What happens when you take a group of great characters, put them at odds with each other, and lock them in a room? The newest episode of Mythic Quest plays out that question to great effect. The show, headed by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz, is more than halfway through its second season on Apple TV+. Mythic Quest had an uneven first season but was praised for bringing out consistent laughs and three-dimensional characters. In the second season, Mythic Quest has finally found its footing.
The Mythic Quest writers are clearly committed to digging deeper into each of their characters. Throughout the second season, each episode has highlighted a particular character or set of relationships. Every time the audience feels they have a grasp on who a character definitively is, the show reminds them that people are more complicated than their surface appearances.
The first two episodes of Mythic Quest season 2 highlighted the power dynamics at play in the show's workplace. Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney) struggled to find balance as co-creative directors of the gameMythic Quest. David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby) seemed to be finding a way to exercise his author as the game's executive producer (more on that in a bit). Episode 3 undid some of David's authority, and his reputation in the office is explored in this week's outing. The show complicated the character of Brad Bakshi (Danny Pudi) in last week's episode and seemed poised to take things a step further with just about every problematic character.
This week's episode, "Please Sign Here", brings plenty of laughs. It feels more like an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia than other Mythic Quest plots, but overall it's no less enjoyable for being overtly formulaic. Sometimes it's good enough for characters to give you exactly what you're expecting.
The Good
Tensions are running high at the Mythic Quest offices. The company recently made all of its employees take a personality assessment (which should feel familiar for anyone who's worked in a corporate office setting), and not everyone is satisfied with the results. In the episode, Mythic Quest's head of HR is trying to get everyone to sign off on the results of their assessments. Until everyone has finished voicing their complaints and signing their papers, they can't leave the office for the weekend.
Naomi Ekperigin made a welcome return as Carol from HR. She was the comedic highlight of "Titan's Rift", the season's first episode, and she continues to be a delight on screen in "Please Sign Here". Watching her inch towards a meltdown as the other employees go about their insanity was equal parts anxiety-inducing and hilarious.
Most of the time Mythic Quest splits the characters into duos or trios for its scenes. That's been especially true of this since, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing changes to how the show can be shot and produced. Getting to have everyone in one place for this episode felt like a breath of fresh air. Some characters, like poor locked-in-the-basement Sue (Caitlin McGee) who rarely get in on the action got a moment to shine alongside the other cast members.
The Bad
"Please Sign Here" comes close to being the best sitcom episode that Mythic Quest has had so far. Because of that, it almost doesn't feel like a Mythic Quest episode at all. The show has always been at its best when it pairs comedy with genuine exploration of the characters' humanity. Here, everyone is playing their archetype.
David Brittlesbee is once again nothing more than a punching bag for the other characters. His preening as "The Wolf" will be enjoyable for anyone who gets their kicks from cringe comedy. After cracking open Brad Bakshi in last week's "Breaking Brad", this episode goes to great lengths to re-establish him as a hyper-competitive jerk.
The Ian/Poppy power struggle also creeps back into this episode, but in a way that feels dictated by the writers' desires and not the characters' intentions. Their interaction at the end of the episode is a moment of "seriousness" that feels out of place after everything else that's taken place. It seems that their "divorce" has just gotten worse since the show last encountered it in "#Yumyum", but there is no real reason given for that development.
None of that ruins the episode. The good far outweighs the bad in "Please Sign Here", and there are even elements that one hopes will be carried over into future episodes. At the very least, Carol and Sue are too good not to have more time on screen. The comedy writing is top-notch, which is to be expected from the writers of the masterfully formulaic It's Always Sunny. There's a sense of something missing from "Please Sign Here", but it still packs a punch.