‘Mythic Quest’ Season 4 receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
Arriving on Apple TV+ on Wednesday January 29th with its first two episodes (the other eight will follow weekly), ‘Mythic Quest’ returns us to the familiar, chaotic environs of the titular video game’s creators, who are struggling to balance their egos, expectations and stress levels, while confronting some topical issues such as the use (and abuse) of Artificial Intelligence.
The likes of Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, David Hornsby and Danny Pudi as just some of the quirky characters who must find a way to co-exist without wanting to scream.
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Is ‘Mythic Quest’ Season 4 a journey worth taking?
The real risk with a show such as ‘Mythic Quest’ that exists in its own particular heightened comic realm that it can almost become tiring to hang out with the likes of Ian Grimm (McElhenney), such a raging narcissist who normally shows little sign of maturing (though he has made some development). The comic lifespan of such a concept might be limited.
Yet the team behind ‘Mythic Quest’ (which McElhenney co-created with his fellow ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ veteran Charlie Day and Megan Ganz, who also worked on the show, but whose resume including the likes of ‘Community’ and ‘Modern Family’) has been careful to judge how much of Ian to include in each episode and where to leaven his tone.
The show hasn’t entirely avoided feeling like its spinning its wheels, but there has been enough of an evolution for characters such as Ashly Burch’s Rachel and Imani Hakim’s Dana –– who have gone from being youthful game testers in the early seasons to creating her own game (Dana) and working as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (Rachel).
Others, such as Jessie Ennis’ calculating assistant Jo have remained fairly unchanged, though in Ennis’ case, she brings such enjoyable enthusiasm to the role that it doesn’t feel like stagnation.
Script and Direction
McElhenney and the writing staff have somewhat hit the reset button in some respects this season, with Ian and fellow creator Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) back in the Mythic Quest Studios fold and obsessed with crafting a new expansion for the game. Yet even with them there is some movement –– Poppy has found romance with a handsome artist who has nothing to do with the video game world and Ian? Well, Ian is still mostly Ian, even if an encounter with an AI version of himself goes give him a chance for self-reflection (mostly learning how ridiculously annoying he can be to work with).
If there’s an issue this season, it’s that the show never quite hits the heights of earlier outings, such as the inspired ‘Quarantine’ from Season 1 (with the writers and cast creating comedy gold over Zoom) and the follow-up, ‘Everlight,’ which chronicles the madness of the company’s annual fantasy adventure-themed party.
And while the show has become rightfully celebrated for its thoughtful, beautifully-crafted stand-alone episodes, this year’s offering, which catches up with Ian’s son Brendan, AKA the game streamer Pootie_Shoe, played by Elisha Henig, never quite holds the same power.
A murder mystery episode that still features the main character at least boasts some welcome storyline momentum.
‘Mythic Quest’ Season 4: Performances
The cast continue to put in good work this year, even if the scripts don’t always support them.
Rob McElhenney as Ian Grimm
As we mentioned above, McElhenney’s character does show a little growth here, but he’s still mostly the oafish, obsessed weirdo who drives the series.
Charlotte Nicdao as Poppy Li
Nicdao embraces the chance for Poppy to finally have more of a life outside of the office, and she continues to make the goofier side of her character work.
David Hornsby as David Brittlesbee
Another occasional ‘It’s Always Sunny’ actor/collaborator, Hornsby’s character is at his best when he’s flailing and has his usual crop of moments to shine this season, especially when dabbling with AI moderation.
Ashly Burch as Rachel
Burch’s character is a little underserved this year, though her ongoing storyline with Hakim’s brings a nice aspect of real heart to the show, without diminishing their comic potential.
Danny Pudi as Brad Bakshi
As with Burch, Danny Pudi’s (a ‘Community’ veteran) Brad perhaps doesn’t have as much to do this year, and he’s also still locked into his one comic persona of the ambitious, grasping financial expert whose fortunes took a tumble in earlier seasons.
Yet that’s no reflection on Pudi, who continues to find dig laughs out of any situation.
Final Thoughts
Though it never hits the heights of earlier seasons, the new run of ‘Mythic Quest’ remains a show where you enjoy spending time in its world and laughing at what the madcap characters are going to do next.
There is, however, the creeping feeling that it might be time to start wrapping things up, as there are only so many zany antics characters like these can get up to before things start to feel repetitive, and that’s certainly the case at times here.
Team ‘Mythic Quest,’ though, remains an imaginative bunch and it’ll be interesting to see what they’ve come with for spin-off limited series ‘Side Quest,’ which is a four-episode anthology series spinning off supporting characters, and that will be on screens with all episodes on March 26th, the day the main show’s season finale launches.
GOMLQqLp4RfFuox3oNRpo5What’s the story of ‘Mythic Quest’ Season 4?
In Season 4, the reunited team at Mythic Quest confronts new challenges amongst a changing video game landscape as stars rise, egos clash, relationships bloom, and everyone tries to have a little more work/life balance.
Who stars in ‘Mythic Quest’ Season 4?
- Rob McElhenney as Ian Grimm
- Ashly Burch as Rachel Mayee
- Jessie Ennis as Jo
- Imani Hakim as Dana Bryant
- David Hornsby as David Brittlesbee
- Charlotte Nicdao as Poppy Liwanag / Poppy Li
- Danny Pudi as Brad Bakshi
- Naomi Ekperigin as Carol
List of Rob McElhenney Movies and TV Shows:
- ‘A Civil Action‘ (1998)
- ‘Thirteen Conversations About One Thing‘ (2002)
- ‘Latter Days‘ (2004)
- ‘The Tollbooth‘ (2004)
- ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘ (2005 – 2023)
- ‘Mythic Quest‘ (2020 – 2025)
- ‘Welcome to Wrexham‘ (2022 – 2024)
- ‘Deadpool & Wolverine‘ (2024)
