Harry and Meghan Vol 2 on Netflix Review: Royal sob-story continues being bland and unimpressive

We reviewed the first three episode of Harry and Meghan last week. Unlike the couple's shocking interview with Oprah, the Netflix docu-series was surprisingly underwhelming offering little to no new revelations for the public. With the second volume also out on Netflix, the tradition continues.

Much like Princess Diana and the numerous other "cast members" of The Crown, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle bore the brunt of the controlling behaviour of the royal family stemming down all the way from the late Queen Elizabeth II to everyone under her. Last week's episodes showed the couple also holding the paparazzi accountable and rightfully so. But after watching all six episodes of Harry and Meghan's complaints, we have one complaint: what is new?

At the risk of sounding insensitive, both ex-royals come off as crybabies in a documentary that was supposedly their own idea in the first place. From a viewer's perspective, Harry and Meghan comes off as overlong, too simplistic, and also makes its titular figures seem more self-indulgent than anything else. 

While the earlier episodes did focus on the racism that Meghan's mother suffered and offered some racist tabloid coverage on the marriage, the new episodes shift the focus on the marriage's aftermath and the internal discord within the British royal family.

Highlights include Prince William being a bad brother, Meghan undergoing a miscarriage, and some footage of their son Archie. Returning tropes include Prince Harry yet again "seeing his mother" in Meghan (Freud must be smiling in a corner somewhere) and Harry seeming "mature" by just blaming himself for whatever Meghan goes through. He accepts that he was so committed to his royal duties (press tours? trips to Africa?) that he forgot to take into account his wife's growing mental health issues. 

Now, here's the problem. Harry is no actor and this is not a fictional series like The Crown. But for a person born into a family of a million press opportunities, Harry is so unemotional that he doesn't even seem convincing being himself! Just have a glimpse at the scenes where Meghan is sobbing or just holding her temples and Harry is staring at her with expressions that read, "Oh boy, I don't know how to console her." 

Even the scenes where he describes how William fed negative press stories against him and even raised his voice come off as chuckle-worthy than tear-inducing. In a genuinely non-patronising way, you can easily say that both husband and wife come off as spolit crybabies. Even Archie seems to be more mature than this couple!

Nobody expected Harry and Meghan to be a cutting-edge documentary series with any aesthetic value. And nobody expected it to be a Keeping Up With The Kardashians-like fabricated reality show. However, the series is so unimpressive that it falls in neither category and just seems like another excuse for the couple to tell the same, old story that the globe is being fed by countless media outlets. 

Maybe, a one-hour-long TV special on "the Queen's family is bad and Harry and Meghan are good" would've worked instead of a series clocking at six hours. But then again, we have that two-hour-long Oprah interview (and the countless memes it spawned). So, what even was the need for Netflix to invest in this? 

If you are still planning to watch it, just spend some time on the new revelations (Beyonce supported Meghan after their exit, William launched a press campaign against Harry, etc) and skip the rest. 

We're going with 2 out of 5 stars for Harry and Meghan. 

ALSO SEE | Harry and Meghan on Netflix: 10 Major Takeaways