Just episode one. That’s all I’ve done so far. I kept starting and pausing because I decided to “live toot” it. No, not “live tweet.” I wanted to be weird and do it on Mastodon instead of Twitter, and truthfully, Mastodon doesn’t seem to have much of a fanbase for the royals. I have no doubt the tweets were more fun than the toots.
All right, so, what do I think?
Well, here were my thoughts before….
And here are my thoughts after:
It was…not that bad. It wasn’t as good as The Crown. The Crown definitely has better music, and better writing. Archewell should have hired Peter Morgan. But you know what? They got the basic Hollywood story arc. It goes like this: Life-in-a-fishbowl prince, a real caged bird, a wild one striving to be free, dealing with all this shit…. Finally, one day, he meets this…amazing heroine. Wow, is she, wow.
I don’t know, a lot of it we already knew. Diana’s misery. Harry’s tumultuous existence. Diana’s death. Harry stumbling out of nightclubs and hitting photographers and looking wasted. Then Meghan—both savior and damsel. (The damsel and the savior are interchangeable in this script, for both leading man and leading woman.) “Two dates and then sharing a tent in Botswana.” Impulsive, carefree courtship. Can I say “courtship” in 2022? I’m doing it whether I can or cannot. What I didn’t know, and what I’m not sure I totally buy, is that they “met on Instagram.” And snapchat? Yeah, I’m so sure Prince Harry was on Snapchat all that time and no one found out.
A random unknown prior to Episode 1: One of their friends is called Silver Tree. I don’t see her anywhere on the IMDb page.1 She does have a small part, a minor speaking role, we might say, and I’m hooked.
I find myself agreeing with parts of Jessie Thompson’s review in The Independent: Harry and Meghan definitely overdo the whole “look at us, we’re so in love” thing. I mean, it’s nice, it’s great, but do they really have to keep on with the “H” this and “M” that? It’s a little cringy. I get that Harry feels “free at last” after a life of never showing emotion in public (uh, lol) but moderation is a virtue, man. It really is. Jessie notes: “The first episode recounts how they met, and it’s actually quite sweet how they both seem to regard it as the most extraordinary thing ever to have happened.”2
Says the Financial Times: “Harry and Meghan do not drop bombs; at most, they point plaintively at existing craters.” Well put, and very true. Henry Mance writes: “When Netflix commissioned the series The Crown, it was a statement of intent about its ambitions in big-budget drama. Releasing Harry & Meghan is a statement of less ambition.”3 Ouch.
I love the part when Meghan gives the address of where they had their first date. That was a priceless plug. Absolutely brilliant.
The whole thing is very simplified. The boy was trapped in the fishbowl, big bad evil media never left him alone, it was only in Africa where he ever found peace, and then he fell in love, and he wants the whole happily ever after thing but…big bad media. I’m guessing the bigger badder big bads are coming later, but, as I said on mastodon, I’m not going to binge this one. I’ll take it nice and slow, one big bad at a time.
It’s not that I don’t like Harry and Meghan. I swear, I am not one of the haters. It’s just that they are so…so… Like? Here’s an example: Tearful Meghan talking to the camera, her hair wrapped in a towel. Hey, everybody, look, it’s Meghan, she’s JUST LIKE US. I feel like there’s a better, more understated, dare I say “normal” way of conveying the idea that you’re just like everyone else…without reminding us that you take showers.
I like the appearance of Prince Seeiso. He’s always a delight to see and hear. Humbleness, that’s what it looks like. Harry’s buddy in Lesotho keeps it real.
Jessie Thompson gave it four stars. I’ll reserve my absolute and final judgement for when I’ve watched all episodes, but for now, I’ll give it at least three. The pictures are pretty. Archie does a bang up job playing Archie. Seriously, the kid nails it. Can we just give him an Emmy right now? I’m seeing the LIFE cover already: Archie takes Tinseltown.
I know this review isn’t deep, but come on, what do you want? We’re not talking about Steinbeck here, and it’s late. And remember, I still have two episodes to go to round out Volume One.
Harry & Meghan (2022). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23900194/. (Watch out if you go to that site. There are multiple movies & TV shows that are titled “Harry & Meghan.” I feel like this was a flaw in Archewell’s strategy. They could have gone with something new and punchy, like Haz & Her, and All That Jazz, Pizzazz!
Thompson, Jessie. “Harry and Meghan, review: Intimate, self-aggrandising, and wildly entertaining.” The Independent (UK). https://archive.vn/QHtbE.
Mance, Henry. “Harry & Meghan review — a Netflix appeal for both admiration and pity.” The Financial Times (UK). https://archive.vn/Plg3B.