MYTHIC QUEST S4 Review: Still Fussing and Feuding, Still Funny

Rob McElhenney and Charlotte Nicdao lead the workplace comedy series, premiering its fourth season globally on Apple TV+.

Managing Editor; Dallas, Texas, US (@peteramartin)
MYTHIC QUEST S4 Review: Still Fussing and Feuding, Still Funny

Quick, what do we do now? (Hint: it's safe to jump on the series without seeing any prior episodes.)

Mythic Quest
The first three seasons are now streaming on Apple TV+. The first two episodes of Season 4 premiere Wednesday, January 29. New episodes will premiere weekly, every Wednesday. I've seen the first three seasons, as well as the first nine episodes of Season 4.

Returning to the mothership, as it were, creator Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney) and engineer Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) begin Season 4 descending from the heavens.

In reality, they are lowered from the ceiling of Mystic Quest headquarters, a large office housing dozens of employees for a gaming development company. Its titular game, a massive multiplayer online game, found great success as the series began, and the subsequent seasons have explored what happens after such success for the company's creative and business leaders (wealth, personal problems), as well as the lower-echelon employees (lower-middle class income, personal problems).

As a workplace comedy, Mythic Quest does not reinvent the wheel or wring any especially challenging wrinkles from a familiar formula. It's no Severance, in other words. It's never tried to be. Yet, the series is a reminder that new ingredients are not necessarily required; they just need to be prepared hot and fresh.

And so Mythic Quest remains hot and fresh, and also frequently LOL funny. It starts with the pairing of Rob McElhenney as creator Ian Grimm and Charlotte Nicdao as engineer Poppy Li. After leading the company to success, they decamped for their own company in Season 3, along with tester-turned-designer Dana (Imani Hakim), who had a brilliant idea for a new game, Playpen. That didn't turn out well, and they are all returned to Mythic Quest (the company), with new roles.

Now the company is, essentially, divided into three camps: the original, run by the eternally skittish and inevitably ill-suited exec David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby) and tester-turned-monetization head Rachel (Ashly Burch); Ian and Poppy, fussing and sniping constantly at each other as they work on a new game extension; and Dana and her team -- constantly scheming former MQ head of monetization Brad (Danny Pudi) and diabolical assistant extraordinaire Jo (Jessie Ennis) -- who want to be recognized for their Playpen extension that revitalized the company.

First and foremost, Mythic Quest is a comedy, and it never forgets that. Created by Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, and Rob McElhenney, the series also recognizes that people come and go from companies for various reasons. Sometimes they come back, and things are never the same, even if the surroundings seem familiar.

Season 4 dwells in that space. Ian and Poppy, for example, are still respected, but they are not almighty gods in the workplace anymore. Ian spends more time moping, missing the company of Poppy during extended overtime sessions, because Poppy's got a boyfriend!.

That adds another welcome wrinkle to their dynamic. Ian and Poppy came to a reconciliation at the end of Season 3, affirming their platonic love for another, and renewing the sparks that powered their creative relationship. That's all put to the test in Season 4, Episode 2, as A.I. enters and isolates their characterizations in a very, very witty manner, with the usual whip-smart dialogue and delivery.

The season moves along nicely, though this season's so-called "bottle episode" is less successful than in past seasons because of the character showcased. Critics were only provided with the first nine of ten episodes, perhaps because "Apple TV+ has also announced that ... as the upcoming fourth season of Mythic Quest reaches its finale, the much-anticipated anthology series Side Quest (FKA Mere Mortals) will make its global debut on March 26 with all four episodes."

Described as "an expansion of the Mythic Quest universe, Side Quest explores the lives of employees, players and fans who are impacted by the game in an anthology format."

We'll see if Mythic Quest continues. Meanwhile, it's all the more reason to watch and enjoy the series, which, presumably like its namesake and entirely fictional computer game, is endlessly replayable.

Mythic Quest

Writer(s)
  • Charlie Day
  • Megan Ganz
  • Rob McElhenney
Cast
  • Rob McElhenney
  • Charlotte Nicdao
  • Ashly Burch
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Apple TV+Charlotte NicdaoMythic QuestRob McElhenneyCharlie DayMegan GanzAshly BurchComedy

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