Megan & Harry Netflix Documentary Review
The Harry and Meghan documentary released on Netflix on December 8, 2022. Harry and Meghan, formerly members of the British royal family, created this series to retell their story of what they faced when they became a couple, recalling all of the media and press they had to face. The series is a total of six episodes, each approximately an hour long. Each episode contains interviews with Harry and Meghan, their friends, Meghan’s family, Meghan’s managers, and British authors. No other members of the royal family decided to take part in interviews for the series. Each episode is broken up into parts, starting with how Harry and Meghan met to how they ended up leaving the royal family. After watching the series, I was able to learn more about the close yet toxic relationship between the royal family and the press as well as who and what the royal Family chooses to prioritize.
The start of the series contains interviews of Harry and Meghan (along with their friends) retelling the story of how the two got together. Though it was unexpected how they ended up meeting each other, the first episode felt like a cheesy rom-com of the love story between Harry and Meghan. Nonetheless, this episode did provide necessary background information to how the couple was so close and stayed together throughout all the drama they would eventually face.
The second episode of the series provided a lot of detail of Meghan’s childhood. I particularly enjoyed this episode because it allowed me to understand Meghan more and where she stands with her racial identity. The episode contained interviews with Meghan’s mother as well as Meghan’s former teachers. Watching fragments of her childhood allowed me to understand the woman she is today along with the morals she aligns herself with (such as women’s rights/ health and racial equality). It also helped me see how Meghan joining the royal family was her first experience of being treated as a black woman, since she wasn’t treated as one growing up.
The series then continues on the couple’s engagement announcement and their wedding. This part of the series was what piqued my interest the most due to the involvement of the British press with Harry and Meghan. The amount of controversy fabricated by the British press was surprising in terms of how it affected Harry and Meghan. The tabloids created about the couple not only painted Meghan and her family in a negative light, but also compromised the couple’s safety. The part that I found the most shocking about the whole situation was how the royal family did nothing to help or protect the couple.
Towards the end of the series, Harry and Meghan secede the royal family and file a lawsuit against a paper called The Daily Mail. I found this to be the most emotional part of the series due to how many times the couple has had to move to hide from the press. Amongst the dispute between the couple and The Daily Mail, Meghan ended up having a miscarriage due to the stress from the situation. The series concludes with the couple winning the lawsuit against the Mail and having their second child.
Overall, I enjoyed watching the Harry and Meghan series. It had a slow start but became more engaging when it started mentioning the royal family and the press. Other aspects of the series like the recallings of Princess Diana and learning some of the history of the royal family were also enjoyable since it helped enhance the story. Seeing the emotional rollercoaster Meghan went through also made me understand and sympathize with her a lot more than before watching the series. I would recommend this series to anyone who was curious about knowing more of the story of what happened with Harry and Meghan during their relationship. If you’re also interested in knowing more about the royal family and how they operate, this series will also provide that.
By Kayla Beasley