Mythic Quest is nearing the end of a stellar second season. The Apple TV+ show from some of the producers behind It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia delivers constant laughs and some of the best character work currently on television. Last week's out-of-place "Backstory!" sees its justification in the show's newest episode, "Peter." Mythic Quest doesn't present the episodes as a "two-parter" with a single story, but it might as well have – neither fully works without the other.
For anyone deeply missing the crew at the Mythic Quest offices, "Peter" will likely be a disappointment. For fans who most appreciate the show's emotional moments, "Peter" will be the stand-out episode of the season, in spite of some complications. The writers made a bold choice centering two episodes, more than twenty percent of the season, on C.W. Longbottom. Show runner Rob McElhenney has spoken about striving for three-dimensional characters, and this episode is aimed towards that goal.
"Peter" doesn't balance its comedy and character exploration as well as previous episodes like "Breaking Brad". That said, the episode creates one of the most moving moments in all of Mythic Quest with its final scene, and it still manages to eke out a few laughs. This isn't quite Mythic Quest at its best, but "Peter" will likely be the episode people remember most from season 2.
Old Rivals, Older Friends
The episode opens with game tester Rachel driving C.W. Longbottom to the house of his old friend Peter. C.W., who's been invited, is planning on showing up to get an apology from Peter for their years of estrangement. He's got his Nebula Award packed in his bag, ready for maximum mockery.
As soon as the two arrive, it's clear to the audience that Peter is in poor health. Both he and C.W. are getting on in years, and A.E. (C.W.'s crush who Peter married in "Backstory!") passed away years earlier. It quickly becomes clear that Peter invited C.W. to wring an apology from him for their years of estrangement. The two arrive at an impasse.
At moments, the comedy threatens to break the otherwise compelling and emotional interactions happening on screen. Mythic Quest generally avoids cringe comedy reminiscent of "The Office", but this episode seems to glory in it. The jokes are almost entirely supplied by C.W.'s outrageously rude behavior toward Peter. It's extreme to the point of being straight out of the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia playbook. The show makes an attempt to justify why Peter wouldn't throw C.W. out within minutes of the man's arrival (he's looking for some end-0f-life reconciliation), but it stretches logic in pursuit of more jokes.
Within ten minutes, C.W. has belittled and insulted Peter, talked up his own accomplishments, and thrown a few jabs at Rachel, who only seems to be present to take the hits. C.W. makes it clear he has no intention of apologizing to Peter, but he still secures a dinner invite. During dinner C.W. takes a moment to step away from the table to defecate on Peter's desk, but he still gets invited to stay the night. The episode manages to get the laugh often enough, but the comedy frequently oversteps its bounds.
Jokes Aside
If one can look past the needless pursuit of over-the-top jokes, there's great character work happening in "Peter." The title character's yearning for reconciliation is a fantastic continuation of the dynamics established in "Backstory!". The years of estrangement and animosity really fall on C.W.'s shoulders, and when he begins to grapple with that fact, the episode finally picks up steam.
The final act of the episode eschews all the stretching for comedy that comes in the first two thirds. C.W. wakes up hungover and comes face-to-face with A.E.'s daughter. In that moment, he grasps everything he lost by cutting off his friends back in the seventies. His final conversation with Peter is an absolute tear-jerker, though it does take some hand waving over the events of the previous night to reach that moment.
One of the best elements of the episode is C.W.'s relationship to his beloved Nebula Award. He never pulls it out to shove it in Peter's face, but he also never confesses the true nature of how he won it. It's a bit of character complication that forces the audience to investigate the difference between being able to empathize with the character and being able to understand that some of his actions are still unjustifiable. Unfortunately, the "comedy show" necessitated awful actions of C.W. in the beginning of the episode will overshadow that complication for many viewers.
The last ten minutes of the episode are as moving as the entirety of last season's "A Dark Quiet Death", but the path to reaching them was admittedly much clumsier. It's enough to make a person wonder if Mythic Quest would work better if it considered itself a drama with comedic characters, rather than a comedy with dramatic moments. Even when the show presents a mixed bag, the parts it gets right are shining examples of excellent writing. As always, it's enough to keep one watching.