Mythic Quest is back and season 4 proves it's better than ever. With wild situations, new office drama, big surprises, and a cast that continually delivers top tier comedy, fans are in for one epic treat.
Mythic Quest Season 4 Review
When Mythic Quest debuted back in 2020, gamers, coders, and geeks alike instantly felt drawn to the show. It detailed the lives of the people responsible for the MMORPG “Mythic Quest,” while poking fun at the gaming industry and delivering some of the most absurd interpersonal drama we've seen in a long time. As it has evolved, MQ maintains what made it special to begin with, but like any good game, offers patches and updates to keep the story fresh, engaging, and ridiculously entertaining. Season 4 takes some big swings in order to push these characters into new territory, but it all works thanks to sharp writing, direction, and a top-tier comedic cast.
Season 4 sees everyone back under the Mythic Quest roof after Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian (Rob McElhenney) spent season 3 working a floor away at GrimPop. They are all trying to embrace a new “work work life balance” while also maintaining appropriate boundaries, a word Ian still struggles to understand the meaning of. Poppy and Ian have a new Mythic Quest expansion called Elysium they want to push out but find that their partnership is once again challenged in many ways. One, Poppy has a new man, Storm (Chase Yi) who is helping her see there is more to life than work. Two, some big changes occur that not even Poppy or Ian could've seen coming. Then there is David (David Hornsby) and parent company Montreal, who are looking at ways to cut costs and increase profit, which threatens Elysium. While these two struggle to make their baby happen, Dana (Imani Hakim) has become a rising star at the office thanks to the popularity of Playpen, but she wants more freedom. Her relationship with Rachel (Ashly Burch) becomes tense as the two try to separate their work roles from their home life. Jo (Jessie Ennis) and Brad (Danny Pudi) are on Dana’s side with enough intensity to scare away most people trying to enter her office. Everyone is on edge, but the comedy flows as they try to grapple with every new obstacle thrown in their way.
Being that this show revolves around games, each previous season has spent a lot of time using developing, improving, and playing games as focal points to anchor the season. A standalone episode would feature an adjacent story that was wholly unique yet fit within the plot lines of the main show. While the latest season does have moments related to gaming and its own standalone episode, it also branches out, taking the characters outside of the office for situations that prove to be equally chaotic and fun for fans. There is a Clue-inspired murder mystery, a telling weapons build, and maybe the most outrageous of all, an Ian-programmed game for Poppy that to describe would be to spoil the big laughs that come from witnessing it first hand. Playing with the code is what keeps Mythic Quest fresh.
With so many changes and big surprises for these characters, the theme of the season is leveling up and it brings out the best in this cast. For some that evolution is happening at work. Dana wants to get out from under Montreal's thumb and enlists the help of the two people who are cutthroat enough to make contracts disappear– Jo and Brad. Hakim is clearly having fun embracing a new side of Dana thanks to the unwilling mentorship she is given by Pudi's Brad. Jo has a little bit of a crisis, trying to figure out what her purpose in life is. Ennis somehow ups Jo's intensity each season and this one is no exception. Her comedic timing, facial expressions, and mannerisms mean there is never a dull moment when Jo is on screen. We thought Brad might turn over a new leaf after Season 3 but Brad is going to Brad and after he is bested by an unlikely foe, becomes even more locked in on embracing his evil ways.
For Poppy her growth is happening outside the office, where she learns work isn't everything. Nicdao is amazing this season, as she shows us sides of Poppy we didn't know existed. From her relationship with Storm to butting heads with Ian, Poppy changes the most this season as she navigates what happens when our plans for ourselves suddenly get shifted in a wildly different direction. Ian is the least changed, but that is by design. McElhenney and the writers push Ian slowly, forcing him to contend with sharing Poppy's attention. Not being the only man in her life leads Ian to attempt to secure his spot as her most inspiring partner. However, Ian can never do anything small and his grand gestures lead to some hilarious hijinks poor Poppy has to deal with.
Dana and Rachel's relationship remains one of the best written LGBTQ+ relationships around. The love these two have for each other is genuine, making you cheer them on as they work through all those life changes. David not only has longer hair this season but reminds everyone he's the boss for a reason. Sure he's the nicest character in all of MQ but that doesn't mean he is always going to be a doormat. Some of the best quieter moments this season occur when Hornsby and Pudi butt heads. Naomi Ekperigin's Carol from HR gets more screen time which is a win for the character and the fans. She's also a little messy but hey mama needs to get her groove back.
Mythic Quest has always worked because the writers and creators (McElhenney, Charlie Day who finally makes a cameo, and the incredible Megan Ganz) never let the insane schemes of the characters derail their growth. It's a sitcom for sure but not in a typical sense, as they gleefully mock the tropes so rampant in the genre while choosing to let the characters be the focus. Sure situations are thrown out there to provide laughs but they are equally there to show growth or reveal layers of their stories previously hidden or glossed over. For example, my favorite episode “Villains Feast” is a Clue meets Werewolf meets Agatha Christie whodunit that actually works as a way to explore the insecurities of Ian, David, and even Brad. In another, Ian takes David and Jo to create weapons but what they choose says a lot about who they are as people. It's funny and clever, just like the show as a whole.
Verdict
Boundaries, leveling up, and finding that “work work life balance,” are the goals of this Mythic Quest season. The writers took some big swings this time around, pushing these characters well outside their comfort zones in unexpected yet hilarious ways. And it works thanks to smart direction, witty writing, and an ensemble cast that can more than handle any challenge thrown their way. By tweaking the code and offering new expansions (including the upcoming Side Quest spin-off) Mythic Quest remains fresh, unique, and an absolute blast delivering a strong character-driven story amongst absolute zany moments. This season is the best one yet and I'm excited for what comes next.
Mythic Quest's two-part season 4 premiere streams on Apple TV+ beginning Wednesday, January 29, with new episodes debuting weekly through March 26.
Leave a Reply