It’s the last day of school atMythic Quest. The Apple TV+ show finished its second season with a fantastic finale that offers up satisfying conclusions and promising new beginnings in equal measure. “TBD” follows uplast week’s impeccable “Juice Box”and continues theMythic Questtradition of being not-quite-so-far from perfect.
Mythic Questwas created by three alumni ofIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and Charle Day surprised no one by creating a show that knocks its comedy beats out of the park. What is surprising, and often deeply moving, is the show’s general refusal to dish out archetypal characters.WhereSunnyentertains by displaying characterswho are little more than an amalgamation of humanity’s worst impulses,Mythic Questentertains with, and sometimes in spite of, characters that are themselves rounded, fully-formed human beings.
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The first season ofMythic Questblew its audience away, and whilehighs like “A Dark Quiet Death”are nearly impossible to top, the second season has raised the bar on almost every level. With few exceptions, all nine episodes are richer, funnier, and more tightly written than anything that’s come before. The episodic escapades of the season thematically cohere into an arc that’s as satisfying as any fully serialized tale. If this was the end of the road forMythic Quest, it would have spent its time well, but Apple’s all-but-inevitable renewal of the show will be welcome news.
“TBD” sets out to wrap up the season’s dangling plot threads. Ian and Poppy have an expansion to finish. Brad and Jo have an accidental insider trading scheme to see to its end. The testers have some educational and vocational mix-ups to contend with. In short, everyone is taking a brief look back while making plans for the future.
Stand Outs
Rob McElhenney and Charlotte Nicdaoare once again the show’s best elements. Their chemistry shines through every single one of their scenes together, to the point that one starts to wonder why most of this season tried to keep the two of them apart. Before there’s much time to focus on those concerns, another great joke or warm moment of genuine friendship pulls attention back to the screen.
Their best scene closes the episode. It feels like both the perfect conclusion to everythingMythic Questhas done for the last two seasons and a promising start to a new batch of phenomenal episodes. Their funniest scenes, however, come when the two of them are paired with anotherMythic Questemployee. Their focus on the quality of their game over literally everything and everyone else plays for constant laughs while also refusing to glorify ambition as an ideal character trait.
Over the course of this season, Poppy has taken on more and more of a leadership role withinMythic Quest. Throughout the process, she’s constantly mimicked Ian’s leadership style – having no other role model to turn towards. As she’s become more like Ian, her ideas get better, but her connections to coworkers get worse. Ian and Poppy shed all other relationships because each is the only one that helps the other grow, at leastin terms of creative growth. Their friendship is real, and it’s a delight to see on screen, but the show doesn’t make any moves to obscure that it’s also unhealthy, even if they end in a good place.
So Long For Now
Most of the other prominent side characters get similarly complicated, albeit with the show spending less time exploring those complications. In a reversal from the beginning of the season, Rachel plans to head to Berkely (inspired by C.W. and Peter to become a writer, poor girl), while Dana stays behind to pursue her dreams as a game designer. Ambition is at the core of their relationship, as well, but it seems to be pulling them apart. The show leaves them in a long-distance relationship, but chances are it will refuse to play out the tropes of that plot in the same way it refused to follow a “will they or won’t they” plot with the couple this season.
Brad settles his differences with Jo in a way that doesn’t diminish theunearthing of his character in “Breaking Brad”, but leaves him in a position to return to his careless, cutthroat role in the future. The only character who doesn’t get a nice dose of added humanity is David Brittlesbee. He continues to be life’s punching bag, constantly embarrassing himself in the pursuit of nothing other than a cure for loneliness. Maybe he’sMythic Quest’s way of saying that ambition defines everyone, whether they’re aware of it or not. Be careful what you desire.
Mythic Questmight be the best sitcom, if it counts as a sitcom, on TV, if it counts as being on TV. Apple TV+ has a real hit on its hands, andTed Lassois the only other showon the platform that comes close. The writing team deserves a standing ovation for their work on the second season, especially consideringthey rewrote most of the episodesafter the beginning of the pandemic. With any luck, these two seasons are just the beginning of a long run forMythic Quest.
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