Mythic Quest has finally and officially brought its third season of the Apple TV comedy and the show had quite a bit to live up to after the success of its first two seasons. Much like those seasons, the firs thing the show did in order to recapture its momentum is to offer up the first two episodes of this Mythic Quest season in one drop. That approach seemed to have worked especially well considering that the first episode seemed to be more interested in setting up the rest of the season and doing a kind of 40-minute recap of the main characters, what they've been doing and why they're back.
Speaking of back, one of the biggest questions from the end of last season on Mythic Quest was just how the show was going to handle having Poppy and Ian be in a different location as the rest of the cast of characters. It was a question that continued for the entirety of the first episode, until the very end, which was indeed a cheeky little joke that pays off quite well in the second episode as well and will allow the cast members to still interact with one another without annoying transition scenes of them traveling from one location to another.
Return to Greatness for Mythic Quest
Not that the transition scenes in the Apple TV comedy isn't done quite well. In fact, some of the best scenes in the first two episodes are when Dana and Rachel are hanging out together in the car. There's the back and forth they have with Jo and the way that Jo can make sure and offend literally everyone she talks to in a way that is incredibly charming for the audience. There's the conversation Rachel had with her parents about whether or not she's going to college and how much college students the world over can relate to that conversation. And then there's the conversation when Rachel and Dana were planning some sexy time, only to find out that the parents were still on the line.
One of the best things the show does in all of its episodes is to depict grown adults being incredibly childish in a believable way. There are more than a few repeated themes in Mythic Quest and that most of the people who work in now two studios, are incredibly talented at what they do, but aren't particularly talented in basic human interaction. And it's always a fun ride to watch these socially functional idiots try and find a way to get through their day.
Once the series spent a significant amount of time dealing with the departure of one of the series' most loved characters, the show really got back to doing what it does best. There had been plenty of talk that F. Murray Abraham wasn't coming back as C.W. Longbottom for a couple of different reasons and the question that had been raised among fans was just how that would be handled and why. Without spoiling just how the show handled that, it came off as much better done after watching the episode a few times than it did the first time around. Little jokes and comments landed better once the mystery had been dealt with.
While Longbottom was one of the most hilariously inept characters on the show, there are plenty of weird characters to take his place and in some regard, it almost feels like his departure was needed. After the very poignant episodes that really filled in the blanks of the character's backstory, he almost seemed a little too noble for the rest of the gang. It also did feel as though his story arc had reached its zenith. Kudos to the writers and showrunner for doing that before they knew they would say goodbye. It allowed the goodbye to be entertaining but also to fit like a puzzle piece. It wasn't jarring or offputting in the Mythic Quest season premiere.
Mythic Quest works best as an ensemble
Once the first episode was over and C.W. was successfully given his send-off, the show was able to move its focus back to what makes the show work best and that's when literally everyone in the show is going after each other. There was an added bonus in that this season, there are two new testers who appear to be normal and they're more than a little appalled by the behavior or literally everyone else.
There's also something truly rewarding about seeing Carol, who played the "mommy" role in past seasons of Mythic Quest has been drawn into the insanity of the group a little more. It's even funnier that she seems to be getting goofier and worse at her job as she's moved up the corporate ladder. That seemed to be a conscious decision for the character and it's pulled off very nicely.
It was also a relief that the second episode of Mythic Quest's third season didn't go with the stuff that wasn't working all that long. Ian and Poppy play off each other well, but they play off each other even better when there are other people to see the nonsense they say to each other. When it seemed like the show's focus was going to keep the pair separate from everyone else for large periods of time, their back and forth just wasn't as funny.
While it's obvious that there will be episodes of Mythic quest that will focus on Ian and Poppy being alone together and trying to figure things out, there's now a built-in, rather easy way to make sure that they continue interacting with the rest of the group, while still having a new story path that the show can go down, as far as the pair trying to build their own name and make their own game.
If this is one thing that really came off as odd about this particular installment of Mythic Quest, it was how quickly the focus moved off of Poppy turning down $60 million. It feels like the show forgot that should have been a bigger deal and wanted to land the next joke. Luckily for the show, it lands plenty of jokes very well.
New episodes of Mythic Quest will launch every Friday on Apple TV+