in ‘Harry & Meghan’.Netflix
“‘Their trauma is our story, and our narrative to control.'”
Shots fired, as it were.
Still, Darren, volume 1 had a preponderance of effective moments.
(“It was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” he admits.
“But I learned from that.")
What stuck with you about volume 1 ofHarry & Meghan, Darren?
Do you think the duo chose the right way to take control of their narrative?
Or am I misreading the show’s message with my own biases?
to become the first duchess this century with obvious personality.
So I think I should be the idealviewer, Kristen.
But volume 1 left me frustrated.
And I admire how Prince Harry risked a lifetime of British scorn for his family’s emotional health.
If their fadeout is happy Santa Barbara days raising beach kids, then hoorah!
But the mere existenceHarry & Meghancomplicates their escape into a brand-building exercise.
In the first episode, they describe themselves like they’re pitching a TV series.
“This is a great love story,” says he.
“Talk about a plot twist!”
The best bits of the early episodes are all Meghan-centric, I thought, focused on her own upbringing.
This background deserves more than, like, a whistlestop tour of Meghan’s old haunts.
How cynical do I sound?
I guess it’s weird to feel I fundamentally support people who are making my eyes glaze over.
I recommend ending the Sovereign Fund and demanding Charles pay inheritance tax.
That’s a third rail even renegade royals won’t touch, and it makesHarry & Meghanfeel overly manicured.
And still, somehow, it seems to be controversial among people who love controversy!
And is there anything you’re hoping to see explored more in volume 2 or anything you wantless?
I guess my response to that is… What other choice did they have?
There was never going to be quiet retreat into the SoCal sunset or anywhere else for these two.
To paraphrase Rihanna, this is what we came for.
That’s what I was excited about.
I wasn’t trying to find the great indie film that was going to get me an Oscar.
No, I just wanted to go and volunteer!”
As my eyes were rolling (such tacky Hollywood sanctimony!
), I felt a simultaneous pang of guilt.
Why was I so quick to scoff at an actress touting her altruistic accomplishments, somethingcountlessmale starsdo regularly?
Are you at all intrigued by the promise of a dishier, more pointed volume 2, Darren?
Or have you had your fill ofH&M?
and certainly it was powers-of-ten less annoying than the bad tequila famous bros keep shoving down our throats.
“Doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”
These meta-incidents have paranoid, family-breaking consequences.
No surprise these two feel under siege.
Still, the us-vs-them saga portrayed here feels overly simplified.
Frequent cuts to social media insults prove invasiveness isn’t a media problem, it’s ahumanproblem.
Someone keeps clicking on those paparazzi photos.
I honestly struggle with all the Twitter stuff, Kristen.
On one hand, those areawfulthings to say.
On the other hand, anyone famous receives a hundred social media insults a day?
On the fifth hand, anyone who says racist thingsdeservesget put on blast.
At one point, Meghan recalls how an angry Hollywood Bowl motorist once called her mother the N-word.
So there’s this frustrating paradox underlying any celebrity self-documentary.
At this point, though, the show leaves me with a strange feeling.
Harry & Meghanvolume 1 is streaming now on Netflix.
