Mythic Quest came into its third season a bit on its heels. The second season of the Apple TV+ series was very good, though not quite as good as the season before it. The show was also dealing with a long layoff, trying to overcome COVID-19 and figure out a way to try and stay fresh. In a lot of ways, the series was trying to overcome some of the same roadblocks that its main characters were dealing with. In short, the show was trying to find growth while still succeeding. Whether the showrunners managed to find the formula is up for debate.
What is clear, as the third season of MQ wraps up, is that the departure of F. Murray Abraham and the criminal under-use of characters like Carol and Sue was a kind of force growth that simply didn't work. Perhaps the show was trying to demonstrate that it could grow and focus on some of the main characters more and the side characters less. But it's also clear that things didn't work out all that well. Now that the big picture has arrived, the point of some of the moves that were made are still rather murky.
Mythic Quest Comes Together After Spending Time Apart
It's very clear what the message of Mythic Quest Season 3 was now that it's all over. That people need to grow, even if they stay in one place and just grow within their own profession. There was even an apparent attempt at showing a bunch of the employees of the studio trying to grow on their own. Of course, the show also wants people to understand that the employees who are trying to grow, are incapable of doing so and that means that David has to go back to Ian and Poppy.
Make no mistake about it, Ian and Poppy being at MQ is what has always made the show work. But it feels like the show could have done this sort of thing in Episode 2 or Episode 3. The fact that the two great developers and planners realize they need to go back to where they were at the end of the season, just makes it feel like the season was a waste of time, for everybody. There are more specific problems with this installment, but that's the biggest issue. There's a feeling that the viewer wasted their time watching everything go in a full circle.
It was in fact, not a full circle. Dana continues to want to grow despite the fact that it appears every idea she's had has been a pretty bad one. It seems odd that her idea for PlayPen, the idea that started to die in last week's installment of Mythic Quest and bled out this week, is somehow the idea that is going to see her strike out on her own. It's worth pointing out again that MQ seems to have set up Dana as someone who has big ideas and certainly doesn't suffer from a lack of confidence, but hasn't actually come up with anything that could be described as real success.
Perhaps the audience is supposed to see this woman as simply being held back by Ian and Poppy. She certainly feels like that's the issue. But the average watcher is unlikely to be convinced of that. It's odd that on its face at least, Rachel, Dana's girlfriend is actually the one in the relationship that has found real success. Maybe that's why it's a bit annoying that it's clear Dana is the dominant figure in that relationship. It almost feels like real personal growth in this particular dynamic would be Rachel realizing she could do better. That end to this season of Mythic Quest might have been better.
Excitement For Season 4 Rather Than Enjoyment of Season 3
The way that this season of MQ ended, it appears that even the showrunners understood that it was more about trying to make sure that people come back for Season 4. That's not to say that there weren't enjoyable moments along the way this year. The characters that make up the Apple TV+ series are still some of the best on television when they are given the right material.
The one thing that "Buffalo Chicken Pizza" fixed was that it brought Ian and Poppy back together. However, one has to wonder what their relationship is going to be like going into Season 4. There's very little doubt that the show is at its best when the two are at odds. Not in a way that makes Poppy cry like it did in previous episodes of Mythic Quest. When they are at odds with each other in a light and fun way, the show is one of the best on television. When they are off-screen or not spending much time together, the show simply doesn't work.
However, if Season 4 ends up being one where the two are just besties, that is likely going to just another mistake that is repeated in a different way for Mythic Quest. If the two end up just being friendly all season next year, it's gonna be bad for the final seasons of MQ. But it might actually be better than just never being in the same room together like Ian and Poppy were this time around. Even when they "come together" in the season finale, it still feels very fleeting.
This particular episode, in a lot of ways, felt like the season in a nutshell. There were some funny bits, and there were some things that worked, but as a whole, there just weren't enough laughs. There were also some interesting turns with characters that just didn't make a lot of sense and certainly didn't seem to serve MQ all that well. It was nothing short of a letdown to start off the show by making it clear that everyone is starting over. It was also a let down that there just wasn't a ton all that funny. And finally, it felt like the entire season was just a set up for the next one.
The entirety of Mythic Quest Season 3 is now available on Apple TV+